Community Supervision
During your first meeting, your agent will discuss the
rules and conditions of supervision. The court, as well as your agent, may require that you do certain things or prohibit you from doing certain things while you are on supervision. For instance, you may have to take part in drug or alcohol counseling, family counseling, a school program, a job program, or
other programs. The court may also order you to pay a fine, court costs, or attorney fees, perform community service work, pay
restitution to the victim, or pay
supervision fees. Payment of supervision fees is an important condition of your supervision and is required by law. Your agent will explain what you owe and assist you in setting up a monthly payment plan based on your financial situation. If you are not able to pay, your agent may ask the court to give you more time to pay or change the financial conditions of your supervision.
Early Discharge
Only probation cases may be discharged early and the client must meet the following criteria:
- Served at least 50 percent of the probation term.
- Minimum or Administrative supervision for a reasonable period of time.
- Satisfied all conditions of probation that were set by the sentencing court.
- Satisfied all rules and conditions that were set by the Department.
- Fulfilled all financial obligations to his or her victims, the court, and the department, including the payment of any fine, forfeiture, fee or surcharge, or order of restitution.
- No outstanding warrants.
Clients who are required to register under
Wis. Stats. 301.45 are not eligible for early discharge.
Probation & Parole Agents
When you meet with your agent for the first time, they will let you know how often you must see them. These meetings may occur at your home, job, school, or in the agent's office and are an opportunity for you to discuss any problems or concerns you have. Your agent will review this reporting schedule at least every six months and may make changes in the schedule based on the progress you have made with your supervision goals.
It is very important that you keep all appointments with your agent. If you have a problem you need to discuss with your agent outside of a regular meeting, call your agent and ask if they can see you sooner.
When your agent meets with you, they may do required paperwork, collect restitution, verify that your supervision fee account is up to date, verify your employment and attendance at treatment or education groups, obtain a urine sample, and discuss your progress on supervision. This is also a chance for you to ask questions and request help in obtaining needed services.
Your agent will ask you many questions. The information you provide will help your agent to get to know you, and will help you and your agent set goals for your time on supervision.
Your agent will also visit you at your home. The agent must be familiar with your living situation.
If you stop reporting to your agent and your agent cannot locate you, a warrant will be issued for your arrest.
In addition, the time that passes until you are apprehended will not count toward your time on supervision. In other words, your supervision will be extended for the amount of time that passed after you stopped reporting to your agent. It is also possible that your supervision may be revoked for not reporting.
If you reach your agent's voicemail during normal business hours, or if they are not available and it is an emergency, contact the receptionist and inform them of the urgency of the matter. They will then obtain assistance for you.
You will be required to follow the rules of your supervision as set forth by your agent.
Violations of the Rules of Community Supervision may lead to revocation of your supervision and return to court to be sentenced, or return directly to prison.
If you are having difficulties with your agent, you should first discuss these issues with your agent. If you are not satisfied with your agent's response, you can appeal issues to your agent's supervisor. Ask your agent for a DOC-127 "Offender Request for Administrative Review” form. Your agent will explain the procedure to you. All complaints/appeals must be submitted to your agent's supervisor in writing.
The following cannot be reviewed administratively:
- Custody and detention
- Revocation
- Violation of criminal laws or municipal ordinances
- Firearms denial if you have ever been convicted of a felony
- Voting denial if you have been convicted of a felony
- Conditions of supervision ordered by the Court or the Parole Commission
- Mandatory detention
While you are appealing the agent's decision, the initial decision made by your agent will remain in effect. You must comply with the agent's decision or directive during the appeal process. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
Probation, Parole, and Extended Supervision
Being placed on probation by a circuit court judge or released from prison on parole or extended supervision means that you may complete your sentence outside of prison or jail. You will be supervised by the Department of Corrections (DOC) in your community.
Probation means your supervision is community-based. Usually, as part of probation, the court orders you to do certain things or prohibit you from doing certain things that relate to the history of your crime, including but not limited to spending time in jail, paying restitution, attending treatment or education groups, or doing community service. Your agent has a copy of the court order and you should ask them about the court-ordered conditions of your probation, which cannot be changed by the agent.
Sentence Withheld, Placed on Probation means the court has not imposed a sentence and has ordered you to be placed under the supervision of the DOC. You will be subject to department supervision under conditions set by the court and rules and regulations established by DOC for your supervision. If you violate the conditions of your supervision and your probation is revoked, you will be returned to court for sentencing.
Sentence Imposed And Stayed, Placed on Probation means the court has sentenced you to a specific term, but has ordered that sentence stayed and placed you under the supervision of the Department of Corrections. If you violate the conditions of your supervision and your probation is revoked, you will be required to serve the sentence imposed by the court. You will not return to court.
Parole means that the Wisconsin Parole Commission has released you from prison and set your conditions of parole or you have been released from prison after reaching your mandatory release date.
Extended Supervision means that you have completed your prison sentence under the Truth in Sentencing law and now have a period of community supervision to complete. The judge determined the length of the extended supervision at the time of sentencing.
Supervision Fees
Wisconsin determined with passage of
1995 WI Act 27 that all clients on community supervision must pay for a portion of the cost of their supervision. With the passage of
2015 WI Act 355, it was determined that Department cannot collect supervision fees from a client on supervision for a case with unpaid restitution. The supervision fee is charged each month a client is on supervision but cannot be collected until restitution balances on active cases have been satisfied.
