In addition to other powers and duties prescribed by this article, each probation and parole officer shall:

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 53.1-145

  • 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.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Director: means the Director of the Department of Corrections. See Virginia Code 53.1-1
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
  • 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. Investigate and report on any case pending in any court or before any judge in his jurisdiction referred to him by the court or judge;

2. Supervise and assist all persons within his territory placed on probation, secure, as appropriate and when available resources permit, placement of such persons in a substance abuse treatment program which may include utilization of acupuncture and other treatment modalities, and furnish every such person with a written statement of the conditions of his probation and instruct him therein; if any such person has been committed to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services under the provisions of Chapter 9 of Title 37.2, the conditions of probation shall include the requirement that the person comply with all conditions given him by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and that he follow all of the terms of his treatment plan;

3. Supervise and assist all persons within his territory released on parole or postrelease supervision, secure, as appropriate and when available resources permit, placement of such persons in a substance abuse treatment program which may include utilization of acupuncture and other treatment modalities, and, in his discretion, assist any person within his territory who has completed his parole, postrelease supervision, or has been mandatorily released from any correctional facility in the Commonwealth and requests assistance in finding a place to live, finding employment, or in otherwise becoming adjusted to the community;

4. Arrest and recommit to the place of confinement from which he was released, or in which he would have been confined but for the suspension of his sentence or of its imposition, for violation of the terms of probation, post-release supervision pursuant to § 19.2-295.2 or parole, any probationer, person subject to post-release supervision or parolee under his supervision, or as directed by the Chairman, Board member or the court, pending a hearing by the Board or the court, as the case may be;

5. Keep such records, make such reports, and perform other duties as may be required of him by the Director and the court or judge by whom he was authorized;

6. Order and conduct, in his discretion, drug and alcohol screening tests of any probationer, person subject to post-release supervision pursuant to § 19.2-295.2 or parolee under his supervision who the officer has reason to believe is engaged in the illegal use of controlled substances or marijuana, or the abuse of alcohol. The cost of the test may be charged to the person under supervision. Regulations governing the officer’s exercise of this authority shall be promulgated by the Director;

7. Have the power to carry a concealed weapon in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Director and upon the certification of appropriate training and specific authorization by a judge of a circuit court;

8. Provide services in accordance with any contract entered into between the Department of Corrections and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services pursuant to § 37.2-912;

9. Pursuant to any contract entered into between the Department of Corrections and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, probation and parole officers shall have the power to provide intensive supervision services to persons placed on conditional release, regardless of whether the person has any time remaining to serve on any criminal sentence, pursuant to Chapter 9 of Title 19.2 and, if a person’s sample is not stored in the data bank, require the person placed on probation or parole to submit a sample for DNA analysis;

11. For every offender accepted pursuant to the Interstate Compact for the Supervision of Adult Offenders (§ 53.1-176.1 et seq.) who has been convicted of an offense that, if committed in Virginia, would require the offender to submit a sample pursuant to Article 1.1 (§ 19.2-310.2 et seq.) of Chapter 18 of Title 19.2, take a sample or verify that a sample has been taken and accepted into the data bank for DNA analysis in the Commonwealth;

12. Monitor the collection and payment of restitution to the victims of crime for offenders placed on supervised probation;

13. Prior to the release from supervision of any offender on probation as of July 1, 2019, review the criminal history record of the offender at least 60 days prior to release from supervision, or immediately if the offender is scheduled to be released from supervision within less than 60 days, to determine 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) take and provide fingerprints and a photograph of the offender to the Central Criminal Records Exchange to be classified and filed as part of the criminal history record information pursuant to subsection D of § 19.2-390 and (ii) provide written or electronic notification to the Central Criminal Records Exchange within the Department of State Police that such offense does not appear on the offender’s criminal history record; and

14. Upon intake of any offender on or after July 1, 2019, (i) take and provide fingerprints and a photograph of the offender to the Central Criminal Records Exchange to be classified and filed as part of the criminal history record information pursuant to subsection D of § 19.2-390, (ii) review the criminal history record of the offender to determine whether all offenses for which the offender is being supervised appear on such record, and (iii) if any such offense that is required to be reported to the Central Criminal Records Exchange pursuant to § 19.2-390 does not appear, provide written or electronic notification to the Central Criminal Records Exchange within the Department of State Police that such offense does not appear on the offender’s criminal history record.

Nothing in this article shall require probation and parole officers to investigate or supervise cases before general district or juvenile and domestic relations district courts.

Code 1950, § 53-250; 1970, c. 648; 1973, c. 253; 1974, cc. 44, 45, 240; 1975, c. 630; 1976, c. 39; 1982, c. 636; 1992, cc. 188, 740; 1994, c. 935; 1994, 2nd Sp. Sess., cc. 1, 2; 1995, cc. 502, 574; 1997, c. 526; 2003, c. 944; 2006, cc. 698, 730, 863, 914; 2007, c. 528; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2011, cc. 384, 410; 2014, cc. 674, 719; 2018, cc. 316, 671; 2019, cc. 782, 783; 2020, c. 759; 2022, cc. 41, 42.