probation officer

American  

noun

• probation officers
  plural

1. an officer who investigates and reports on the conduct of offenders who are free on probation.

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probation officer British  

noun

1. an officer of a court who supervises offenders placed on probation and assists and befriends them

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• probation officers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of probation officer

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

probation officer

During the visit, guards saw Randall try to pass a blue balloon to her son, a deputy probation officer wrote in the report.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

A probation officer said it is "not clear there's anything actually new here in terms of how probation staff are going to manage people being released earlier".

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

The family’s claim alleges the clinician’s conduct “went overlooked and unreported for months” and that the teenager’s probation officer has changed at least four times since his release.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

But one probation officer said the new zones would put more pressure on the service when it was already struggling to monitor the number of offenders in the community.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2025

Before then, Reggie would meet with a probation officer who would help suggest a sentence to the judge.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel