Many Tampa VOP Attorneys are asked from their clients who are charged the violation of probation, if it was absolutely necessary for the probation officer to violate them, or if they, in their own discretion, can ignore or disregard the violation. Unfortunately, a common myth is that probation officers exercise their discretion regularly not to violate folks for major violations because of their good relationship with their probation officer. Frankly, this is very far from the truth. Our state prisons and county jails are full of folks who were sentenced to jail and prison time for violations of probation based on both substantive and technical violations. If you go through our Tampa VOP attorneys’ blog, we further discuss the difference between a technical and a substantive violation in this article.
In our experience, probation officers are more likely to violate someone simply because, as I’ve heard them say, they are constantly bombarded by what they believe are excuses from probationers as to why they aren’t completing their requirements. Frankly, after discussing these issues with me, probation officers, it appears they have simply become very jaded to the same excuses over and over. Obviously, this creates significant problems for Tampa violation of probation attorneys and their clients because many times these folks may have valid excuses as to why things are not completed, but their probation officer simply fails to believe them or follow up on their excuses.
We strongly recommend that folks avoid violation of probation, in all regards, to avoid these potential issues. A few of the things we always recommend to our clients to avoid violation of probation are the following. First, complete the terms of the probation as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Secondly, maintain an open communication with your probation officer. Put more simply, do not lie to your probation officer. Once they realize you’ve lied, they will not believe another word you say during your time with them. Thirdly, take notes of what is said during your meetings with your probation officer and make copies of all documents you give and receive from your probation officer. Unfortunately, thousands of probationers a year are violated because they no longer produce the documents they provided to their probation officer. This is incredibly frustrating for Tampa violation of probation attorneys because our clients have portions of the documents provided to their probation officer, but cannot produce the entire document. If you are able to follow these steps, it will put you in the best situation possible to avoid violating your probation and facing potential prison and/or jail time.
If you or somebody you know have questions concerning a violation of probation, contact the Tampa violation of probation attorneys of Hackworth Law for a free case consultation. If you would like to contact one of our Tampa violation of probation attorneys immediately, please use the “Contact Us Now” tab in the upper right hand corner of the web page. We appreciate your time and look forward to working with you.