Adult Field Services employees work with their criminal justice partners to provide a variety of correctional services for defendants, adjudicated offenders, their families, and the community. Probation and parole officers supervised an average of 30,000 offenders per month in 2010. The level of supervision that an offender receives is based on the individual's assessed risk to re-offend, the crime committed, criminal history, and judicial screening.

AFS employees are joined by a group of dedicated interns and volunteers who contribute thousands of hours annually - 7,774 hours in 2010 - to help deliver correctional services that reduce the risk that offenders will commit new crimes. Click here for more information about internship and volunteer opportunities.

Promoting public safety by reducing the risk that new crimes will be committed is at the forefront of every service delivered in Adult Probation. Those services include, but are not limited to:

  •  Pretrial screenings (bail evaluations);
  •  Felony and misdemeanor investigations;
  •  Offender case management;
  •  Domestic assault supervision;
  •  Traditional and neighborhood supervision;
  •  Intensive supervision of sex offenders;
  •  Fugitive apprehension; and
  •  Chemical health assessments and interventions.

Pretrial Services Unit

Pretrial Services Unit employees perform a risk assessment on defendants booked into the Hennepin County Jail to determine if he or she is suitable to be released on bail. About 19,663 pretrial screenings were completed in 2010. Defendants placed on conditional release by the courts before they go to trial are electronically monitored by probation officers located at the Public Safety Facility.

Investigations Unit

Probation Officers in the Investigations Unit gather information on defendants and write reports that are used by the court in the pre-trial and post-trial phases of the judicial process. These reports are crucial when sentencing and probation conditions are being determined. In 2010, more than 9,500 felony investigations and 9,000 misdemeanor investigations were completed.

Sex Offender Unit

The Sex Offender Unit operates on a model of enhanced supervision of sex offenders in the community. It's a method proven to promote offender success and public safety. About 900 sex offenders are supervised daily in Hennepin County. A recent study shows that managing these offenders on Intensive Supervised Release when they are released from prison effectively reduces recidivism rates among this population. Please see the Sex Offender Recidivism Report (pdf 104kb).

Employees in the Sex Offender Unit are in the process of establishing protocols for monitoring the use of computers and the internet among sex offenders.

Traditional and Neighborhood Supervision

Offenders supervised in the community are assigned a probation officer or a parole officer who monitors their behavior in the community. Probation agents use a variety of methods, including breathalyzer tests, urinalyses, home and job checks, to ensure that clients are compliant with conditions of probation.

One-Day DWI Program

The One-Day DWI Program provides a timely and consistent response to prevent repeat offenses among first-time DWI offenders. About 4,000 first-time DWI offenders are sentenced annually in Hennepin County.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Probation employees collaborate daily with local governments, law enforcement agencies, nonprofit organizations, and citizens in several neighborhoods to take a targeted approach to community safety and restoration. Maintaining an active and visible community presence is essential to targeting corrections and other social services. Many individuals on probation and their families are challenged with issues such as unemployment, low income, lack of affordable housing, health care, chemical dependency, and mental illness.