California Probation Officer Trainee Practice Exam 2025 - Free Probation Officer Practice Questions and Study Guide

The term that best describes a situation where a probationer commits a new crime while on probation is recidivism. Recidivism refers specifically to the tendency of a previously convicted individual to reoffend, which can include committing new crimes while under the supervision of probation. This reflects a pattern of behavior where individuals return to criminal activity after having been subjected to interventions or punishment meant to deter future offenses.

While modification of probation refers to changes in the conditions of probation supervision, and technical violation pertains to breaches of the terms set by the probation agreement that are not new crimes, neither directly captures the specific scenario of a new crime occurring. Probation revocation is the process that follows the identification of a violation, which may include committing a new crime, but does not itself define the act of committing the new crime while on probation. Thus, recidivism is the most accurate term for this situation.