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.
Gender plays a big role in whether or not the juvenile offenders get the treatment they need. Often female offenders are misunderstood or not taken seriously because they are stereotyped as criers, liars, and manipulators. If and when these girls do get treatment for mental health care, often it is not the correct one. In the Gaarder, Rodriguez, and Zats (2004) article
“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)
Probation, as defined by Bartollas and Siegel, is “a form of punishment which allows the offender to remain in the community under supervision of a probation officer and is subject to certain conditions as set forth by the court” (2013). As such, the issue of probation supervision presents several challenges unique to this type of judicial punishment.
I feel like probation is an easy way out of a crime. It gives the offender freedom within the community with guidelines to follow; e.g.,meeting with the probation officer, getting drug tested (depending on the test, some offenders can cheat and use alternative ways to pass). Parole is equivalent to probation but the offender was already committed and sentence to prison but was released early and is monitored by a parole officer. Parolees can not leave the state, parole officers may visit the parolee at their home or place of business unannounced, they also can't commit new offenses or they will go back to prison.
Probation officers and remedial treatment pros give social administrations to aid restoration of law wrongdoers in authority or on post trial supervision or parole. This particular field interest me due to the fact that I’ve always wanted to be apart of the law enforcement or justice system. Being a parole officer, I can have the opportunity to help people that are struggling with making bad decisions that could impact their lives forever.
Facilities and workers in the juvenile justice system are not designed or trained to address these gender-specific problems. Not only does the juvenile justice system not address the root causes of the delinquent behavior, but many girls often feel re-traumatized from the status offender system, especially runaway girls (Godsoe, 2014).
Juvenile delinquency is of great concern in the United States. In 2007 over 2 million arrests were juveniles. There are two types of juvenile delinquency. The first type of offense is a behavior that would be a criminal violation for an adult. The other offense is called a “status” offense. Status offenses are delinquent actions that do not apply to adults, like running away and truancy. This paper will discuss the impact of gender and family on delinquency and the treatment by gender in the juvenile justice system.
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.
To everyone wondering if probation and parole officers should carry a firearm, I believe that they should have it as long as they know when and how to use it. Of course with all the news going around with officers shooting unarmed victims, it's kind of difficult if many people would agree with them carrying firearms. If the officers are in a dangerous situation where they are being shot at, a firearm would be useful during that situation. If firearms are consider to extreme for officers to use, a taser gun would be more efficient even though most officers are also know to abuse it as well. Like most things, there are some advantages and disadvantages regarding parole and probation officers carrying firearms on the job. Officers who support
There have been many studies conducted that examine ways in which the juvenile justice system responds to female offenders. Historically juvenile female offenders have been treated under status offense jurisdiction (Zahn et al., 2010, p. 10). United States Courts would exercise the principle of “parens patriae” to place the female in detention as a form of punishment for misbehavior (Sherman, 2012, pp. 1589-1590). This principle also remains prevalent as it pertains to how the juvenile justice system currently responds to juvenile female offenders.
The Probation Officer and Offender role has been widely examined, specifically in regards to the effective management of risk (McNeill, 2009, NOMS 2010). Within this, it is recognised that the relationship between these individuals is paramount to the effective management of risk and offending behaviour. There have been numerous working practices introduced throughout the years within the Probation Service to identify effective working practices including the Effective Practice Principles and latterly, Skills for Effective Engagement, Development and Supervision known by the acronym SEEDS (Rex & Hosking, 2013). Whilst these have greatly influenced the work being undertaken by Probation practitioners, the management of risk of
Nearly six decades later, six states had passed laws regarding probation. By 1910, “thirty-two more states had passed legislation establishing juvenile probation” (Probation Historical Roots, 2013). Twenty years later, forty-nine out of fifty states had a juvenile probation law (Probation Historical Roots, 2013). Today, as defined by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “probation refers to adult offenders whom courts place on supervision in the community through a probation agency, generally in lieu of incarceration” (Community Corrections (Probation and Parole),
As we know, probation and parole officers play a major role in shaping an offenders perception of reality as well as changing their behavior. The question that many will ask is “is the role of the PO that of a social worker or cop?” In my opinion, probation and parole officers have a huge weight on their shoulders due to the caseloads that they receive. Since the recent police brutality cases the mentality of an officer needs to change with the times. I believe that officers should lean more towards being a social worker/cop because they should be able to gain common ground with citizens while keeping their best interest and public safety at heart. In short, officers have to play multiple roles depending upon the situation and the stipulations
Females are increasingly becoming more active in the juvenile justice system and this is said to be happening at alarming rates. It is important to learn more about why and how girls commit crimes so that we may also attempt intervention in an effective manner to prevent potential offenders and rehabilitate the girls who have already committed offenses. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has produced a report that includes a review of how these girls are getting into these situations, how states are dealing with this population of offenders, the national efforts that have taken place to attempt to address the needs of the adolescent female offender including training for individuals who work with these females and
Statistics show that the number of female offenders in the legal system has been increasing steadily. The number of female offenders entering the American justice system is growing at a rate faster than males. Statistics from the United States in 2010 show the female offender population to be increasing by 2.7% each year, compared to the male population at a rate of 1.8% each year, with similar statistics being seen in other Western countries (West & Sabol, 2010). The continued increase has made understanding female offenders and their catalysts for committing crime more imperative.
The purpose of this research paper is to discuss about Parole and Probation in America. The paper is going to focus on the past, present and future of parole and probation. This paper includes discussion of Parole and Probation Officers, as well as why some states so longer utilize parole, including Florida. This paper will also include personal input about the topic.