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Probation officer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical probation officer skills. We ranked the top skills for probation officers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 11.5% of probation officer resumes contained criminal justice as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a probation officer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 probation officer skills for your resume and career

1. Criminal Justice

Here's how probation officers use criminal justice:

Worked in conjunction with other criminal justice agencies and law enforcement representatives to achieve objectives related to the overall probation program.
Reviewed criminal justice databases to assess offenders' legal and social history in preparation to formulate a rehabilitation plan.

2. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how probation officers use mental health:

Referred probationers to mental health, chemical dependency and education programs in order to provide successful integration back into the community.
Hired to fill a grant position responsible for supervising individuals on probation/parole with either mental health or mental retardation diagnosis.

3. Rehabilitation

Here's how probation officers use rehabilitation:

Collaborated and coordinated care to enhance deficient life skills and promote overall community safety as part of the rehabilitation process.
Formulate rehabilitation plans and develop and prepare informational packets on each offender for social agencies, assistance organizations and program.

4. Juvenile Offenders

Here's how probation officers use juvenile offenders:

Counseled juvenile offenders in activities related to legal conditions of probation as well as educational and personal matters.
Provided intensive supervision to juvenile offenders released into the community prior to adjudication and/or disposition of their cases.

5. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how probation officers use community resources:

Forged positive relationships and collaborated with community correction professionals, treatment providers, law-enforcement officials, and other community resources.
Facilitated connection of probationers to drug, alcohol, and other recovery programs and community resources to reduce recidivism.

6. Court Orders

Here's how probation officers use court orders:

Monitored and supervised convicted offenders within the community to prevent recidivism and ensure compliance with court ordered mandates and sentencing guidelines.
Monitored compliance for reporting /non-reporting probationers and all traffic cases-maintained detailed case records, referring to appropriate court ordered agencies.

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7. Community Agencies

Community agencies stand for the organizations operated to provide human service in the community.

Here's how probation officers use community agencies:

Refer probationers to community agencies that offer specialized services that are required for a particular individual's needs.
Formed collaborative relationships with community agencies, faith-based organizations, local law enforcement and state agencies, i.e.

8. Substance Abuse Treatment

Here's how probation officers use substance abuse treatment:

Conducted urinalysis testing and made appropriate recommendations for substance abuse treatment or initiated violation procedures.
Collaborated with community partners to ensure that offenders are offered all needed services such as job training and substance abuse treatment.

9. Law Enforcement Agencies

Here's how probation officers use law enforcement agencies:

Participated in Operation Night Hawk-a supervision strategy of incorporating night field visits with local law enforcement agencies to ensure supervision compliance.
Interacted directly with officials in law enforcement agencies in participation in joint efforts regarding criminal offenders and probation clients.

10. Risk Assessments

The process of analyzing and identifying the acts or events that have the potential to negatively affect an individual, asset, or business is called risk assessment. Risk assessments are important because they form an integral part of an organization as well as occupational safety plans

Here's how probation officers use risk assessments:

Trained and directed colleagues to develop Cognitive Risk Assessments of probationers and identify treatment to reduce recidivism.
Generated risk assessments based on offender behavior to determine appropriate level of supervision.

11. Public Safety

Public safety can be defined as the well-being or protection of a community, citizen, or nation as a whole. There are 4 basic elements that come under public safety namely: national security, border policy, countering crime, and emergency management.

Here's how probation officers use public safety:

Promoted program compliance, public safety, and accountability through the utilization of motivational interviewing tactics and electronic monitoring strategies.
Investigated backgrounds of criminal offenders to identify factors that determine their level of risk related to public safety.

12. Community Services

Community ѕеrvісе is аn unраіd activity in which аn individual оr grоuр еngаgеѕ tо bеnеfіt thе lосаl, nаtіоnаl оr glоbаl соmmunіtу. It іѕ also uѕеd as аn аltеrnаtіvе to imprisonment аnd іѕ intended tо connect offenders to the victim or society ѕо thаt they can undеrѕtаnd how their асtіоnѕ аffесt оthеrѕ.

Here's how probation officers use community services:

Worked directly with social workers and the community services board to identify appropriate community facilities for clients assessed for transition.
Evaluated different individual behaviors and recommended vocational training, treatment or other appropriate community services as necessary.

13. Community Supervision

Here's how probation officers use community supervision:

Provided community supervision, court testimony, written legal documents and judicial conferences for adult offenders sentenced to supervised probation.
Supervised individuals placed on misdemeanor probation, community supervision, pretrial release and pretrial diversion through case management.

14. District Court

Here's how probation officers use district court:

Developed the Substance Abuse Protocol and Training for Lowell District Court *Supervised a multicultural caseload varying from approximately 60-100 cases.
Provide coverage regarding criminal cases involving probation department in Superior and District courts.

15. Crisis Intervention

Here's how probation officers use crisis intervention:

Perform crisis intervention functions to include counseling, recognizing abnormal behavior, and take appropriate action in accordance with established procedures.
Completed Georgia State Government Basic Management Training and have conducted several Crisis Intervention Training classes as a certified instructor.

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List of probation officer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a probation officer resume and required skills for a probation officer to have include:

Criminal Justice
Mental Health
Rehabilitation
Juvenile Offenders
Community Resources
Court Orders
Community Agencies
Substance Abuse Treatment
Law Enforcement Agencies
Risk Assessments
Public Safety
Community Services
Community Supervision
District Court
Crisis Intervention
Criminal History
Court Hearings

Court Reports
Treatment Programs
Violation Reports
Treatment Services
GPS
Domestic Violence
Court Proceedings
Treatment Facilities
Sex Offenders
Arrest Warrants
Court System
Collateral Contacts
Court Appearances
Adult Offenders
Drug Tests
Anger Management
Juvenile Court

Criminal Offenders
Criminal Behavior
Revocation Hearings
Local Law Enforcement
Management System
Random Drug Screens
Restitution Payments
Court Sessions
Court Testimony
DUI
Social Service Agencies
Court Costs
DNA
Probation Supervision
Field Supervision
Subpoenas

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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