Probation services are provided in several different models. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each model? For example, should probation services be centralized or decentralized? Should it be administered by the executive branch or the judiciary? Should probation and parole services be combined? Support your answers.

 

_{This is how probation and parole are related. And the failure of probation supervision}

 

_{Probation in criminal law}

• _{Is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court instead of serving time in prison.}
• _{In some jurisdictions, the term probation applies only to community sentences, such as suspended sentences.}

 

_{There are several noteworthy benefits to probation:}

• _{Probation keeps individuals in the community and is more cost effective compared to incarceration.}
• _{With calls to decrease mass incarceration, it may make sense initially to place more individuals on probation rather than to incarcerate them.}

 

_{Intermediate sanctions are sentencing alternatives that exist between probation and incarceration.}

 

_{Notable examples are}

 

• _{Intensive supervision probation,}
• _{Drug testing,}
• _{House arrest/electronic monitoring,}
• _{Fines, and}
• _{Boot-camp prisons.}

 

_{Intensive supervision probation or parole}

• _{ISP programs are currently the most popular intermediate sanction.}
• _{They exist in all fifty states, and offenders sentenced to them are closely supervised on small caseloads (twenty-five to forty offenders), usually pay victim restitution and perform community service, must hold a job, submit to random urine and alcohol testing, and pay a probation/parole supervision fee.} 

 

_Probation

• _{Probation is a widely used sentencing alternative in which offenders are not incarcerated if they promise good behavior and agree to restrictions and/or requirements set by a judge.}
• _{There are more probationers than inmates or parolees, and state probationers outnumber federal probationers.}
• _{Three activities define the occupation of the probation officer:}

1. _{investigation,}
2. _{supervision, and}
3. _service.

• _{The probation officer is responsible for writing the pre-sentence investigation report.}
• _{The pre-sentence investigation report contains information about two important aspects of the case: the legal history of the incident and the offender's social history.}

 

_Purpose

• _{The purpose of probation is to assist in reducing the incidence and impact of crime by probationers in the community.}
• _{The core services of probation are to provide investigation and reports to the court, to help develop appropriate court dispositions for adult offenders and juvenile delinquents, and to supervise those persons placed on probation.}

 

_{Probation departments in fulfilling their purpose may also provide a broad range of services including, but not limited to, crime and delinquency prevention, victim restitution programs and intern/volunteer programs.}

 

_Position

• _{The mission of probation is to protect the public interest and safety by reducing the incidence and impact of crime by probationers.}
• _{This role is accomplished by:}

1. _{assisting the courts in decision making through the probation report and in the enforcement of court orders;}
2. _{providing services and programs that afford opportunities for offenders to become more law-abiding;}
3. _{providing and cooperating in programs and activities for the prevention of crime and delinquency;}
4. _{furthering the administration of fair and individualized justice.}

 

_Parole

• _{Parole is for offenders who are leaving prison after serving a partial sentence.}
• _{Parole grew from the philosophy that the penal system should help the offender return to society.}
• _{Parolees face much of the same restrictions and requirements as probationers.}
• _{The decision to grant parole is based on three principles:}

1. _retribution
2. _{rehabilitation, and}
3. _{prison space.}

• _{Parole boards make their decisions based on}

1. _{time served,}
2. _{prison adjustment,pre-parole plan,}
3. _{offender interview, and}
4. _{victim-impact statements.}

• _{Offenders returning to society face three primary obstacles:}

1. _{prisonization,}
2. _{weakened social ties, and}
3. _{stigmatization.}

 

_{Shock incarceration and boot camps.} 

• _{There are basically two types of shock incarceration programs:}

1. _{(a) programs that simply combine a period of incarceration with a period of probation/parole supervision, and}
2. _{(b) programs that introduce offenders to a "boot camp," which may or may not be followed by a period of probation supervision.}

