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Provincial Adult Probation Report

by

Ariana Kuczma, Jane McPherson, Joshua Driver and Tyler Boldt

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This paper discusses our interview with Marna Johns, Manager of the Victoria

Community Corrections conducted on October 19, 2011. We discussed Marnas

background, what the functions are of the office, what qualifications are required to be an

Adult Probation Officer and what an Adult Probation Officer does including the

challenges and advantages they face.

Marna graduated in 1983 with a Degree in Psychology & Counseling from the

University of Victoria. Her first job after university was in Fort St. John, BC running a

group home for teens. This is where she became interested in becoming a Probation

Officer as she was working closely with many Probation Officers. She moved to

Vancouver after her first child was born and was hired as a Child Protection Worker. In

1991, she completed her probation training courses and became a Probation Officer

working at a Federal Institution supervising female offenders. In 1998, she was working

at the Main & Hastings Street probation office in Vancouver as the acting Manager. In

2000, she took a temporary assignment as an Analyst and in 2006 moved to Victoria to

manage the Victoria Community Corrections Office.

She explained the Victoria Community Corrections office falls under the Ministry

of Public Safety and Solicitor General. They are a court referral office, open and

operating 5 days a week located across the street from the Victoria Court House. Their

clients are adults who come directly from court and they refer them to the appropriate

office based on their address. There are three offices in the Victoria area with the other

two offices located in Saanich and the West Shore. Their role is to deal with court orders,

bail releases, probation orders and conditions. They make sure clients follow the orders,

they do risk and case management assessments, monitor their progress and write reports

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for Judges. They act as information providers to Crown Counsel, liaison with Police

investigations and request the Police to check curfews and addresses. They document

share with the Court, Crown and Police on a regular basis.

The Victoria office has a total of 20 staff which includes 1 Manager, 2

administrative workers, 1 Senior Probation Officer, 1 Probation Officer specializing in

Community Health who works in connection with the Vancouver Island Health Authority

(VIHA), 1 Probation Officer does Diversion Reports which are reports to keep clients out

of the court system, 4 Probation Officers are at a PO14 Level who do paperwork around

bail orders and deal with low risk offenders, 10 Probation Officers are at a PO24 Level

who supervise and monitor high risk offenders.

To become a Probation Officer (PO14) you need to have a 2 year Criminal Justice

Diploma along with the required courses offered through the Justice Institute of BC and a

language proficiency test. To become a Probation Officer (PO24) you need a Social

Services Degree in Social Work, Sociology, Psychology or Criminology along with the

required courses offered through the Justice Institute of BC and a language proficiency

test. Typically, you are hired as an auxiliary Probation Officer and it takes approximately

6 months to complete the required Justice Institute of BC courses and up to 1 year to

secure a permanent position.

Some of the challenges of being a Probation Officer is the ongoing change in

dealing with policy, practice and what is expected of you and how best to keep up with

the changes. Staff turn over can be high as workers change positions, move to other

offices to work on new projects, deal with maternity and stress leaves along with

retirement.

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The advantages of being a Probation Officer is the positive work environment,

good policies in place, continued educational support, good rate of pay, knowing

everyday is different so being bored is not often an issue, performing varied duties and

tasks, having the day go by quickly, having lots of independence, good team support,

positive attitudes, connectedness and the opportunity for career advancement.

The biggest issue a Probation Officer deals with is the policy and practice changes

which tend to happen often. One of the issues they are looking at right now is how to

work better and smarter with other agencies and their integration with those agencies.

The Victoria office has good relations with the local Police, Courts and Judges as it is a

very tight community with good information sharing.

In conclusion, becoming a Probation Officer is a great and rewarding career

choice if you are independent, are able to manage change in your job, are looking for a

variety of tasks in your daily work, enjoy learning and working with people.