In the world of corrections, parole officers have been described as being both the “cop” and the “social worker”. In my opinion, I feel these roles are more complex because supervising an individual that has been released from prison is a lot more complex than what police officers and social workers are dealt with. Police officers, once they have apprehended a person for committing a crime, they do their job required and pass them off onto the court and prison systems. Social workers, deal more along the lines with families and minors who are victims of actions committed by the adults in their lives. I may not be a parole officer, but from what I have read into being a parole officer is no walk in the park. They are dealt with hundreds
While the defendant is in the custody, Corrections is responsible for probation, prison and parole. When the defendant is found guilty and sent to prison, s/he will be housed away from society for a given period of time and while in prison, corrections is responsible for humane treatment of the defendant. Correction also takes up the responsibility of rehabilitation of that individual and tries to make them productive members of the society. Based on their behavior, the
I interviewed the Bonneville County Jail social worker, Brian Mecham. Social Workers at the jail are mainly responsible for helping the inmates, doing assessments for individuals that need medications, group and individual discussions and also helping them with learning more life skills. Being their advocate and helping them go through changing processes is all part of the job. Mecham and his wife are both a part of the social work profession. Although seeing two completely different sides with Mecham working in the jail and his wife in the hospice field, Mecham emphasized the importance of finding what you want to do in the social work field. “You never know what is going to impress you to do one thing or the other.”
Parolees also support the government through the taxes they pay. Probationers and parolees can also participate in community service. When offenders are incarcerated, they are in a more hostile environment rather than when they get probation or parole. There is also an increase opportunity for rehabilitation. Probation and parole can reward offenders with freedom and give them the chance to correct their behavior. This is usually more difficult to accomplish if they are incarcerated. However probation and parole have increased social costs. “Probation and parole increase the chance that added expenses will accrue to the community in the form of child support, welfare costs, housing expenses, legal aid, indigent health care, and the like.” (Schmalleger pg 368)
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.
A probation officer has many duties to fulfill. They are not only supervising the offenders that live within the community, but monitoring each probationer’s progress. The offender must stay away of any trouble, and comply with the rules and regulations required. A
It is more complex. There are lawyers, judges, probation officers, rehabilitation programs, community service hours, trials, jail, prison, parole etc. Corrections encompasses all of these things and more. From the time a person commits a crime and is arrested, to the last time they meet with their probation offices, and everything in between, I associate that as the corrections
Parole is the release of a prisoner by the decision of a paroling authority (Mackenzie, 2002). The offender is then required to remain under the observation of a parole officer who monitors the offender 's obedience with rules of conduct that are imposed by the parole board (Mackenzie, 2002). Parole is actually regarded as a back-end program that works in conjunction with the community (Mackenzie, 2002). Parole is actually similar to probation in that it follows a term of incarceration (Mackenzie, 2002). There are specific conditions which parole can be applied. Violations of these rules may result in re-imprisonment forced to return to prison to serve out the length of their original sentence from the date of release (Mackenzie, 2002). There are currently over five million people who are being supervised by the criminal justice system in the United States (Bureau of
Probation officers serve as supervisors and mentors for offenders who are trying to get back on their feet. When a convicted offender is released on probation, the officers have to help set up counseling appointments, educational programs, employment opportunities, and housing. The duty as a probation officer is to make sure an offender attends any counseling, job training, and work to get them involved in social activities needed with their rehabilitation. An interesting fact about a probation officer is that they spend most of their time doing paperwork. Although probation officers visit their clients, and do regular drug test on them, they spend most of the time doing paper work and documenting their client’s progress. You would have to have a big passion for helping others because the job can seem boring to people who do not have a desire to help people. The officers monitor offenders to prevent them from committing new crimes. This helps to try and make the world a better place.
These related job opportunities tend to have a lower median pay in 2015 compared to the median pay for police officers and detectives since they focused on a smaller population of individuals. The primary duties of a probation officer or correctional treatment specialists include supervising individuals that were given probation in order to prevent them from committing new crimes. Similar to the federal agencies, you would need a bachelor's degree in order to pursue a career as a probation officer or a correctional treatment specialist. They must undergo proper training that is sponsored by the state or federal government and passed a certification test. Some important qualities that individuals should possess to be efficient as a probation officer or correctional treatment specialists are excellent communication skills, critical-thinking
Growing up in a low income neighborhood, with high crime rates has had a big influence on me to become a parole officer or social worker. In highschool I watched many of my classmates drop out of high school, do drugs, and even end up incarcerated. Seeing these people drop out made me realize I wanted to pursue a career that would engage in helping others especially those who grew up in neighborhoods like mine.
Law enforcement and social work, is there is difference between the two. Yes, they both have different job titles but do they sometimes do cross path in their career field. Most, people disagree that there is a dichotomy between law enforcement and social workers. While an offender is on supervision there are some three main functions that Latessa and Davis talk about. Those functions are: law enforcement, social worker, and bureaucrat role. The law enforcement role focuses on the enforcing the law, social worker role make sure that the offender is adjusting to their community successfully, and finally the bureaucrat role makes sure that the agency policies are being carried out. Papaorzzi and Gendreau, talk about how a PO is successful with their casework. They, gone on to say that they are successful because they balance their law enforcement and social work case work. Another reason they are successful, is because they reducing the recidivism rate is a goal of the department. As an officer, you put into many different situations and are required to make the best decision possible for the both the offender and the victim. For example, if a young child was being abused by their mother or father, as an officer it is your duty to arrest that parent for abuse but also making sure the child can stay with a guardian who will not put the child in any danger. Now, there is some evidence that believes that there is a false dichotomy, reason is that people believe that there should
include a period of incarceration; it is served in the community rather than jail (Corbett, 2014).
Probation and parole are an important part of the criminal justice process, and both are
The way social sanctions work are by giving rewards or punishment based on behavior. Social sanctions, a subcategory of norms, are easily manipulated by those in power to benefit themselves. Rewards based on social sanctions are used by those in power to keep groups below them fighting over the resources that could be provided for good work. A wealthy business owner might offer a pay raise or prize to an employee who has the most sales. The employees would work as hard as they could to gain the prize, but only one could win. By rewarding one employee for a job well done, the business owner does not lose much by giving them the reward since the other employees who were not rewarded still provided many sales to line the owner’s pockets. This
Parole was first put into place in the early part of the 20th century as a means of cutting incarceration costs. To put it simply, it costs less to supervise a person in the community than it does to pay for the cost of imprisonment. The savings is also apparent in the community in which the paroled offender is supervised. Many parolees must take part in community service which costs the community less than contracting for the same services (i.e., litter abatement, highway grass maintenance, etc.). Effective parole can lead to successful rehabilitation for the offender (American Probation and Parole Association,