CHAPTER 1. PROBATION ADMINISTRATION
IC 11-13
ARTICLE 13. PROBATION AND PAROLE
IC 11-13-1
Chapter 1. Probation Administration
IC 11-13-1-1
Probation officers; appointment; qualifications; term,responsibility, salaries, expenses, bond
Sec. 1. (a) A court or division of a court authorized to imposeprobation shall appoint one (1) or more probation officers, dependingon the needs of the court, except that two (2) or more divisionswithin a court, two (2) or more courts within a county, or two (2) ormore courts not in the same county may jointly appoint and employone (1) or more probation officers for the purpose of meeting therequirements of this section.
(b) A person may be appointed as a probation officer after theeffective date established by the judicial conference of Indiana onlyif that person meets the minimum employment qualifications adoptedby the conference, except that this requirement does not apply to anyperson certified as a qualified probation officer before that effectivedate. Any uncertified person appointed as a probation officer afterthe effective date who fails to successfully complete the writtenexamination established under section 8 of this chapter within six (6)months after the date of the person's appointment is prohibited fromexercising the powers of a probation officer as granted by law.
(c) Probation officers shall serve at the pleasure of the appointingcourt and are directly responsible to and subject to the orders of thecourt. The amount and time of payment of salaries of probationofficers shall be fixed by the county, city, or town fiscal body inaccordance with the salary schedule adopted by the county, city, ortown fiscal body under IC 36-2-16.5. The salary of a probationofficer shall be paid out of the county, city, or town treasury by thecounty auditor or city controller. Probation officers are entitled totheir actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of theirduties. Probation officers shall give a bond if the court so directs ina sum to be fixed by the court.
(d) A court, or two (2) or more courts acting jointly, maydesignate a probation officer to direct and supervise the work of theprobation department.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.6. Amended by Acts 1980,P.L.89, SEC.1; P.L.277-2003, SEC.2.
IC 11-13-1-2
Administrative personnel; appointment; term; salaries
Sec. 2. The courts authorized to appoint probation officers shallappoint administrative personnel needed to properly discharge theprobation function. These personnel serve at the pleasure of theappointing court. The amount and time of payment of salaries ofadministrative personnel shall be fixed by the court to be paid out of
the county or city treasury by the county auditor or city controller.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.6.
IC 11-13-1-3
Probation officers; mandatory duties
Sec. 3. A probation officer shall:
(1) conduct prehearing and presentence investigations andprepare reports as required by law;
(2) assist the courts in making pretrial release decisions;
(3) assist the courts, prosecuting attorneys, and other lawenforcement officials in making decisions regarding thediversion of charged individuals to appropriate noncriminalalternatives;
(4) furnish each person placed on probation under hissupervision a written statement of the conditions of hisprobation and instruct him regarding those conditions;
(5) supervise and assist persons on probation consistent withconditions of probation imposed by the court;
(6) bring to the court's attention any modification in theconditions of probation considered advisable;
(7) notify the court when a violation of a condition of probationoccurs;
(8) cooperate with public and private agencies and otherpersons concerned with the treatment or welfare of persons onprobation, and assist them in obtaining services from thoseagencies and persons;
(9) keep accurate records of cases investigated by him and of allcases assigned to him by the court and make these recordsavailable to the court upon request;
(10) collect and disburse money from persons under hissupervision according to the order of the court, and keepaccurate and complete accounts of those collections anddisbursements;
(11) assist the court in transferring supervision of a person onprobation to a court in another jurisdiction; and
(12) perform other duties required by law or as directed by thecourt.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.6.
IC 11-13-1-3.5
Probation officers; requirements for carrying handgun
Sec. 3.5. A probation officer may not carry a handgun asdescribed in IC 35-47-2-1 while acting in the scope of employmentas a probation officer unless all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The appointing court enters an order authorizing theprobation officer to carry the handgun while on duty.
(2) The probation officer is issued a license to carry thehandgun under IC 35-47-2.
(3) The probation officer successfully completes a handgunsafety course certified by the law enforcement training board
under IC 5-2-1-9(m).
As added by P.L.45-2001, SEC.2.
IC 11-13-1-3.8
Applicability of IC 34-13-3
Sec. 3.8. The provisions of IC 34-13-3 apply whenever:
(1) a governmental entity or its employee is sued for civildamages; and
(2) the civil action arises out of an act within the scope of aprobation officer's employment or duties.
As added by P.L.45-2001, SEC.3.
