Probation and parole
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Probation and parole
Discussion Post
In any court of jurisdiction, offenders are offered fewer alternatives to jail or prison sentences with the primary target to rehabilitate the criminals. Intermediate sanctions target prison overcrowding alleviation by allowing offenders to participate in community programs under strict police surveillance. The philosophy behind probation or parole is reducing crime’s effects through the rehabilitation process, which involves community program participation.
The most critical change that I would make to probation or parole is to eradicate mixed sentences and advocate for probation supervision within the stipulated offender’s serving period. The rehabilitation process does not necessarily require the offenders to spend the weekend in jail for the corrections to be significant (Raynor, 2004). The change will allow offenders to participate in community programs during the working days and spend the weekends at their homes. Spending the weekend in their places of origin will allow the offenders to reflect on their role as members of society and help eradicate wrong behaviors against the community’s will. The program will also give the offender the chance to frequently interact with family members and the immediate community without any restriction (Hollin et al., 2004). Above all, intermediate sanctions are stimulated to instill openness and honesty among the offenders. Allowing offenders to spend the weekend at the grounds and reporting on working days for community programs will ensure the trust, honesty, and openness among the court offenders is achieved and, most importantly, reduce the crime effect. The change will as well allow police surveillance to participate in other programs that critical to society.
Probation should be aimed at ensuring total corrections with minimal supervision as possible. The mixed sentencing must be eradicated since it appears as a burden, high costly, less significant, and time-consuming.
References
Hollin, C., Palmer, E., McGuire, J., Hounsome, J., Hatcher, R., Bilby, C., & Clark, C. (2004). Pathfinder programs in the Probation Service: A retrospective analysis. Home Office online report, 66(04).
Raynor, P. (2004). The Probation Service ‘Pathfinders’ Finding the path and losing the way? Criminal Justice, 4(3), 309-325.