§ 257 — Probation personnel; qualifications and duties

§ 257. Probation personnel; qualifications and duties. 1. Except as\nmay be otherwise specified in other provisions of law, all salaried\nprobation officers and their supervisors, including the director, of\nevery probation department, agency or service maintained by any county\nor city shall be in the competitive class of the civil service. No\nperson shall be eligible for appointment as a probation officer or to a\nposition that involves the duty of supervising a probation officer, who\nis under twenty-one years of age, or who has not had a high school\neducation, or equivalent education, or who is not physically, mentally\nand morally fitted. Probation officers shall be selected because of\ndefinite qualifications as to character, ability and training, and\nprimarily with respect to their capacity for rightly influencing human\nbehavior. The director of any probation department may appoint\nnon-salaried volunteer probation officers, provided they have the\nqualifications required of salaried officers. The general rules\nregulating methods and procedures in the administration of probation, as\nmay be adopted from time to time pursuant to section two hundred\nforty-three of this chapter, may require additional minimum\nqualifications for probation personnel and shall set forth procedures,\nnot inconsistent with this or other laws, to be followed in appointment\nof all probation personnel.\n 2. The office of probation and correctional alternatives may when\nnecessary certify in writing the need of one or more salaried probation\nofficers to the official body charged with responsibility for\nappropriating funds for support of government in the political\nsubdivision of the state wherein a probation department is located. Such\nbody shall then determine whether such need exists and if found to exist\nit shall fix the salary of such probation officer and appropriate the\nnecessary funds, as well as provide for the necessary expenses of such\nofficer.\n 3. Each probation officer who collects or has custody of money, before\nentering upon the duties of his or her office, shall execute a bond,\npursuant to the provisions of section eleven of the public officers law,\nin a penal sum to be fixed by the local director of probation with\nsufficient sureties approved thereby, conditioned for the honest\naccounting for all money received by him or her as such probation\nofficer. In the discretion of the local director of probation, a\nposition scheduled bond covering all such probation officers may be\nprocured and executed in lieu of such individual bonds. The accounts of\nall probation officers shall be subject to audit at any time by the\nproper fiscal authorities and the office of probation and correctional\nalternatives.\n 4. It shall be the duty of every probation officer to furnish to each\nof his or her probationers a statement of the conditions of probation,\nand to instruct him or her with regard thereto; to keep informed\nconcerning his or her conduct, habits, associates, employment,\nrecreation and whereabouts; to contact him or her at least once a month\npursuant to rules promulgated by the commissioner of the division of\ncriminal justice services; to aid and encourage him or her by friendly\nadvice and admonition; and by such other measures as may seem most\nsuitable to bring about improvement in his or her conduct, condition and\ngeneral attitude toward society. Probation officers shall report to the\nhead of the probation bureau or department who shall in turn report in\nwriting to the court and the office of probation and correctional\nalternatives at least monthly or where there is no bureau or department,\ndirectly to the court and the office of probation and correctional\nalternatives concerning the conduct and condition of probationers; keep\nrecords of their work as probation officers; keep accurate and complete\naccounts of all money collected from probationers; give receipts\ntherefor and make prompt returns thereof at least monthly; aid in\nsecuring employment; perform such other duties in connection with such\nprobationer as the court may direct or as required by the general rules\nadopted pursuant to section two hundred forty-three of this chapter; and\nmake such reports to the office of probation and correctional\nalternatives as it may require.\n 4-a. In the event a probationer ceases to participate in or is\nunsuccessfully terminated from an alcohol or substance abuse program\nordered by the court as a condition of a sentence of probation pursuant\nto section 410.10 of the criminal procedure law or section 65.10 of the\npenal law, the probation officer shall immediately report said cessation\nor termination to the local probation director. The local probation\ndirector shall report said cessation or termination to the court within\nninety days, except where the probationer has resumed participation in\nan alcohol or substance abuse program with the approval of the local\nprobation director. The local probation director shall include the fact\nof any such report to the court in the next monthly written report to\nthe court and the state director of probation and correctional\nalternatives as required pursuant to subdivision four of this section.\n 4-b. It shall be the duty of every probation officer to provide\nwritten notice to probationers under the officer's supervision who may\nbe subject to any requirement to report to the office of victim services\nany funds of a convicted person as defined in section six hundred\nthirty-two-a of this chapter, the procedures for such reporting and any\npotential penalty for a failure to comply.\n 5. Probation officers may require such reports by probationers as are\nreasonable or necessary. Probation officers shall be peace officers.\n 6. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, the director\nof probation in counties with a population of more than three hundred\nthousand, except counties wholly contained within a city, shall be in\nthe non-competitive class of civil service and shall be appointed by the\ncounty executive with the approval of the local governing body. There\nshall be one deputy director of probation, who shall be in the\nnon-competitive class of civil service. Such deputy shall be appointed\nby the director of probation.\n (b) No person shall be eligible for appointment as a director of\nprobation or deputy director of probation pursuant to subdivision one of\nthis section who does not meet the minimum qualification requirements\nestablished for the position by the general rules regulating methods and\nprocedures in the administration of probation.\n (c) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to any person\nholding the office of director or deputy director of probation in any\nsuch county on the effective date of this subdivision during the term of\nsuch office.\n