Atlanta, GA – Twelve (12) new parole officers are among the 27 probation/parole officers set to graduate during Friday’s Basic Probation/Parole Officer Training Course (BPPOTC) graduation ceremony. The graduation will be held at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) Auditorium in Forsyth. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m.

The new parole officers will be working in Atlanta, Columbus, LaFayette, LaGrange, Lawrenceville, Marietta, Savannah, Statesboro and Valdosta.

The BPPOTC is a nine (9) week training course resulting in all new officers being certified as Probation/Parole Officers by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.).  

Under an agreement implemented in 2012, parole officers with the State Board of Pardons and Paroles and probation officers with the Department of Corrections have taken their basic training as part of one joint training program. Officers are trained to perform parole and probation supervision; however the officers only supervise offenders under their respective agency’s authority.

In this class, fifteen graduates will work for the Department of Corrections as probation officers.

The course work includes supervision techniques, investigation procedures, intervention strategies, criminal and Georgia law, policy and procedure, interview skills, physical fitness, arrest procedures, defensive tactics, computer interaction and firearms qualification.

The Parole Board employs approximately 300 officers. The average parole caseload of offenders is 87.

For more information on the Parole Board please visit our website at www.pap.georgia.gov.

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