OneLess349173

I also did about 3 years in prison in Virginia. I was released in 2007 when I was 20 years old. I have never returned and completed all probation with flying colors. Since then I been successful in my career and personal life. If you ever need any advice or someone to reach out to for anything please feel free to message me. I would like to help anyway I can.

Well my charges we robbery and brandishing a firearm, so probation was especially hard for me. But I was able to get through it all by staying focused on the "big picture" and not letting the things I can't control bring me down. Now I'm an area manager for a local restaurant chain here in Fairfax County. So please if you ever need any advice or just a ear to listen to you vent I got you. Good Luck to you bro

ok so it greatly differs depending on each state. Probation can be very difficult for people for many reasons. There are many guidelines and rules you have to follow or else you are in violation of your probation and will be sent back to prison. Some of the main rules/guideline are as follows: Having a curfew Your household needs to be approved by your probation officer before release (i've seen many people being held from their release for this reason) Obtaining a job within a certain amount of time after your release The job itself has to be approved as well (depending on your charges and your criminal history) Attending other mandatory programs or meetings also depending on your charges (for example you might have to drug abuse classes, AA, domestic violence classes, parenting classes etc.) and really the list goes on and on. Think of probation as a leash the state keeps you on. And if you do one thing they don't like they can easily send you back to prison. Why was probation tougher for me than others? Not because of my robbery charge, it was actually for my firearm charge. Virginia is very tough on people with firearm charges and automatically consider them violent crimes. (if found guilty its an automatic mandatory 3 year minimum sentence) Not only did I have to report to my PO once a week, i also had to go to two other drug classes once a week, plus a bi-weekly home visit from my PO. During this time they kept very close tabs on me. It was very difficult to meet all the requirements on a daily basis, but once I was about a year in they started to loosen their grip on me .
The best advice I can give anyone on probation is to just suck it up and comply comply comply. Whatever they want you to do, just do it. its not worth going back to prison for. Hopefully my answer helped