IC 11-13-1-4
Probation department; annual compilation of statisticalinformation; contents
Sec. 4. (a) Every probation department shall annually compile,and make available to the judicial conference of Indiana uponrequest, accurate statistical information pertaining to its operation,including:
(1) presentence and predisposition reports prepared;
(2) investigations and reports regarding cases assigned to thatprobation department and disposed of prior to trial;
(3) cases disposed of by termination of supervision, includingrevocation of probation;
(4) that probation department's operational costs, includingsalaries of probation officers and administrative personnel; and
(5) persons employed.
(b) Before January 5 of each year each probation department shallsend to the judicial conference the following statistical informationconcerning home detention for the preceding calendar year:
(1) The number of persons supervised by the department or bya community corrections program who were placed in homedetention under IC 35-38-2.5.
(2) The number of persons supervised by the department or bya community corrections program who successfully completeda period of home detention ordered under IC 35-38-2.5.
(3) The number of persons supervised by the department or bya community corrections program who failed to complete aperiod of home detention ordered under IC 35-38-2.5, and adescription of the subsequent disposition for those persons.
(4) For each person under home detention supervised by thedepartment or by a community corrections program, adescription of the most serious offense for which the personwas convicted with the resulting sentence including a period ofhome detention ordered as a condition of probation.
(5) The amount of home detention user fees collected by thedepartment under IC 35-38-2.5.
(6) The amount of home detention user fees deposited into thecommunity corrections home detention fund for the county inwhich the department is located. (7) The average expense per person placed in home detentionsupervised by the department with a monitoring device.
(8) The average expense per person placed in home detentionsupervised by the department without a monitoring device.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.6. Amended by Acts 1980,P.L.89, SEC.2; P.L.98-1988, SEC.2.
IC 11-13-1-5
Probation officers; permissive powers
Sec. 5. A probation officer may:
(1) visit and confer with any person under investigation orunder his supervision;
(2) exercise those powers necessary to carry out his duties; and
(3) act as a parole officer for the department when requested bythe department and when the request is approved by the court.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.6.
IC 11-13-1-6
Probation standards and practices advisory committee;establishment; membership
Sec. 6. There is established within the judicial conference ofIndiana a probation standards and practices advisory committee,consisting of the following ten (10) members, not more than five (5)of whom may be affiliated with the same political party:
(1) the chief justice of the supreme court or his designee, whoshall serve as chairman of the committee;
(2) the commissioner or his designee;
(3) one (1) judge of a circuit or superior court having criminaljurisdiction;
(4) one (1) judge of a county or municipal court having criminaljurisdiction;
(5) one (1) judge of a circuit or superior court having juvenilejurisdiction;
(6) one (1) supervising probation officer;
(7) two (2) probation officers, one (1) whose primaryresponsibility is adult supervision and one (1) whose primaryresponsibility is juvenile supervision; and
(8) two (2) lay persons.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.6. Amended by Acts 1980,P.L.89, SEC.3.
IC 11-13-1-7
Probation standards and practices advisory committee;appointment; term; vacancies; salaries and expenses; meetings
Sec. 7. (a) Other than the commissioner and the chief justice, whoshall serve by virtue of their offices, or their designees, members ofthe probation standards and practices advisory committee shall beappointed by the governor. All appointments shall be made for termsof four (4) years or while maintaining the position held at the time ofappointment to the committee, whichever is the lesser period.
Appointees shall serve as members of the committee only whileholding the office or position held at the time of appointment.
(b) Vacancies on the committee caused by resignation, death, orremoval shall be filled for the unexpired term of the membersucceeded in the same manner as the original appointment. Membersmay be reappointed for additional terms. The appointed members ofthe committee may be removed by the governor for cause after anopportunity to be heard by the governor upon due notice.
(c) Each appointed member is entitled to the minimum salary perdiem as provided in IC 4-10-11-2.1(b) for each day engaged in theofficial business of the committee. In addition, each member isentitled to reimbursement for traveling and other expenses asprovided in the state travel policies and procedures established by thestate department of administration and approved by the state budgetagency. The committee shall meet at least three (3) times a year andat other times at the call of the chairman. The chairman shall call theorganizational meeting of the committee within thirty (30) days afterthe last initial appointment to the committee has been made by thegovernor. For the purposes of transacting business, a majority of themembership constitutes a quorum.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.6. Amended by Acts 1980,P.L.89, SEC.4.
IC 11-13-1-8
Rules and regulations prescribing minimum standards andexaminations for probation officers
Sec. 8. (a) As used in this section, "board" refers to the board ofdirectors of the judicial conference of Indiana established byIC 33-38-9-3.
