The business of the New York City Department of Probation is protecting the community by intervening in the lives of offenders, holding them accountable and serving as a catalyst for positive change. We act in collaboration with the community and other justice partners. We provide information and services to the courts, give victims a voice in the justice system and help strengthen families.

Description and/or History:
Pubic Safety: We consider protection of the community our most important priority.

Victims' Rights: We believe all crime victims deserve access to, a voice in and the protection of the criminal justice system.

Respect: Believing in the inherent dignity of al human beings we respect one another, our correctional clients, others whom we service and the public.

Professionalism: We are dedicated to the highest standards of performance through continuous learning and staff development. We believe that our actions must reflect that commitment.

Accountability: We are accountable to our stakeholders and to each other. We believe in producing positive, measurable outcomes that add values to the community.

Creativity: We believe in implementation of research-based programs to meet the ever-changing demands of the justice system.

Collaboration: We believe in working together to fulfill our mission and in developing partnerships with other criminal justice agencies, social service organizations and the community to achieve common goals.

Change: We are agents of change. We provide individuals with the opportunities and the skills to effect personal change.


PROBATION - A term coined by John Augustus, From the Latin verb "probare" - to prove, to test.

The origins of probation can be traced to English criminal law of the Middle Ages. Harsh punishments were imposed on adults and children alike for offenses that were not always if a serious nature. Sentences such as branding, flogging, mutilation and execution were common. During the time of King Henry VIII, for instance, no less than 200 crimes were punishable by death, many of which were minor offenses.

This harshness eventually led to discontent in certain progressive segments of English society concerned with the evolution of the justice system. Slowly, yet resolutely, in an effort to mitigate these inhumane punishments, a variety of measures were devised and adopted. Royal pardons could be purchased by the accused; activist judges could refrain from applying statuses or could opt for a lenient interpretation of them; stolen property could be devalued by the court so that offenders could be charged with a lesser crime. Also, benefit of clergy, judicial reprieve, sanctuary, and abjuration offered offenders a degree of protection from the enactment of harsh sentences.

Eventually, the courts began the practice of "binding over for good behavior," a form of temporary release during which offenders could take measures to secure pardons or lesser sentences. Controversially, certain courts in due time began suspending sentences.

Contact person: Edlynn Pile-Williams, Director of Volunteers, (212) 361-8872, (email)

Address:

33 Beaver Street 18th FL New York, NY 10004 (See a map)