Santa Cruz County Adult Probation

The Adult division operates out of four different locations: Water Street in downtown Santa Cruz, the County Jail, Watsonville probation offices, and the Santa Cruz County Mental Health offices on Emeline Street. These service units provide investigation and general supervision for the Felony Courts, Proposition 36 and Drug Courts, Work Furlough Program, Pretrial Services, and various intensive supervision caseloads.

Adult Services

The Probation Department provides an in-depth report to the Court prior to sentencing on most felony and some misdemeanor offenses. This report includes an analysis of the offense, the victim's needs, as well as an investigation of the defendant's background. The investigative officer is responsible for evaluating each case and making a recommendation to the Court for sentencing.

The adult division also includes Pretrial Services. The officers assigned to the Pretrial Unit are responsible for interviewing jail inmates, assessing them for appropriate Court recommendations such as release on their own recognizance (OR), or the Electronic Monitoring Supervision program.

                      Pretrial Unit contact number: 831-454-2846

Another component of the adult division is offender supervision. Probation officers monitor an offender's compliance with the terms and conditions of their Court Orders. There are two types of offender supervision: large, general supervision caseloads, and smaller, intensified caseloads such as Sex Offender and Domestic Violence.

Adult services have many partnerships with local law enforcement, Social Services, Mental Health agencies, and community based organizations. These partnerships have resulted in many innovative programs and services.

Pretrial Risk Assessment Compliance (SB 36 & AB 3364)

Probation Success Center