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Probation Research Paper

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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 …show more content…

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, …show more content…

The court system, the corrections system and law enforcement authorities have to work as partners to make this a reality. Time in jail is appropriate for violent offenders; however, less serious offenders who commit non-violent crimes are better served by community based corrections program such as parole and probation. Money needs to be redirected as an investment into public safety by allocating enough dollars for both the prison system and the community-based corrections system. Community-corrections is guided by the viewpoint that it is a partnership between social services and law enforcement (The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009). The “1 in 31” report by The Pew Charitable Trust set up this framework for an effective corrections system in the 21st century: 1) sort offenders by risk to public safety, 2) base intervention programs on science, 3) harness technology, 4) impose swift and certain sanctions, 5) create incentives for success and, 6) measure progress. States that have implemented policies that reflect these guidelines include Arizona, Kansas, Hawaii, Florida and many

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