Essay on Ethical Dilemma

There are several steps to the criminal justice system, one of them is Probation; a program where the offender’s freedom is limited; usually they have a curfew, and have limits on the things they do. Probations Officers are a huge factor in getting the juvenile offender back on the right track following their sentence. One of the problems with probation is that rather than helping the offenders, sometimes it can hurt them. Some scholars argue that the officers do not take the juveniles, specifically females, seriously when it comes to referring them to receive mental health treatment. In contrast, other scholars argue that Probation Officers are the key to connecting the offenders with mental health care. I will begin by talking about how the gender of the juvenile contributes to the unjust treatment of juveniles on probation, then I will talk about probation officers as “the problem,” and lastly I will talk about a solution. I will conclude by stating my research question and making some contributions as to what can be done to build a stronger relationship between the offenders and the probation officers.

Probation serves as the most frequently used sentence for those convicted. This is evident when you consider that the United States justice system oversees nearly 7 million people. Over half of those, a staggering 3.7 million people, are on probation with another 840,000 on parole (Rabuy, 2017). With those individuals representing the largest percentage of the American corrections system, it is important that we learn as much as possible about probation in order to improve the success of these programs. Probation involves a set of conditions that the probationer agrees to adhere to in exchange for remaining in the community. Typical conditions include a waiver of the offenders fourth amendment rights, maintaining employment or school

My chosen career path is to become a Juvenile probation officer. Juvenile probation officers work with youths that have been placed on probation and or have been court order to attend an alternative consequence school to continue their education. Most juvenile probation officers work with youths at a particular stage of their probation process, for an example supervision or investigation. This paper will cover information on the juvenile justice system and my career choice by touching bases with my interviewee a Juvenile Probation Officer Shelvin McGill the agency he is employed with as well as its clientele, I will also speak on the job description and responsibilities, his theory-of-use, and briefly touch on why he chooses this line of work, and his educational background.

The Court’s reasoning was that the probation officer is “a trusted guardian figure” in the juvenile’s life and a request of Michael’s probation officer “indicated that the minor intended to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege (Oyez.org, n.d.).”

Probation services – Probation services are called when someone is found guilty of hurting or mistreating a child or young person. There a number of responsibilities that probation officers have, some of which include making assessments to advise courts, managing and enforcing community orders, and working with prisoners during and after sentencing. In an attempt to rehabilitate offenders, they also have a duty to implement the conditions of court orders and release licences. To help protect the public, they run offender risk

For those who work in the federal probation system, there are many skills needed. The knowledge used by these individuals and the abilities they can offer to their field are vital if they are going to be successful in what they do and in caring for offenders who are on probation and need to be monitored closely but also treated with respect and decency. Probation and supervision are not the only areas where these individuals are needed, however, because they can also work in pretrial services, corrections, counseling, and case management. The skills they use in one of those disciplines often transfer over to other disciplines, but not every individual is good at more than one area of work. The environment in which these workers operate is one of pressure and stress, and that environment is always changing. That makes it something worth focusing on and working for, and also shows just how dynamic the workers must be in order to remain calm in the face of stressful events and situations with which they must deal - often on a daily basis.

As described by Kelly Peterson juvenile probation officers work with high risk teens along with their peers, family, work, school and involved activities. People like Kelly do there best to try and keep juveniles out of the adult system and further criminal systems. Over the course of Kelly’s visit she talked about many things some main points being; Her caseload and how she manages it, the main kinds of cases she deals with, and the court experience of people in the juvenile system.

