Confirming Approved Absences

Introduction

This topic outlines information about, and requirements for, confirming or monitoring approved absences.

Location must be confirmed

The probation officer must confirm the location of the offender at least once during the approved absence, or in retrospect.

The number of times the offender's location should be verified will depend on the length of the absence. Continuous monitoring is preferable. If this is not possible, the offender's location should be verified at random times during the absence and at least once every three hours.

Continuous monitoring could be provided though the following means:

• the use of an approved sponsor
• attendance at programme or a course, which is verified by the provider
• agreement with the employer, or
• EM (e.g. a second unit at the place of employment).

Absence must be confirmed

Any deviation from a direction for an approved absence must be investigated. This includes if the offender:

• does not leave for the absence
• leaves late
• returns early, or
• returns early and then leaves the address again.

Violation reports and the weekly event report should be monitored for the occurrence of the above deviations.

Note: Any deviation from a direction for an approved absence should be reviewed in accordance with the non-compliance and enforcement principles. Any deviation should be recorded in IOMS casenotes. Record the following:

• the offender's reason for the deviation, and
• whether any enforcement action was taken.

Reference: For more information about violation reports and weekly event reports see this Volume 2, Part V, Chapter 2, Section 2b, Managing the Interface with Electronic Monitoring Company. (please refer to the related links section on this page)

Examples

Confirmation or monitoring during the absence

The following are examples of how approved absences can be confirmed or monitored during the absence:

• the use of an approved sponsor (see below)
• telephoning the offender at the location of the absence (landline, not cellphone)
• the use of manual monitoring (see below), or
• a probation officer/senior community work supervisor visit to location of absence.

Confirmation in retrospect

The following are examples of how authorised absences can be confirmed in retrospect:

• a letter from a doctor, counsellor, programme provider, etc., or
• a wage slip or time clock card.

GPS may also be available to some offenders.

Reference: Volume 2, Part V, Chapter 2, section 2c, GPS Monitoring. (please refer to the related links section on this page)

Notes:

• Cellphone contact is not appropriate for confirming an offender's location, unless the contact is with an approved sponsor.
• The above lists are not exhaustive, and staff will need to exercise their discretion in consultation with the service manager as required to determine the appropriate means of confirming an absence.

Approved sponsor: definition

An approved sponsor is someone the probation officer is confident:

• will exert a positive influence on the offender
• will not collude with any non-compliance by the offender, and
• if possible, will be able to be contacted during the absence.

In general, an approved sponsor should not be:

• someone the offender is living with, as this could lead to conflict in the home, or
• anyone who would be easily influenced by the offender.

Note: An exception to the "offender living with" rule above would be where the offender is relatively young and is residing with a responsible parent or caregiver.

Manual monitoring

Manual monitoring is one means of verifying the offender's presence at an approved location. Manual monitoring is undertaken by the monitoring company and involves the security officer making random checks on the offender's presence at a specific location during a specified period, using a mobile monitoring unit.

Manual monitoring is requested from the monitoring company, using a Manual Monitoring Request (MANMON01).

Reference: For more information about using manual monitoring, see this Volume 2, Part V, Chapter 2, section 2b, Managing the Interface with Electronic Monitoring Company. (please refer to the related links section on this page)