Atlanta, GA – Fourteen new state parole officers graduated the agency’s basic training course today, Friday, May 2, 2014. The graduation ceremony was held at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC), in Forsyth.

The new officers will be working in the following locations: Atlanta, Clarkesville, DeKalb, Griffin, Jonesboro, LaFayette, Lawrenceville, Macon and Monroe, Georgia.   

The Basic Probation/Parole Officer Training Course (BPPOTC) is an eight 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.).

The course work includes supervision techniques, investigation procedures, intervention strategies, Georgia law, policy and procedure, interview skills, physical fitness, arrest procedures, defensive tactics, computer interaction and firearms qualification as well as course work on effectively mediating a crisis situation involving an individual with a mental illness.

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

Georgia parole utilizes a “Virtual Office.” As a result, Georgia’s parole officers are supervising offenders in the community, full-time. The state vehicle serves as the parole office and is equipped with all necessary technology. Parole officers no longer report to a physical office location.

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

               

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