The amount of the client's supervision fee is based on the monthly gross income of the client and their spouse and can be set at $20.00, $40.00, or $60.00 per month. The agent supervising the client may adjust the supervision fee when there is a change in the client's gross monthly income or may exempt the client from supervision fees under certain circumstances.
Clients must make payments using money orders, cashier’s checks, or credit cards and complete a payment coupon provided by the Department. The Department cannot accept cash or personal checks.
To be credited for a supervision fee payment, the client must provide both the supervision fee payment and the assigned coupon. The client or another person making a payment on their behalf can mail payments to P.O. Box 93353, Milwaukee, WI 53293-0353 or present the payment and coupon at a Division of Community Corrections field office.
Restitution
The purpose of restitution is to make the client aware of, and responsible for, the damage caused to the victim(s) and society as a result of the crime committed. Restitution is the client's chance to make amends to the victim(s) of crime for the economic loss they've suffered as a result of the crime. The client will submit restitution payments to their agent. If the end of the probation, parole or extended supervision sentence nears, and restitution is still owed, consequences may include extension of probation, a civil judgment entered against the client by the court or in some cases, community service may be performed.
Revocation
Depending on the violation and your overall adjustment on supervision, your agent may recommend revocation of your supervision. The process involves a hearing in front of an administrative law judge with your attorney and your agent. If your supervision is revoked, you will either be returned to court for sentencing or transported to a correctional institution.
Violations of Supervision Rules
If you violate the law or the rules of your supervision, your agent will complete a violation investigation. You may be placed in jail by your agent while the violation is being investigated. Your agent will investigate the facts and will meet with you to discuss the violation. A serious violation may lead to the revocation of your supervision.
Firearm Restrictions
Both Federal and State law have a lifetime prohibition for possession of firearms and/or ammunition by convicted felons.
Federal law also prohibits possession of firearms and/or ammunition by:
- fugitives from justice;
- any person who is a user or addicted to any controlled substance;
- any person committed to a mental health institution;
- illegal aliens;
- any person discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;
- any person subject to a court order restraining the person from harassing or stalking an intimate partner or child; and
- any person who has been convicted of any misdemeanor crime which has an element of the crime, domestic abuse behavior.
In addition, Wisconsin law prohibits firearm possession by:
- persons subject to domestic abuse or child abuse restraining orders; and
- persons subject to harassment restraining orders (following a judge's order).
DOC policy prohibits you from possessing firearms or ammunition if you have a history of domestic violence-related behavior or have ever been convicted of any offense that involved domestic violence.
You should check with your attorney or the district attorney in the county where you live to determine if these prohibitions regarding firearms and ammunition apply to you when you are no longer on supervision.
Agents may prohibit any person on supervision from possessing a firearm and any other weapon.
Finally, you and any visitors to the probation and parole office are prohibited from carrying any firearms or weapons into the office, regardless of whether the weapon is concealed or openly carried.
Reference: Federal Gun Control Act of 1968,
18 USC 921 to 928 & Wisconsin Statutes Sec.
941.29,
813.12,
813.122, and
813.125
Voting Eligibility
You are not eligible to vote in Wisconsin if you have been convicted of a felony and you are currently serving any portion of your sentence for that felony conviction. When you discharge from DOC supervision your civil rights are restored including the right to vote. Discharged clients with previous felony convictions have had their voter registration inactivated and therefore you must re-register with your municipal clerk prior to voting.
These resources are available to answer questions, assist in voting rights restoration, and assist in obtaining a valid ID that can be used for voting purposes:
Wisconsin Elections Commission: (elections.wi.gov/voters) or call the Elections Help Desk at 608-266-8005
Statewide Voter Helpline: Call or text 608-285-2141 (sponsored by Dane County Voter ID Coalition and NAACP Dane County Branch). The Voter Helpline offers accurate, unbiased, nonpartisan answers to your voting questions
Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles: (wisconsindot.gov) for information on obtaining a valid ID or driver's license
For detailed information about the Voter Photo ID Law, visit bringit.wi.gov
League of Wisconsin Women Voters of Wisconsin: (my.lwv.org/wisconsin/voting-rights-persons-criminal-convictions) for general voter information in Wisconsin
Traveling Outside of Wisconsin
If you need to leave Wisconsin for any reason, you must get permission from your agent and a travel permit in advance. If your request to travel out of state is approved by your agent, you will be given a travel permit, which will allow you to leave Wisconsin for up to 15 days.
Authorization to travel to a foreign country will not be granted to clients by an agent. However, clients may be allowed to travel to foreign countries as authorized by the sentencing court or upon verification of official military orders from the US Armed Forces or National Guard. A travel permit is not required subsequent to a court order or military orders. The agent will retain a copy of the authorization in the case file.
For your agent to approve a travel permit, they need to know exactly where you want to go, why you need to go there, how long you plan on being there, how you will be traveling, and with whom you will be staying.
Your agent will need the name(s), exact address, and phone number of the person(s) you will be staying with while you are out of state. Denial of a travel permit may occur for reasons associated with your supervision.
Operating a Motor Vehicle
You must get permission from your agent to buy, trade, sell, or operate a motor vehicle. Your agent will ask you to complete a form to collect information about the vehicle and record your driver license number. If you are required to have an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) on your vehicle as a result of an OWI-related conviction, you must report that information to your agent and comply with the requirements of the IID. You must also possess liability insurance on any vehicle you operate.