Rock Springs is the site of a Division of Field Services probation/parole office—the agency that provides probation and parole services in Wyoming. This office on Sunset Drive is part of the Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC).
181 employees of the Division of Field Services oversaw the cases of nearly 6,100 people who were on parole or probation in 2012. These probation/parole officers are responsible for the assessment and supervision of offenders who were sentenced to probation or parole for crimes that were under the jurisdiction of the state of Wyoming.
How to Become a Probation/Parole Officer in Rock Springs
Basic Requirements – To learn how to become a probation/parole officer in Rock Springs, applicants will need to be eligible to participate in formal training. They will need to have a driver’s license, a bachelor’s degree, and to be a U.S. citizen. Proof of all of these will need to be submitted with the applications for probation/parole officer positions.
POST Training – Those who are accepted as probation/parole officers are trained at the WDOC Training Academy. It provides Peace Office Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) for a week to new employees who learn such techniques as control tactics. This training takes place in Rawlins.
The Role of Rock Springs Community Supervision Officers
The initial assessment helps probation/parole officers determine the level of risk that an offender poses to society. It also helps to determine what services that offenders can benefit from that would help them to live a crime-free life in the future.
Some offenders are unsupervised—they have been deemed low risk enough to not need home visitations. In contrast, offenders in the Intensive Supervision Program may be visited up to eight times each month.
Social services can be of great service in helping offenders to avoid future incarceration. The careers of probation/parole officers involve working closely with social service agencies to place their clients in programs such as GED classes, mental health counseling, cognitive training, or substance abuse treatments.
Probation/parole jobs appear to be highly successful in reducing the rate of recidivism in Wyoming. The state had the second lowest rate in the country and the lowest in the region according to an analysis by the PEW Foundation.