You succinctly described the end goals for the department of probation. As you note, much like the overwhelming number of Americans currently incarcerated, the probation system is also seeing an influx of offenders and not enough trained probation officers or resources. “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19, English Standard Version). At the core of probation is not only supervision but also for probation officers to adequately create reintegration plans. Without the training or resources, probation cannot possibly lessen recidivism rates.
A probation officer’s has many duties to fulfill. They are not only supervising the offenders that live within the community, but by monitoring probationers’ progress. The offender must stay away of any trouble, yet comply with the rules and regulations required. A probation officer should help the offender resume a better, productive life for themselves. They should also make it their duty to help them to rehabilitate and be placed back into the
Probation and Parole is apart of community policing that deals with ethics, integrity, values. This promotes and supports organization strategies to address the cause and reduce the fear of crime and social disorders through problem solving approaches and community partnership. Ethics is used when addressing moral conduct. Integrity is used when one if true to themselves and would not do anything dishonorable. Values are social principles that are being upheld.The main roles of an officer in the criminal justice field is to maintain order, crime prevention, public education, delivery of service and enforcement of laws. The officers work hand in hand with community groups and social service agencies to provide offenders and victims with the support and services they need. Probation Officers maintain partnerships with law enforcement and other justice agencies so the agencies can benefit from the expertise of each other and share information on criminal activity.
“The Prison and Probation Service has two main goals: To contribute to the reduction of criminality, and to work to increase safety in society. To achieve these goals we work with sentenced persons in order to improve their possibilities of living a life without committing new crimes.” (Linstrom and Leijonram)
On April 14, 2014; the offenders probation complaints were received by the Probation office’s intake department. Thus community supervision had commenced. At that time, he signed the rules and regulations associated with his responsibilities while under community supervision and he was also informed of his stipulations relative to his current probation period.
I think that probation is an effective form of community corrections as it can be. There is never a 100% effective way of stopping people from committing crime. If someone commits a crime even knowing the consequences, chances are they will do it again with or without probation. I think the government needs to focus on why people are committing crime and try to prevent crime before it happens. I also think that maybe there needs to be longer probation periods and harsher ones for repeat offenders. I also think that probation should be for less serious crimes and maybe for misdemeanors and not felonies.
Looking at the major I have selected at ECPI, Criminal justice, has been my interest and I am looking forward to my future within my career as a probation officer specializing in the juvenile detention center as a Long term goal. As for a short term goal I strive to be a police officer. There are various jobs that fall into the criminal justice category mainly in law enforcement agencies.
by painting an image that it is easy going on criminals, and as a result, maintains little support from the community. Probation is often portrayed as lax, shows minimum effort to support crime victims, and blindly promote a rehabilitative ideal while ignoring the reality of violent criminals. Probation may work for first time offenders, who commit non violent, non predatory crimes, and also for juveniles. The lack of funds that probation receives causes problems for probation officers to thoroughly do their jobs. They often have hundreds of caseloads to follow up on and often cannot meet
The history of probation and parole influences the decisions that are made in the Adult Court System toward the supervision of adult offenders by considering community corrections and involve supervision in the community. In the criminal justice system, there are many individuals locked up in local, state, and federal institutions. John Augustus probation bears much resemblance to probation as it is practiced today. He took great care in deciding which prisoners were promising candidates for probation. He also considers the offender’s character, age and factors that would have an impact on the offender after being released. His efforts actually were resisted by police, court clerks, and turnkeys who were paid only when offenders were incarcerated (Klein, 1997). The punishment for violating probation or parole is to continue supervision or to withdraw and incarcerate the offender.
One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections by the PEW Center offers interesting insight into the system beyond the containment of offenders inside prison walls. For quite a long time, especially after reading Punished by Victor Rios in Professor Morton’s seminar course, my views on probation and parole systems were of a negative light. I read stories of the young boys constantly targeted by police, picked up for small offenses and then immediately on probation and looped directly into the cycle; there was also no respect for the authority, by the boys, of the probation or parole system because of it’s lack of timely response to offenses and control. As a fresh perspective, the article altered my point of a view – it cited specific examples of states that have launched programs to go with community corrections over prison as a first choice and the results are seemingly positive, both in terms of crime reduction and cost benefit. Overall, I really liked this article – and I agreed with the argument which they backed up with cost and population numbers displaying the benefits of community correction versus prison, if implemented correctly. With a focus on helping those on probation and parole, and doling out money for those branches and not just prisons we are putting ourselves on the path to success – one of safety and better budgets.
American Society is built upon a balance between the demand for personal freedoms and the need for public safety. It is in the attempt to achieve a balance between these two, that crimes begin to emerge. Criminal offenders who have been found guilty are eventually put into jails to serve time for the crime committed. Harsh sentences for low-level offenders have crowded penal facilities, taking big portions of state budgets. As a result of the overcrowded facilities and low budget, the government opted for probation. Probation is now the most common form of criminal sentencing in the United States. Probation is very common but, as long as the probationer doesn’t reoffend or get involve in illegal activities they can end their sentencing with probation. If the probationer does, in fact, get involved with illicit activities then the probationer is to be put back into the custody of the government.
The objective of probation, parole, and correctional organizations in regards to public safety and civil rights is to free up space in the jails and prisons. It's all about alternatives to imprisonment. By giving deserving inmates the chance of going up for probation and parole, it circulates the space in prisons and jails, so that more violent offenders are able to be incarcerated. Since 1970, there has been an
Probation and parole are an important part of the criminal justice process, and both are
I believe that there will always be a contrast in some aspect of probation and parole especially when it comes to balancing roles and styles of supervision. “Many feel that the true "professional" finds a way of integrating various role expectations, balancing them, and weighing the appropriateness of various expressions of the roles. It is probable that the treatment-surveillance dichotomy will remain forever.”(Latessa, 2015, p.211). To conclude, officers can directly impact the outcome of an offender on probation or parole by getting involved more with providing assistance where the offender lacks the resources to do so. For example, rather than referrals to certain programs, offenders who are considered high-risk can be given extensive counseling on drug and alcohol abuse which could help them get the necessary attention they need. Another discretionary decision a PO can make in regards to high-risk offenders is counseling on marital and family relationships, educational goals, and employment strategies. Although probation and parole are supervisions that are prescribed during different phases of the correctional experience they are both about rehabilitation which is the intent and aim for the PO assigned to a
Many people ask the question- does probation work? Work means do the people after being intervened by helping them where they are required to change their problem behavior and supervision refrain from their criminal acts. Probation involves correcting juvenile and adult offenders’ behaviors to prevent them from repeating the crimes. Probation brings in the offenders as productive people from being destructive. In the United States, it was reported that most adult offenders had completed their probation successfully.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “probationers are offenders under adult supervision who are placed on supervision in the community by the court, generally as an alternative to incarceration”. Conditions of probation vary greatly among jurisdictions. Some offenders who receive probation may have a split-sentence imposed. This means they are incarcerated for a period of time and then are released on probation. Once on probation, an offender receives an order they will be on either active status or other orders may be deemed an offender as on inactive status. For those who do have to report, they may be given the option to report in electronically or by calling their probation officer regularly. Some are allowed to check in