For People Under Probation, Conditions Meant to Support Behavior Change Can Burden More Than Benefit

Standard Conditions of Probation Supervision

Pew derived these conditions from 11 jurisdictions within the United States: Alabama, Alaska, California, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming, and the United States courts (federal probation).

1. Report for intake after release or first court appearance, generally within 24-72 hours.
2. Report [to your probation officer] as instructed by him/her. Some jurisdictions will require a urine drug screen at each contact.
3. Home visits (for example, by a probation officer or local police): frequency to be determined by jurisdiction.
4. Obey the law.
5. Do not own, possess, or have access to a firearm, ammunition, destructive device, or dangerous weapon (i.e., anything that was designed, or was modified, for the specific purpose of causing bodily injury or death to another person, such as nunchakus or tasers). Revocation of supervision is mandatory for possession of a firearm.
6. Report new tickets, arrests, or any law enforcement contact, generally within 72 hours.
7. Maintain stable residence. Notify officer of any changes in residence. Cannot leave jurisdiction/ county without permission.
8. Submit at reasonable times to warrantless searches by a probation officer of the probationer’s person and of the probationer’s vehicle and premises while the probationer is present. The probationer may not be required to submit to any other search that would otherwise be unlawful.

   ° Submit to warrantless searches by a law enforcement officer of the probationer’s person and of the probationer’s vehicle, upon a reasonable suspicion that the probationer is engaged in criminal activity or is in possession of a firearm, explosive device, or other deadly weapon without written permission of the court.

9. Seek and maintain employment.
10. Abstain from using drugs and alcohol and undergo regular testing.
11. Comply with any treatment or interventions deemed necessary (i.e., substance use disorder treatment, mental health treatment, domestic violence intervention classes, educational program, cognitive behavioral group to address criminogenic thinking).
12. Pay supervision fees.
13. Do not communicate or interact with someone known to engage in criminal activity. If you know someone has been convicted of a felony, you must not knowingly communicate or interact with that person without first getting the permission of the probation officer.
14. Do not associate with anyone on probation and parole supervision.
15. Keep probation department apprised of any vehicles that you drive, including make/model/year/ color/license plate number.

Additional Conditions That May Be Required:

• Support legal dependents (may require paternity testing).
• Pay fees for drug testing.
• Evidence of criminal activity can be seized and used as evidence during a home visit. Legal but prohibited items can also be seized. Must advise everyone with whom you live of the search and seizure terms.
• Must work 30 hours or more per week; give 10 days’ notice to probation officer prior to changing employment.
• If the probation officer determines that you pose a risk to another person or an organization, the probation officer may require you to notify the person or organization about the risk, and you must comply with that instruction. The probation officer may contact the person or organization and confirm that you have provided notification about the risk.
• You must fully and truthfully disclose financial information as requested by the probation officer related to the conditions of supervision. Financial information may include, but is not limited to, authorization for release of credit information, bank records, income tax returns, documentation of income and expenses, and other financial information regarding personal or business assets, debts, obligations, and/or agreements in which the defendant has a business involvement or financial interest.
• Anyone pursuing a course of study or of vocational training shall abide by all of the rules of the institution providing the education or training, and the probation officer shall forward a copy of the probation judgment to that institution and request to be notified of any violations of institutional rules by the defendant.

Note: List of additional conditions is not exhaustive.