Reflection Paper On Probation

I enrolled at Missouri State University in the spring semester of 2014. I had declared my major in Criminology and Criminal Justice due to my passion for helping others. I have always been a firm believer that everyone deserves help, no matter what situation they may be in. I knew that this field was what I loved learning about, however in the beginning I was not quite sure on what field I wanted to focus on. Nevertheless, after watching a documentary in a class I was enrolled in about the life of a parole officer, I knew this is what my purpose in life should be. After long consideration I determined that Probation and Parole is what I am the most passionate about.

I walked outside the next morning feeling great. The bright vibrant sun shone on the freshly mowed grass. I loaded into my sister's car and we went off to school. The day passed extremely rapid,

When completing their assessments, many of referrals are received by the organization and the parole officers must initiate contact with the offender, their family, and law enforcement. Then they must conduct work, school, and home visits to gather any additional information. If a crime was suspected or even committed, they initiate contact with reporter or victim to obtain more information to help them handle the case. Depending on the situation, they may need to determine specific employment, developmental, or financial needs. During the assessment, they also gather information regarding mental health, substance use, gang activity, education, and criminal history.

Implementing restrictions on convicted felons certainly does present both positive and negative affects on the individual felon and on society as a whole. Public support of such restrictions essentially is based on the personal beliefs and priorities of individual citizens. While some people think that restricting convicted felons will deter crime, thereby making society better over all, that isn’t always the case. In fact, these restrictions may even increase recidivism rates in the U.S. due to the inability of felons to achieve a stable lifestyle following their release from prison. Additionally, like you mentioned, such restrictions may impose unfair punishments on individuals who committed relatively minor crimes that only affected themselves,

Nowadays, in the United States, parole is a controversial topic. Some believe those prisoners should complete their sentences and not allowed early release. However, research findings show that parole does work. The U.S. Department of Justice report states that 57 percent of parolees in 2006 completed their sentences successfully, while 18 percent were returned to prison and 4 percent absconded, with the remaining 21 percent still on parole. Nonetheless, parole 's existence is at hazard. The "war on drugs" and "Tough on crime" policies have affected the federal government to eliminate federal parole, and on the state level, many states, such as New York, no longer grant parole for persons charged with violent crimes. Recently, in 2012 US Supreme Court ruling in Miller v. Alabama,1 states and the federal government are required to consider the unique circumstances of each juvenile defendant in determining an individualized sentence. In 2016, Montgomery v. Louisiana ensures that the decision applies retroactively to those people sentenced prior to Miller. For juveniles, the use of life sentences without the possibility of parole, as a mandatory minimum, is unconstitutional. Influenced by the Miller decision, the state of California now offers prisoners a meaningful chance at parole after 15 to 25 years if their crime occurred when they were a juvenile.

What is plea bargaining? Plea bargaining is the pre-trial negotiation, which takes place in a criminal procedure. During this procedure the defendant and has his attorney sits on one side, and the prosecutor is on the other. The defendant either agrees to plead "guilty" or "no contest" to a crime. Another element for plea bargaining would also be because the defendant reveals information such as location of stolen goods, names of others participating in the crime or admission of other crime(s), such as a string of burglaries. In return a reduction in charges, or dismissal of some charges, this has to be approved by the judge, before accepting can take place. If the judge does not agree, then the plea bargain is cancelled.

Kleiman and Hawken suggest that a reform of the parole system can lead to a more effective system overall. They draw attention to the fact that despite crime rates being on a continuous decline, incarceration rates continue to rise at an alarming rate. The identify that about 1% of adults in the United States is behind bars, and they argue that an effective parole system could counter this, allowing many of this immense prison population to be contributing members to society. They go on to discuss how prisoners are being rushed out of prison, because they need to make room for more prisoners to come in. As these prisoners are released, the integration process proves to be a complicated one, almost guaranteeing failure of these newly released prisoners. They point out

Under the rules that the court made in Morrissey, before a parolee can be sent back to jail or subject to other consequences of his parole violation, he has the right to "due process" of the law. This means he has a right to a hearing, a right to hear the evidence presented against him, and a right to defend himself and try to convince the parole board either that he didn't actually commit a violation or that the violation wasn't so serious that he should be returned to prison. This means that, under the current law, in order to provide the parolee with due process the consequences of a parole violation are determined at a parole violation hearing. Some States Allow For Unsupervised Probation. Who Is

There are times when almost everyone wonders exactly what the purpose of probation is, what kinds of conditions can be imposed if someone is put on probation, and what roles the probation officer and the court systems play in the scheme of things. If you know someone that is on probation it may not hurt to know a little bit about the way it works and that is exactly what we will be talking about here.

The idea of sympathetic release of ill and elderly prisoners is not new. In 1994, Professor Russell published consideration of medical parole and compassionate release programs of district and fifty states of Columbia. Only three

Judicial discretion was prevalent over the first half of the last three decades, but has been regulated by legislature since 1984. Discretion by definition is the authorization of deciding as one thinks fit, absolutely or within limits (Ntanda, 1999). Indeterminate sentencing, traditionally, has afforded judges considerable discretion over the resolve of criminal sentencing. “While such discretion theoretically allows judges to tailor sentences to the circumstances of individual crimes and criminals, thereby achieving a sort of ex post fairness, it also permits variation in sentences that may not be warranted by the observable facts of the case, reflecting instead the judge’s own preferences” (Miceli, 2008, p.207). The punishment

Al Capone is the single greatest symbol of collapse of law and order in the United States during the Prohibition Era. The act of Prohibition brought power to Al Capone, which he used to expand his organized crime activities into a stranglehold over the city of Chicago. Liquor trade became very profitable during Prohibition, and the struggle for control over the bootleg empire erupted into a full-scale war between rival gangs in Chicago. Capone gradually came to symbolize all the criminal evils of prohibition; to many throughout the world, he became the symbol of a lawless nation#. Publicity grew around the actions of Capone, with accounts of his sordid activities published in newspapers along with his image of power, money, and

John Augustus were known as “Father of Probation." He released an adult drunkard into his custody rather than sending him to prison. Later on, he convinced the court to release more offenders to his supervision including children who had been accused of stealing. By 1846, about thirty children were under his supervision, and eleven hundred persons were bailed both male and female by Augustus (American Probation and Parole Association).

Early in my college education I was placed on academic probation at Riverside Community College. I know this was due to a lack of preparation, focus, and maturity on my part. Necessary full-time employment coupled with a life threatening illness gave me a more serious, mature, and open-minded approach to life. My gradual increase in grades as course work became more challenging is a reflection of my growth.

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