Intensive Probation Supervision (IPS) was created as a prison diversion program for high-risk offenders. IPS is often known as house arrest, insofar as offenders' movements must be accounted for at all times. IPS probationers cannot leave their homes unless they strictly adhere to schedules approved by the supervising IPS team. The team consists of a probation officer and a surveillance officer responsible for no more than 25 offenders. The team makes frequent unannounced contacts each week, day and night, with those they supervise.
Program Approach
In addition to the Standard Conditions of Probation, IPS may require monthly community service, frequent employer contacts, mandatory drug testing, and submitting their paychecks for the withdrawal of court-ordered financial assessments. IPS consists of several highly structured levels of supervision, with diminishing requirements as probationers successfully complete levels. Typically, IPS takes 9 to 12 months to complete. IPS graduates generally move on to Standard Probation caseloads. Offenders who fail to comply are brought back before the court in revocation proceedings and often are sentenced to the Department of Corrections.