The Department of Probation promotes public safety by providing supervision for the thousands of adults and juveniles placed on probation each year by judges in the Supreme, Criminal and Family Courts. We seek to assist people who have committed crimes become responsible members of the communities in which they live.

In addition, Probation Officers are responsible for preparing thousands of background reports each year that assist judges in determining appropriate sentences for adult offenders and juvenile delinquents.

Under the leadership of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Probation will continue to look for ways to make New York City a safer place in which to live and work. We will work to improve the chances that probationers will make a successful transition to a law-abiding life.

Probation's goal is to give each probationer the tools he or she will need to lead a law-abiding life.

To accomplish this, the Department provides counseling and helps connect offenders to a broad array of community-based services, including job training and drug treatment.

Not everyone appreciates the second chance offered by a probation sentence. It is our responsibility to inform judges when an offender fails to abide by the conditions of probation and to identify those probationers who are unable or unwilling to make the transition to a law-abiding life.