The probation officer must have reasonable cause to believe that a child has either violated a condition of their probation or that they might leave the jurisdiction of the Court in order to take a juvenile into custody. The probation officer is required to follow laws and regulations in performing their duty in this case. At the point a minor faces the possibility of detention or other limitation on their liberty,

There are different challenges probation officers faced when dealing with juveniles than those who work with adults. In the case of juveniles defenders a judge use probation officers as an alternative method (Probation Officer, 2018). In most cases these alternatives involves such programs as drug treatment and counseling to juveniles and their families (Abusaid, S. & Newton R., 2014). The

1) suggests that the values of respect, empathy and belief were what probationers valued the most. A number of weeks later GJ disclosed that he had stayed out overnight for a second time. Evidently this showed that GJ had trust in the supervisory relationship to further disclose this (McNeill & Robinson, 2012, p. 125) however I realised that I had a duty to uphold the organisations policy of enforcement action. I did however feel uncomfortable with this as there was a risk GJ could go to custody which would result in him losing his accommodation and contact with his children. I reflected on why I felt like this and I realised that my values and the organisational values were in tension which meant I was experiencing an ethical dilemma. If I had acted on my own feelings then I would not enforce however I am employed by the National Probation Service. Ugwudike (2012, cited by Weaver & Barry, 2014, p. 281), states that enforcement policies are now centred on the highest risk offenders, concerned with public protection. This taught me that whilst I held particular beliefs, I cannot always override professional decisions. I have to uphold these values in order that the service is deemed credible and legitimate. I do feel however that due to me being clear about my roles and responsibilities with GJ, this allowed me to maintain legitimacy. What my practice has enabled me to conclude is that the relationship “can not only be a vehicle to promote positive change, but can also inadvertently propel `moving away` from the path of desistance” (Lewis, 2012, p.

He has failed to comprehend the basic ethical understanding of people by his willingness to exclude people from the shelter. According to the code of ethics established by the National Association of Social Workers. He has failed to uphold the following; Dignity and Worth of the Person by not treating each in caring and respectful manner. Social Justice, by not understanding the concepts of health or substance abuse issues. Also, he is discriminating against this population by labeling them as “repeaters.” By not allowing a person to enter services he fails to understand the importance of human relationships. “Social workers engage people as partners in the helping process. They also seek to strengthen relationships among individuals in a persistent effort to promote, restore, maintain and enhance the well-being of individuals”(NASW, 2017). Furthermore, by deeming vulnerable populations as problematic his commitment to clients is lacking in a helping relationship. In this situation, it’s important to meet a person where they are in the recovery process. Socal workers must respect and promote the rights of self-determination and assist with efforts to work towards goals and

The job of a probation officer is one that is essential in bridging the gap between the criminal world and routine society. As described by Focus 2 Career a parole or probation officers “provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole” (Focus 2). In specific I will be working with juveniles, helping to prevent initial incarceration and any future incarcerations by formulating rehabilitation plans and recommending any treatment plans that are needed. This occupation will require me to work closely with law enforcement, social service, schools and parents of the juveniles.

Like many careers a career in the Juvenile Probation Field can be very rewarding and also extremely difficult. After all, they do work with troubled teens. They constantly battle with teenager’s weather it is trying to get them to stay out of trouble by not going to school, using drugs, stealing or gang involvement. Some teens, after they have been in trouble, head toward a straight path and some end up in the same Juvenile Probation Officers hands.

Adult Probation, also known as community supervision is not a new concept that is occurring in today’s criminal justice system in the United States. In the year 1841, John Augustus introduces probation in the United States in Boston and later recognized as the “Father of Probation” (Petersilia, 1997). John Augustus convinced a judge to release a drunkard into his custody to help the man find a job and become sober. After Augustus’ success in his first case, he began to offer his services to other individuals involved in criminal activity. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, approximately 267,400 Ohio residents were under community supervision at the end of 2013. With a high amount of individuals on probation in Ohio, the question should be asked “How can adult probation departments around the state of Ohio have the greatest impact on such a large group of individuals?”

Our actions as Probation/ Parole officers affects everyone. If we allow one person to slip up and stay out of jail or prison that one person can easily slip again and this time cause harm to someone other than themselves. If we expect offenders to never make mistakes, then the likelihood of that offender being able to remain out and become a positive person in society is slim. So we have to find a way to balance both sides of this. The code of ethics helps guide us into how to handle this situation and in which actions come before anything else. We first must keep others safe above all else. The safety of others is most important because without life we would nothing else matters. Then we must uphold the law that we stand for. After all we are the ones who are