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A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower court, elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs.
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A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probation and parole officers are employed by the government of the jurisdiction in which they operate, although some are employed by private companies that provide contracted services to the government.
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California Proposition 20 was a proposed initiated state statute on the ballot in the 2020 California elections. This initiative would have added more crimes to the list of non-violent felonies for which early parole is restricted, and would have required DNA collection for certain misdemeanors.
The Special Service Unit (SSU) is a component of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). It functions as the special operations division of CDCR. The unit is staffed by special agents assigned to field offices throughout the state. Although the special agents work for CDCR, they are neither correctional officers nor parole agents. SSU special agents are full-time peace officers per California Penal Code Section 830.2. This makes agents more akin to state police officers than to correctional officers.
References
- ↑ "Membership Validation Criteria". az.gov. May 15, 2014. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ↑ Wood, Graeme. "How Gangs Took Over Prisons". theatlantic.com. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Roseville police explain gang validation process". thepresstribune.com. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ↑ Stuit, Jim (May 2017). "Validated Gang Members Returning to Durham County from Prison (2013 – 2015)". Durham County Criminal Justice Resource Center. p. 4. Archived from the original (pdf) on February 15, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ↑ "California Code of Regulations - California Code of Regulations". govt.westlaw.com. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
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