What should you expect as a Nevada Parole and Probation (Division) Officer for the Department of Public Safety (DPS).

A parole and probation officer's role in law enforcement is multi-faceted and very unique. It requires wearing many hats and it requires exceptional maturity and personal strength. Not everyone is cut out to be a DPS Parole and Probation officer, not can everyone meet the daily challenges. If you meet our strict requirements to become a DPS Parole and Probation officer, you will protect our community by encouraging and supporting offenders in their commitment to live a productive, law-abiding lifestyle. And if needed, you will address substance abuse problems, mental health issues and/or life- coping skills, such as education and employment.

For those offenders who choose to continue their involvement in criminal conduct or refuse to comply with court and parole board orders, you as a parole and probation officer will be tasked to investigate and document the violation, interview witnesses and victims, and conduct surveillance and search and seizure operations, if deemed appropriate. Your efforts may result in the arrest of the offender, invoking a violation hearing, which could result in the offender returning to jail or prison. It is a task you will not take lightly.

Depriving an offender of their freedom is a serious matter. You will make all reasonable efforts to keep the offender in the community as a cost saving measure to Nevada; however, you will constantly evaluate risk factors that the offender may pose to the safety of our community. You will share the Division's philosophy that it is the offender that ultimately chooses whether to remain in the community or forfeit their right to freedom.

As a parole and probation officer you will find yourself interacting with a wide range of offenders from sexual predators, gang members, drug addicts, the mentally impaired, violent prone individuals to sophisticated white-collar defendants. As an ambassador for the Division, you will work with other law enforcement agencies, social services agencies, employers, and family members. You will have frequent interaction with District Courts and the Parole Board. You will be involved in homeland security training and will play a role in national law enforcement efforts.

In addition to the responsibilities described above, you might participate in some of the Division's special assignments that included the DPS deployment to Mississippi for law enforcement duties immediately after the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; assisting the Highway Patrol during the New Years Task Force in traffic, commercial, and homeland security enforcement; assisting DPS help evacuate citizens during firestorms and flooding; or working with the U.S. Marshals Service during their national fugitive roundup operations.

You could also be involved in the Division's own special operations, such as on Halloween night (Operation Scarecrow) when a task force of Parole and Probation and Division of Investigation officers visited high risk sex offenders at their residences to ensure that they were home and not having contact with children. Arrests have been made of those offenders not in compliance.