46 Probation officers (1) There shall be such number of probation officers as may be required, whose offices shall be public offices and shall form part of the Public Service, and whose functions shall be— (a) to inquire into and report to any court or magistrate upon the character and environment of any minor on trial or undergoing a preparatory examination or in respect of whom an inquiry is being or is intended to be conducted in terms of section nineteen, and into and upon the causes and circumstances contributing to the delinquency of such minor: Provided that nothing in this paragraph shall be regarded as varying the law in force governing the admissibility of evidence in criminal cases; (b) to devise and carry out measures for the observation and correction of tendencies to delinquency in children and young persons and for the discovery and removal of conditions causing or contributing to juvenile delinquency; (c) to counsel, supervise and control any person placed under the supervision of the probation officer; [amended by Act 23 of 2001, with effect from the 18th January, 2002.] (d) to perform such other duties as may be imposed upon them in terms of this Act or any other enactment or by the Minister. (1a) The Minister may, where a public officer is not available, engage social workers who are registered in terms of the Social Workers Act [Chapter 27:21], and are not public officers, to perform the functions of a probation officer in terms of this Act on such terms and conditions as the case may be agreed. [inserted by Act 23 of 2001, with effect from the 18th January, 2002.] (2) A probation officer shall be an officer of the High Court, every children’s court and every magistrates court. (3) When a person is placed under the supervision of a probation officer, that officer shall be designated by his office and not by the name of any particular person holding that office. (4) Any person who— (a) obstructs or hinders a probation officer in the exercise of his powers or the execution of his duties in terms of this Act; or (b) fails to comply with a requirement of a probation officer in the exercise of his powers or the execution of his duties in terms of this Act: or (c) impersonates a probation officer; shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level five or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment. [amended by Act 22 of 2001, with effect from the 10th September, 2002.] 47 Transfer of certain parental powers (1) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), a parent or guardian of any pupil, child or young person who has, in terms of this Act or any other enactment, been placed in a certified institution or training institute or in the custody of some person shall be divested of his right of control over and of his right to the custody of such pupil, child or young person and those rights shall be vested in the management of the certified institution or training institute in which that pupil, child or young person has been placed or in the person in whose custody such pupil, child or young person has been placed. (2) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), the parent or guardian of a child or young person may, in writing, consent to the child or young person being placed in the custody of the management of a certified institution or an institution, and the parent or guardian shall thereupon be divested of his right of control over and of his right to the custody of the child or young person and those rights shall be vested in the management of the certified institution or institution in whose custody that child or young person has been placed: