When a court convicts a person of a crime

 it chooses among the various sentencing options available in the state. These include jail sentences, fines, and sometimes, even probation. Of these possible sentences, usually one of the best that you could get is probation.

What is a Probation?

Probation is a criminal penalty that allows an individual to remain in the community instead of staying in jail or paying fines. The only caveat with this sentence is the fact that the person under probation must abide by the regulations set by the judge at all times. If you willfully ignore or accidentally fail to follow these rules, you can face probation violations and risk having your probation sentence revoked.

Avoiding Probation Violations

Your probation officer may let you off with a warning if you violate your probation for the first time. However, they will not be as kind if you keep on repeating such offenses. Some of the usual regulations that you must remember to avoid probation violations are:

  • Always meet up with and updating your probation officer based on the pre-set schedule
  • Consent to random drug tests
  • Attend court-mandated counseling related to your offense
  • Wear your monitoring device
  • Stay within a specific geographical location
  • Avoid contact with certain people
  • Perform community service

Why You Should Avoid Probation Violations

As mentioned, some probation officers may be lenient if you have only violated your probation regulations once. Usually, the probation officer will only put this on record and remind you of the consequences should you continue to violate the probation. However, after you continuously commit probation violations, all bets are off.

Probation violations have several consequences. Some of these include:

Paying additional fines

You may be expected to pay additional fines should you continuously violate your probation regulations. This can either be given to the court, or straight to the victim of the original crime you committed.

Jail sentence

If you commit probation violations, you may be sent to jail for a period of time to punish your behavior. This may even be extended if you commit further violations after you have been released.

New charges

Another example of a probation violation is committing a crime while under probation. Should the court find you guilty, they will consider your past criminal history when determining the charge. This could lead to stiffer fines, and even longer jail time.

Understand the Gravity of Probation Violations with Piotrowski Law

If you are lucky enough to be given a probation instead of being sent straight to jail, you must adhere to the rules given by the judge as much as possible. You can face larger fines, longer jail time, and the revocation of your probation if you fail to follow the court-mandated probation regulations.

You must understand the gravity of probation violations, as they will continue to haunt you by making your criminal history worse than before.

Let Piotrowski Law help you understand how serious probation violations are. If you have any questions about probation violations, or if you have committed such violations, feel free to approach our firm. We will be ready to lend our services to you as soon as you reach out to us. Call us at 305-204-5000 today.