Probation officers are supposed to be the eyes and ears of the court system, and increasingly, many of them are hanging out in cyberspace, conducting virtual home visits to offenders’ Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts to make sure they are complying with court orders and staying out of trouble.

“It’s one of the secrets we don’t let a lot of people know,” said Phil Landry, a probation officer who works out of Quincy District Court and uses his personal iPad on the job.