Virginia Code 9.1-176.1: Duties and responsibilities of local community-based probation officers
A. Each local community-based probation officer, for the localities served, shall:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 9.1-176.1
- Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Department: means the Department of Criminal Justice Services. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
- Law-enforcement officer: means any full-time or part-time employee of a police department or sheriff's office which is a part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, or any full-time or part-time employee of a private police department, and who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the penal, traffic or highway laws of the Commonwealth, and shall include any (i) special agent of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority; (ii) police agent appointed under the provisions of § 56-353; (iii) officer of the Virginia Marine Police; (iv) conservation police officer who is a full-time sworn member of the enforcement division of the Department of Wildlife Resources; (v) investigator who is a sworn member of the security division of the Virginia Lottery; (vi) conservation officer of the Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioned pursuant to § 10. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
1. Supervise and assist all local-responsible adult offenders, residing within the localities served and placed on local community-based probation by any judge of any court within the localities served;
2. Ensure offender compliance with all orders of the court, including the requirement to perform community service;
3. Conduct, when ordered by a court, substance abuse screenings, or conduct or facilitate the preparation of assessments pursuant to state approved protocols;
4. Conduct, at his discretion, random drug and alcohol tests on any offender whom the officer has reason to believe is engaged in the illegal use of controlled substances or marijuana or the abuse of alcohol or prescribed medication;
5. Facilitate placement of offenders in substance abuse education or treatment programs and services or other education or treatment programs and services based on the needs of the offender;
6. Seek a capias from any judicial officer in the event of failure to comply with conditions of local community-based probation or supervision on the part of any offender provided that noncompliance resulting from intractable behavior presents a risk of flight, or a risk to public safety or to the offender;
7. Seek a motion to show cause for offenders requiring a subsequent hearing before the court;
8. Provide information to assist any law-enforcement officer with the return to custody of defendants placed on supervision for which a capias has been sought;
9. Keep such records and make such reports as required by the Department of Criminal Justice Services;
10. Determine by reviewing the Department of Forensic Science DNA data bank sample tracking system upon intake and again prior to discharge whether a blood, saliva, or tissue sample is stored in the DNA data bank for each offender required to submit a sample pursuant to Article 1.1 (§ 19.2-310.2 et seq.) of Chapter 18 of Title 19.2 and, if an offender’s sample is not stored in the data bank, require the offender to submit a sample for DNA analysis;
11. Monitor the collection and payment of restitution to the victims of crime for offenders placed on local supervised probation; and
12. Determine by reviewing the offender’s criminal history record at least 60 days prior to discharge whether all offenses for which the offender is being supervised appear on such record and, if any such offense that is required to be reported to the Central Criminal Records Exchange pursuant to § 19.2-390 does not appear, (i) order the offender to report to the law-enforcement agency that made the arrest for such offense or to the Department of State Police and submit to having his fingerprints and photograph taken for each such offense, (ii) provide written or electronic notification to the Central Criminal Records Exchange within the Department of State Police that the offense does not appear on the offender’s criminal history record, and (iii) verify that such fingerprints and photograph have been taken.
B. Each local probation officer may provide the following optional services, as appropriate and when available resources permit:
1. Supervise local-responsible adult offenders placed on home incarceration with or without home electronic monitoring as a condition of local community-based probation;
2. Investigate and report on any local-responsible adult offender and prepare or facilitate the preparation of any other screening, assessment, evaluation, testing or treatment required as a condition of probation;
3. Monitor placements of local-responsible adults who are required to perform court-ordered community service at approved work sites;
4. Assist the courts, when requested, by monitoring the collection of court costs and fines for offenders placed on local probation; and
5. Collect supervision and intervention fees pursuant to § 9.1-182 subject to local approval and the approval of the Department of Criminal Justice Services.
2003, c. 142; 2007, cc. 133, 528; 2011, cc. 384, 410; 2014, cc. 674, 719; 2018, cc. 316, 671; 2019, cc. 782, 783; 2022, cc. 41, 42.