Government & Public SafetyCompare

Probation Officer

O*NET: Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists·21-1092.00

The Verdict:Probation officers perform field supervision in unpredictable communities, conduct in-person interviews to assess compliance and risks, and use judgment in rehabilitation planning and court recommendations. AI aids admin tasks and reporting, but legal authority, real-time human adaptation, and institutional accountability secure the role over the next decade.

Resilience Score

/100

Highly Resilient

Score tiers

Highly Resilient81–100

Resilient61–80

Moderate Risk41–60

High Risk21–40

Critical Risk0–20

How is this scored?

Task Resilience

How much of this role's daily work remains beyond AI and robotic automation.

30% of score

Physical Presence

The degree to which this job needs a human present — hands-on, in the field, or in the room.

20% of score

Human Necessity

How important the unique human edge is — for trust, accountability, or judgment.

15% of score

Regulatory Shield

How strong the legal requirement is for a human in this job (by law, licensing, or credentials).

13% of score

Technological Maturity

How far AI remains from performing this role's core functions.

10% of score

Displacement Evidence

The volume of jobs in this field being eliminated by AI or automation right now.

12% of score

Score last updated: February 2026Full methodology

Avg Salary

Median annual wage from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 release.

$65k

Job Growth (10yr)

Projected change in total number of jobs (not salary) from 2024–2034. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections.

+2.6%

AI Exposure

Percentage of this role's analyzed tasks that AI can handle autonomously or nearly so. 1 of 21 tasks are classified as AI-exposed.

Low exposure

Task Analysis

This role has a mixed AI profile.
1 task is automatable, 48% reward AI fluency, and 10 remain human-essential.

1exposed

10AI leverage

10human-essential

View all 21 tasks

AI Can Handle This1 task

Tasks AI can do autonomously or nearly so

Develop and prepare packets containing information about social service agencies, assistance organizations, and programs that might be useful for inmates or offenders.

AI Leverage10 tasks

Master these tools — humans who do outperform those who don't

Prepare and maintain case folder for each assigned inmate or offender.

Recommend remedial action or initiate court action in response to noncompliance with terms of probation or parole.

Arrange for medical, mental health, or substance abuse treatment services according to individual needs or court orders.

Develop liaisons and networks with other parole officers, community agencies, correctional institutions, psychiatric facilities, and aftercare agencies to plan for helping offenders with life adjustments.

Inform offenders or inmates of requirements of conditional release, such as office visits, restitution payments, or educational and employment stipulations.

Write reports describing offenders' progress.

Arrange for postrelease services, such as employment, housing, counseling, education, and social activities.

Provide offenders or inmates with assistance in matters concerning detainers, sentences in other jurisdictions, writs, and applications for social assistance.

Recommend appropriate penitentiary for initial placement of an offender.

Identify and approve work placements for offenders with community service sentences.

Human Advantage10 tasks

Tasks requiring trust, presence, or novel judgment

Gather information about offenders' backgrounds by talking to offenders, their families and friends, and other people who have relevant information.

Interview probationers and parolees regularly to evaluate their progress in accomplishing goals and maintaining the terms specified in their probation contracts and rehabilitation plans.

Discuss with offenders how such issues as drug and alcohol abuse and anger management problems might have played roles in their criminal behavior.

Supervise people on community-based sentences, such as electronically monitored home detention, and provide field supervision of probationers by conducting curfew checks or visits to home, work, or school.

Investigate alleged parole violations, using interviews, surveillance, and search and seizure.

Administer drug and alcohol tests, including random drug screens of offenders, to verify compliance with substance abuse treatment programs.

Participate in decisions about whether cases should go before courts and which court should hear them.

Conduct prehearing and presentencing investigations and testify in court regarding offenders' backgrounds and recommended sentences and sentencing conditions.

Develop rehabilitation programs for assigned offenders or inmates, establishing rules of conduct, goals, and objectives.

Assess the suitability of penitentiary inmates for release under parole and statutory release programs and submit recommendations to parole boards.

Resilience Landscape

Probation Officer lands in Stable, Lower Pay

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Resilience Landscape

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