Juvenile Probation

The Judicial Branch of government delivers probation services to those youth who are under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court. The State Court Administrator employs juvenile probation officers to provide probation services in the State’s Judicial Districts.

Juvenile probation officers do not carry a firearm. They are not classified as peace officers but do have the power to take juveniles under their jurisdiction into custody.

Utah statute identifies probation and parole officers as peace officers. Therefore, they are required to complete peace officer training prior to actually performing duties. A significant part of that training is firearms instructions. In addition, annual certification and training is required by the agency even though the officers do not carry.

At the time of the survey, it was not under consideration to allow juvenile probation officers to carry a firearm.

There are no private companies providing juvenile probation supervision services.

Juvenile Parole

The Department of Human Services, Division of Youth Corrections (DYC), within the Executive Branch of state government, administers many programs including juvenile aftercare. The DYC is responsible for the aftercare supervision of juveniles released from secure juvenile institutions by the Youth Parole Authority.

Juvenile aftercare officers do not carry a firearm. They are not classified as peace officers but can take juveniles who are under their jurisdiction into custody. Several staff in Youth Corrections are certified peace officers with the specific duty of looking for absconders. These officers are armed, but do not supervise a caseload. The vast majority of staff does not carry a firearm.

The Department of Human Services, Division of Youth Corrections (DYC), within the Executive Branch of state government, administers many programs including juvenile aftercare. The DYC is responsible for the aftercare supervision of juveniles released from secure juvenile institutions by the Youth Parole Authority.

Juvenile aftercare officers do not carry a firearm. They are not classified as peace officers but can take juveniles who are under their jurisdiction into custody. Several staff in Youth Corrections are certified peace officers with the specific duty of looking for absconders. These officers are armed, but do not supervise a caseload. The vast majority of staff does not carry a firearm.

Adult Probation and Parole

The Division of Adult Probation and Parole in the Utah Department of Corrections, within the Executive Branch of state government, delivers adult probation and parole services.

It is a mandatory job requirement for all adult probation and parole officers to carry a firearm. They are classified as law enforcement officers and do have the power to arrest.

Utah’s firearm policy was instituted in the early 1980s. Utah statute identifies probation and parole officers as law enforcement officers. Therefore, they are required to complete law enforcement training prior to actually performing their duties. The central office establishes agency policies and procedures. Officers undergo psychological testing prior to being hired as part of the interview process due to their classification. All officers are required to proficiently complete the training prior to being allowed to carry a firearm.

In most cases, officers are provided with a .40 caliber handgun, but other calibers are substituted at times.

No private providers or companies can have certified officers, thus cannot by law provide these services. There are some private companies that service the courts on minimum supervision cases. No parole case are supervised by the private sector.

For updates or corrections to the information on this page, please contact: Diane Kincaid