(b) The board shall adopt rules consistent with this chapter,prescribing minimum standards concerning:
(1) educational and occupational qualifications for employmentas a probation officer;
(2) compensation of probation officers;
(3) protection of probation records and disclosure ofinformation contained in those records; and
(4) presentence investigation reports.
(c) The conference shall prepare a written examination to be usedin establishing lists of persons eligible for appointment as probationofficers. The conference shall prescribe the qualifications forentrance to the examination and establish a minimum passing scoreand rules for the administration of the examination after obtainingrecommendations on these matters from the probation standards andpractices advisory committee. The examination must be offered atleast once every other month.
(d) The conference shall, by its rules, establish an effective datefor the minimum standards and written examination for probationofficers.
(e) The conference shall provide probation departments withtraining and technical assistance for: (1) the implementation and management of probation caseclassification; and
(2) the development and use of workload information.
The staff of the Indiana judicial center may include a probation casemanagement coordinator and probation case management assistant.
(f) The conference shall, in cooperation with the department ofchild services and the department of education, provide probationdepartments with training and technical assistance relating to specialeducation services and programs that may be available for delinquentchildren or children in need of services. The subjects addressed bythe training and technical assistance must include the following:
(1) Eligibility standards.
(2) Testing requirements and procedures.
(3) Procedures and requirements for placement in programsprovided by school corporations or special educationcooperatives under IC 20-35-5.
(4) Procedures and requirements for placement in residentialspecial education institutions or facilities under IC 20-35-6-2and 511 IAC 7-27-12.
(5) Development and implementation of individual educationprograms for eligible children in:
(A) accordance with applicable requirements of state andfederal laws and rules; and
(B) coordination with:
(i) individual case plans; and
(ii) informal adjustment programs or dispositional decreesentered by courts having juvenile jurisdiction underIC 31-34 and IC 31-37.
(6) Sources of federal, state, and local funding that is or may beavailable to support special education programs for children forwhom proceedings have been initiated under IC 31-34 andIC 31-37.
Training for probation departments may be provided jointly withtraining provided to child welfare caseworkers relating to the samesubject matter.
(g) The conference shall, in cooperation with the division ofmental health and addiction (IC 12-21) and the division of disabilityand rehabilitative services (IC 12-9-1), provide probationdepartments with training and technical assistance concerning mentalillness, addictive disorders, mental retardation, and developmentaldisabilities.
(h) The conference shall make recommendations to courts andprobation departments concerning:
(1) selection, training, distribution, and removal of probationofficers;
(2) methods and procedure for the administration of probation,including investigation, supervision, workloads, record keeping,and reporting; and
(3) use of citizen volunteers and public and private agencies.
(i) The conference may delegate any of the functions described in
this section to the advisory committee or the Indiana judicial center.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.6. Amended by Acts 1980,P.L.89, SEC.5; P.L.240-1991(ss2), SEC.68; P.L.1-1992, SEC.71;P.L.18-1995, SEC.2; P.L.55-1997, SEC.2; P.L.98-2004, SEC.82;P.L.85-2004, SEC.44; P.L.1-2005, SEC.125; P.L.141-2006, SEC.10;P.L.145-2006, SEC.31; P.L.1-2007, SEC.102.
IC 11-13-1-9
Powers and duties of judicial conference
Sec. 9. (a) The judicial conference of Indiana shall:
(1) keep informed of the work of all probation departments;
(2) compile and publish statistical and other information thatmay be of value to the probation service;
(3) inform courts and probation departments of legislationconcerning probation and of other developments in probation;and
(4) submit to the general assembly before January 15 of eachyear a report in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6 compilingthe statistics provided to the judicial conference by probationdepartments under section 4(b) of this chapter.
(b) The conference may:
(1) visit and inspect any probation department and confer withprobation officers and judges administering probation; and
(2) require probation departments to submit periodic reports oftheir work on forms furnished by the conference.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.6. Amended by Acts 1980,P.L.89, SEC.6; P.L.98-1988, SEC.3; P.L.28-2004, SEC.84.
IC 11-13-1-10
Conferences or workshops for probation officers and judges;expenses for attendance
Sec. 10. The judicial conference of Indiana may arrangeconferences or workshops for probation officers and judgesadministering probation in order to enhance knowledge about andimprove the delivery of probation services. The expenses ofprobation officers and judges incurred in attending these conferencesor workshops shall be paid in the same manner as other expenses arepaid in the courts in which they serve.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.6. Amended by Acts 1980,P.L.89, SEC.7.