Unsupervised Probation: What Is It And How Does It Work?

Published October 25, 2022

Probation is a form of criminal sentence where the offender can roam in their community instead of serving the sentence in jail. However, a probation or parole officer (PO) closely monitors the offender during this period.

Probation is essentially a way to supervise offenders so as to reduce their likelihood of committing another criminal offense. Not every case can lead to probation. In most cases, the court sends the offender straight to jail with no chance of probation. But if a person is eligible for probation, it’s either supervised or unsupervised. Supervised probation is the standard type, which begs the question, “What is unsupervised probation?”

What Does Unsupervised Probation Mean?

As the name implies, unsupervised probation is a form of probation where the offender doesn’t have a PO monitoring their routine. Others also call it informal or misdemeanor probation since those with a chance at unsupervised probation are primarily people who only committed misdemeanors. Regardless, apart from the lack of supervision, there are a couple more differences between supervised and unsupervised probation.

What Is The Difference Between Supervised And Unsupervised Probation?

If you aren’t aware, standard probation involves several conditions that the court imposed, such as:

• You must not use drugs or alcohol
• You must do community service
• You must pay restitution or fees (weekly or monthly) throughout the probation period
• You must attend a school or seek employment
• You must comply with restraining orders
• You must submit to drug tests
• You must use monitoring bracelets or other devices
• You must report to your PO regularly
• You must not violate any law
• You must complete a substance abuse or deterrent program

If an offender wants to complete the probation, they must meet these conditions. Upon violating any of these, the court may either extend the probation period, add more conditions, or elect to send the offender to jail.

Also, remember that the conditions may vary from case to case. A repeat DWI offender, for example, may have to take driver retraining programs in addition to a substance-abuse program focusing on alcohol use.

Unsupervised probation is the same in that violating these conditions may result in either of the three outcomes mentioned above. However, the conditions are a bit different. For one, offenders may not have to report to their PO since there’s no officer in this case. Additionally, you may not have to attend rehabilitation classes and sessions. Put simply, unsupervised probation is more lenient than supervised probation. Hence, it makes sense why you’d prefer it over the supervised type. So, how do you get on unsupervised probation?

How To Get On Unsupervised Probation

There are generally five scenarios where you’ll be able to get on unsupervised probation rather than the supervised type, but most of them are often out of your control. Below is a closer look at each scenario:

• You’re a first-time offender, and it’s for a nonviolent crime.
• Your offense is a misdemeanor or very minor.
• You behaved nicely during the days between the arrest and sentencing.
• You were first subject to supervised probation, but after a few days or weeks, they now deem supervision unnecessary. As such, the court is changing it from supervised to unsupervised probation.
• You live in a region with either a lack of probation officers or an abundance of offenders.

What Happens When Unsupervised Probation Ends?

Unsupervised probation will only ever end once the time imposed by the court concludes.