• _{The duration of the "shock" and the subsequent supervision component varies from state to state, but it is usually a few months in prison, jail, or boot camp followed by a year in the community.}
• _{Boot camps are facilities in which young first-time offenders are confined for short periods under rigid standards and strict military discipline.}

 

_{Residential community corrections programs and day reporting centers.} 

 

_{Halfway houses or residential community corrections programs}

• _{are not new but are enjoying revitalization under the intermediate sanctions concept.}
• _{These programs sentence offenders to serve their sentences in small residential facilities, operated by private agencies under the jurisdiction of the courts.}
• _{Residents are sometimes permitted to work or attend treatment during the day, returning at night to the facility.}

 

_{Day reporting centers do not hold offenders overnight;}

• _{the offenders simply report to the center (usually staying from morning until early evening) and participate in work and/or treatment programs for the day.}

 

_{Most centers offer}

1. _{job skills,}
2. _{drug abuse education,}
3. _{group and individual counseling,}
4. _{job placement,}
5. _education,
6. _{life skills training, and}
7. _{drug treatment.}

• _{Unfortunately, there have not been many empirical studies of day reporting centers, so their effectiveness remains an open question.}

 

_{Day fines, restitution, and community service.} 

 

_{Day fines}

• _{are a relatively new concept whereby monetary fines are meted out that take into account not only the seriousness of the offender's crime and criminal record, but also his or her ability to pay.}
• _{Judges first determine the number of fine units an offender should be assigned based on the seriousness of the crime and criminal record.}
• _{After determining the number of fine units, the judge then reviews the offender's financial circumstances in order to set a monetary value for each of these fine units.}
• _{Usually this amount is based on some proportion of the defendant's daily income (hence, the term "day fines").}
• _{While fairly new, courts in Phoenix, Arizona, and Staten Island, New York, have experimented with this sentencing option.}

_Restitution

• _{is compensation for financial, physical, or emotional loss caused by the offender; it usually involves payment of money to the victim, but offenders are sometimes ordered to repair damage or perform other work or service for the victim or the victim's family.}

_{Community service}

• _{requires the offender to work without pay for the community, supervised by either probation/ parole staff or by private agency personnel.}

 

 

_{House arrest and electronic monitoring.}

• _{In many respects, house arrest and electronic monitoring programs are identical to ISP programs, except they are often more stringent in terms of conditions and revocation policies.}
• _{In house arrest programs, offenders are legally ordered to remain in their residences for the duration of sentences (or portions thereof).}
• _{House arrestees may be allowed to leave their homes for medical reasons, employment, and approved treatment programs.}
• _{They may also be required to perform community service and to pay victim restitution and supervision fees.}
• _{House arrest may also be enforced with electronic supervision that includes the use of an electronic monitoring device such as an ankle bracelet, pager, voice verification telephone, or other electronic technology that assists probation and parole officers in ascertaining an offender's whereabouts}

 

 _{halfway house}

 

• _{Is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or abusive drug use tendencies to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves.}
• _{As well as serving as a residence, halfway houses provide social, medical, psychiatric, educational, and other similar services.}
• _{They are termed "halfway houses" due to their being halfway between completely independent living on the one hand, and in-patient or correctional facilities on the other hand where residents are highly restricted in their behavior and freedoms.}

 

_{The term has been used in the United States since at least the Temperance Movement of the 1840s.}

 

_{Halfway houses in the US generally fall into one of two models.}

 

_{In one model upon admission, a patient is classified as to the type of disability, ability to reintegrate into society, and expected time frame for doing so.}

• _{They may be placed into an open bay same-sex dormitory similar to that found in military basic training with fifty or a hundred similar residents in a gymnasium-type setting all going through the same thing at the same time.}
• _{As the patients become able to increase their skill level and decrease their dependency on support services, the dorm members become fewer to the point where, at the final stage before being able to get their own apartment, the patient may have only one or two roommates.}

 

_{Another model reverses this.}

• _{New patients are admitted in individual rooms providing one-to-one services and programming.}
• _{As they become more independent, the dorms become bigger so that by the time the patient leaves, they are living in the 50-to 100-person dorm described above.}

