Many Tampa criminal attorneys are asked about one time reporting probation by their clients. More often than not they prefer it since it does not require the probationer to appear monthly and/or biweekly at their probation office. As we have discussed elsewhere on our Tampa criminal attorney blog, felony probation officers are employed and supervised by the Florida Department of Corrections, we provided a link their website for your convenience. As you can imagine, based on the name, one-time reporting probation requires the probationer to appear at the probation office one time. The onus though is on the probationer to complete the rest of the terms of their probation before the probation period ends.
It is worth noting though that one concern with one time reporting probation is that often times individuals that are charged with this requirement fail to complete the other terms of their probation because they simply forget about it. As you can imagine, if you’re only required to go to the probation office one time, you simply will forget about the other terms and will just move on. We often encourage individuals who have one time reporting probation to quickly complete the terms of their probation, ideally from the first month of probation to insure that things are done properly and they are not violated at the end.
Overall, one time reporting probation is obviously the preferred method for the overall majority of individuals. We strongly advise folks to be very mindful of the terms of their probation though, so that they do not forget to complete them since they are not regularly monitored by a probation officer. This is especially important in cases involving community service and/or the payment of restitution or large fines.
If you have any questions or wish to further discuss one time reporting probation, contact one of our Tampa criminal attorneys for a free case consultation. We have assisted many individuals with one time reporting probation and completing probation. We appreciate your time and attention looking at our Tampa criminal attorney blog. Please do not hesitate to contact us using our “contact us now” tab found in the upper right hand corner. We appreciate your time and attention.