Supervision - This is one of many confusing issues because not everybody has any formal probation at all, and those that do can have different types. Supervision is after or instead of a prison sentance and the offender is still under the supervison of DOC (Department of Corrections) or BOP (Bureau of Prisons). Whichever type of supervion applies, this is the period after a prison release (or instead of it) until the formal end of a sentence.  While most are familiar with the term probation, it's essentially the same as when parole is granted.  It does come in different categories and so it's important to stop thinking of probation as one kind of supervision that always has the same conditions. There are different types of supervision an offender may be serving outside of prison until their sentance ends.

 

Federal Probation - It reamins unclear how the detrmination is made whether an offender is prosecuted by the federal government or state.  The only thing that's certain is that sometimes it is federal.  When it is, it's the BOP (Bureau of Prisons) that not only houses them during incarcaratioon but also moniters them for supervision.  Unfortnately BOP does not seem to have a public website that provides information related to their probation status, only their incarcaration status.  Offenders are generally confined to their jursidication which usually include many counties.  They are free to leave their county so long as the county they are traveling to remains in the jurisdiction of their probation.  They are usualy not permitted to leave their jurisdiction territory without permission.

 

State Probation

 

CRD - It stands for conditional release date and it's the period that some offenders are released early, due to the accumulation of gain time while in prison.  It is determined by DOC based on a scrict review of their charges.  It has nothing to due with probation and is not ordered by the court.  A person on CRD may or may not have formal probation as well.  It's similar to probation, but has stricter (that's right stricter terms).  So the misconception that some offenders are better off because they have no formal probation doesn't take into account that  some offenders have CRD to serve before their sentence is complete.  CRD is not specific to sex offenders.  The two rules that do affect sex offenders more than others is that the nightly curfew hours are stricter (usually 7PM - 7AM) and sex offenders also have an added living restriction in that they can't live within 1000 feet of a school bus stop.  This limits their housing ability tremendously and for that reason alone, CRD can be worse than probation, Most offenders that end up with CRD are happy at sentancing to learn they don't have to serve any formal probation but much further along learn they will have CRD.  CRD is just like probation, with even stricter rules.  It's just not ordered by the court.  When CRD applies the amount of time is based upon gain time. The length is the period of time that the offender is released early due to accumulation of gain time.

 

Often CRD and probation overlap.  If an offender is being released six months early due to gain time, but is also sentanced to let's say three years of probation the two overlap.  So how is the overlap handled?  Actually that's the good news that most offenders don't realize.  Since probation is almost always a longer period of time than the CRD would be, DOC usually goes by the probation rules instead of the CRD rules.  Rather than serve six months of CRD conditions and the remaining two and a half years of probation DOC usually just goes by the probation rules for the entire three years rather than supervise the offender under the CRD conditions and then six months later change the terms to probation conditions.  This actually works out better for the offender because for the six months that CRD technically did apply, the condition is satisfied because of the probation status, even though the terms for those first six months become easier than they would have been had no probation been ordered.  They end up not having to abide by the school bus stop or the stricter curfew of 7PM-7AM.  The fact that probation seems to trump CRD in most cases, is why CRD is so confusing.  The offenders with probation never learn the CRD conditions.  CRD is only served by offenders that had no probation ordered.

 

Probation - Many  offenders are sentanced to probation, and while the CRD conditions that might have otherwise applied are eliminated, there are still two types of probation so it''s important to know the two types of probation that sometimes apply to sex offender probation.

 

Community Control - This is generally referred to as house arrest.  It means that the offender is never allowed to leave their residence without having preapproved reasons.  Many reasons are approved but they must be pre approved by the probation officer. Offenders generally see thier probation officer on a weekly basis and submit their schedule for the upcoming week. Obvisouly the weekly probation meeting is an approved and other essential reasons are approved such as a weekly grocery shopping or any job related activity.  Aside from these pre approved reasons, they are never permitted to leave their house for any other reason. If an emergency comes up they must first call probation for permission.  In essence their curfew is 24/7 but permitted reasons are approved.  Without pre approval, an offender can be violated for the offender not being home.  Most offenders wear a GPS device, but whether they do or not isn't determined by their community control status, it's determined by their offense date. Regardless if an offender has a GPS device or not, probation visits the home without notice and if the offender is not home when they should be they will have some explaining to do in order to determine a violation.

 

Sex offender probation - Most sentanced to probation that are not on community control will be able to leave their house during thier normal curfew hours which are 6AM-10PM.  There will be many other restrictions that also apply to community control, but don't affect when they are home or not.  Offenders on probation are restricted from leaving their county without obtaining prior approval known as a travel permit.  Travel permits can be obtained to leave the county or alther the curfew hours.  If for work related reasons a request will usually be approved.  If a work schedule demands hours during the normal curfew a different 8 hour curfew will be assigned.  All offenders are required to remain home for an 8 hour period daily, but it can be changed from the normal hours.  Travel permits may or may not be approved for other reasons such as medical reasons or family emergencies, but they won't always be approved for personal reasons.  Probation is a period being served instead of prison and so personal reasons must be determined on a case by case basis by the probation officer.  A GPS moniter may be required, but that's based on the offense date, not the probation condition alone.  Whether or not an offender waers a GPS moniter, the same restrictions apply.  It's just a bit more difficult for probation to enforce the curfews if an offender is not wearing a GPS monitor.  For this reason house checks are a routine part of probation, whether or not they have a GPS monitor.  Occasionly (usually once a year) the offender will be subject to a search where the probation officer will determine the offender is not in possession of any item that they shouldn't have.  Offenders will usually report to probation at their office at least once a month, however they will go as often as they have business with probation.  At a probation meeting, a drug test will be performed on some visits.  If an offender drives, they will be required to maintain a driving log and bring this to every probation meeting.  Many offenders are restricted from using the internet during their probation but this is determined by not only the offense date but  also the specefic charge.  Probation will usually require a sex offender treatment program be completed.  Treatment will be covered in a section of it's own, but it is at the discretion of the treatment provider how to determine if and when treatment is completed.  Many treatment providers insist treatment can't be completed when the duration of probation is not onlg enough.  Usually this means that offenders don't complete treatment but instead they are released from treatment when the probation ends.  Probation fees apply monthly, and thier is also a cost for the use of the GPS moniter but these fees are handled at a probation officer's discretion.  In addition to these fees, court costs are also factored into the total amount due.