 

_{The same two models are used for convicted criminals to begin the process of reintegration with society, while still providing monitoring and support;}

• _{this is generally believed to reduce the risk of recidivism or relapse when compared to a release directly into society.}
• _{Halfway houses are meant for reintegration of persons who have been recently released from  prison or continuous mental institutionalization.}

 

_{Example for how criminal justice work probation for juvenile delinquent}

 

_{A judge can sentence a juvenile who has been found to be delinquent by issuing a disposition order. Sometimes they will sentence the juvenile to a period of incarceration, but probation and other more lenient options are common.}

 

_{Even if a juvenile receives a sentence that involves incarceration, this is usually not the same as an adult criminal defendant being sentenced to prison.}

 

_{Often, incarceration will consist of house arrest or placement with a different relative or in a foster home.}

 

_{A judge also may order a juvenile to spend a short period in a juvenile detention facility, possibly followed by a period of probation.}

 

_{If a juvenile has committed a more serious crime, a judge may sentence them to a longer period of incarceration in a secured juvenile facility.}

 

_{This term can last for a year or more. In some unusual cases, a juvenile may be sentenced to spend time in a regular jail or prison. If they are near the age of majority when they commit a serious crime, they may receive a blended sentence.}

 

_{This means that they are sentenced to juvenile detention initially and then transferred to an adult jail or prison once they reach the age of majority.}

 

_{The failure of Intensive Probation Supervision.}

 

_{Rather than diverting people from incarceration, probation and parole are feeding jail and prison populations. Council of State Governments data shows that, in 2017, 45 percent of all state prison admissions resulted from probation or parole violations.}

 

_{Human Rights Watch and ACLU analysis in the states studied show that the numbers were similarly high. Nearly half of all prison admissions in Pennsylvania include parole violations; over the last two decades, Wisconsin prisons have admitted about twice as many people for supervision violations as for regular criminal convictions; and during a 5-month period in 2019, between 23 and 43 percent of all jail bookings in 9 Georgia counties involved probation or parole violations.}

 

_{In many jurisdictions examined in the report, people accused of violating their supervision are regularly detained for months just waiting for a hearing to contest the charges even for rule violations, and absent any evidence that they are likely to flee the jurisdiction.}

 

_{?Many are confined in overcrowded, unsanitary jails that lack adequate mental health services or drug treatment, and where people are at heightened risk of contracting Covid-19.}

 

_{When found to have violated their supervision, people in the states examined are often subjected to disproportionate punishments, including additional jail or prison time, through a process that does not protect fair trial rights.}

 

_{At root, supervision violations often stem from poverty; a failure by authorities to support people in addressing underlying challenges, such as substance use disorder, housing insecurity, or mental health conditions; and racially biased policing and enforcement.}

 

_{Probation and parole operate under a separate legal system one where basic rights, like the presumption of innocence, speedy detention hearings, and burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, go out the window, This places immense pressure on people to admit to the allegations just to get out of jail.}

 

_{Many aspects of these supervision systems violate US and international human rights law, including prohibitions on disproportionate punishment, racial discrimination, and arbitrary detention. Aspects of revocation systems also raise serious fair trial concerns or are inconsistent with the rights under international law to an adequate standard of living, housing, food, health, and other basic needs.}

 

_{States should enacted to reforms to reduce the burdens of supervision, limit incarceration for violations, and invest in community-based resources for jobs, employment, education, and health care. But many of these changes still leave in place oppressive supervision systems that do not demonstrably improve public safety or facilitate rehabilitation.}

 

_{Human Rights Watch and the ACLU recommend that federal, state, and local governments divest from supervision and incarceration and invest in jobs, housing, and voluntary treatment for substance use disorder and mental health care.}

 

_{By investing in communities over supervision and confinement, governments can work to break the supervision-to-incarceration pipeline, and help people get the resources they need.}