Probation: A Crime Control Policy

Yarahi Reinaldo
Florida International University

April 17, 2011

Abstract Probation is one of the alternative responses for prison overcrowding, and it is the primary prosecutorial instrument in the war of drugs. It is an agency that plays two roles in the criminal justice system: it works as a law enforcement agency (protecting the society) and it provides social service (offering rehabilitation for minor offenders who pose minimal risks to public safety). The state department of corrections is in charge of probation when this is fulfilling its executive function. On the other side, the local courts or the state judiciary is responsible for probation officers when it plays its judicial role. Probation’s law enforcement function belongs to the executive branch and its social role fit into the judiciary branch (probation officers bound by the will of the court). Probation, as an alternative to incarceration, is one of the most frequent sentences used in United States. It brings benefits to the individual and the government. The offender receives a sentence while not staying in prison, and the government saves money on not sending the offender to incarceration. Juvenile offenders occupy a decent number on the probation system. More than half of juveniles who receive a juvenile court sanction are placed on probation (Worrall, 2008). This could have the explanation that our criminal justice system is more dependent on community sanctions than prison or punitive sanctions. Due to the overcrowding that our prisons are facing, and the cost that it represents for the government and the society, prison has become an exception preferably than a rule. Researchers have found that probation should be more than a close supervision, and that it should be more concentrated on the social sphere. Probation should be more than surveillance; it should be based on the social work and still keep represented by the law. When probation officers act as citizen’s protector, they are in control of probationers’ activities and supervise that probationers fulfill with their court-ordered specifications. A community-centered approach can leave better results of the probation system and can be based on getting officers work interactively with victims, law enforcement, offenders and families.

Probation as a social service The social side of probation emphasizes the aim of the individual based on treatment, but not on punishment. Probation can be defined as the suspension of final judgment in a case, giving the offender an opportunity to improve his conduct while living as a member of a community subject to conditions which may be imposed by the court, and under the supervision and friendly guidance of a probation officer (Young, 1937, p. 8) Factors such as: financial stability, employment, and education are associated with the completion of probation.. The probation system in the federal justice system has been developed to put into effect the goal of rehabilitation. The objectives of the rehabilitation programs rely on a focus on the personality of defendant, offering counseling about their problems and needs. This has the objective to help them understand the world in which they are living, and to learn how to create and maintain a healthy relationship between peoples. In the actuality, several programs have been created to address social issues like: domestic violence, sex offending, aggression, racially motivated offending, drink impaired driving, substance abuse and much more. If probation agencies get closer with the community, it will found more successful results.

Juvenile Probation Exist a significant difference between adult probation and juvenile probation. In Juvenile probation doesn’t exist the penal treatment or a substitute for punishment. Juvenile probation is controlled by the authority of the state as parens patriae. In juvenile courts, the power used and to cooperate with private agencies, is an incident of the discretion of the court of equity. The administrative supervision of juvenile probation present issues in regards with our constitutional balance of powers. …Cyril Burst points out that “delinquency is, at bottom, a social rather than a psychological concept” (Young, 1937, p. 8). We can say that, within the probation’s system, not only the juvenile offender is included, but also the juvenile’s parents or guardians. While adult probation is an option for a penalty, juvenile probation is a method of treatment. Juvenile probation is not centered on punishment or on a plea of guilty or on conviction by jury, since the
Juvenile courts are focus on reeducation…. The juvenile court law is based on the philosophy that a child is not a free moral agent and does not “choose “or “will” to misbehave but does so because he lacks training and discretion, many workers and judges still expect him to conform and to go straight and to be a good citizen without providing adequate and tested means for his reeducation and training (Young, 1937, p. 8). The juvenile probation system believes that the main problem of juveniles, lies on the examples followed in their social life, and sees the progress of this agency based on the function of the case worker, which can provide all the pertinent conditions that a child needs to be successful in life. Juvenile probation consists on a series of elements needed to make the program works. Good citizenship is an art which has to be learned or imbibed through examples (Young, 1937, p. 8). If parents have the enough knowledge to provide a right education to their children, and be able to adjust their family and marital relations, it could save the propensity of children that fall into delinquency. A big issue that our society is facing is that the parents need the training and guidance as their children need, and even sometimes more. Usually, parents cannot cope with their children, so it all results in a total failure on their treatment with the care workers. In order to make the rehabilitation process on juveniles work, bad habits need to be replaced for good ones, and the only way, is through a slow process of educative training, consistency, and intelligence. It cannot be eliminated in an abruptly manner. That is the essence of juvenile probation. Researchers have concluded that the problem of juvenile delinquency is a product of community disorganization and a fast cultural and social modification. Issues such: Conflicts of cultures, unsuitable school programs, limited employment opportunities, and so on, are social problems that social workers do not have control over them. If our children do not have an opportunity to spend their energies, to self- express, to be involved in wholesome activities or in pleasing school work, they could rarely resort into delinquent behavior patterns.

Probation, Drugs and Race The control of drug-related crimes has been a considerable concern for researchers and policy- makers. Currently, drug offenders are represented at every level of probation supervision, ranging from those who have minimal reporting requirements imposed, (such as a monthly phone call), to those under house arrest, where the probationer is confined to his or her home except for essential activities, such as work or school (Johnson & Jones, 1998). The growth in correctional populations, during the last ten years, is directly due to drugs. Policy makers should create new sentences and treatment options for African Americans offenders. A new research have concluded that is not the type of drug (crack v. powdered cocaine) what makes a difference in the numbers of arrestees, but the quantity that people consume...the most visible consumers of crack cocaine, African American males, were arrested and convicted in disproportionate numbers (Johnson & Jones, 1998). Researchers have found that drug offenders are more likely to fail on probation. On the other side, the consumption of drugs and its trafficking, have contributed to a number of fiscal and social problems. It presents a great societal threat in any particular racial group. The majority of high school dropouts are correlated with revocation of a technical violation of probation. In particular, African-Americans men were over-represented in the failure group. The results indicate that while African-American males were disproportionately represented in felony probation caseloads, they were significantly more likely to have their probation revoked for a technical offense than for a new drug offense, a felony personal offense, or a felony property crime (Johnson & Jones, 1998).

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Measurements Taken to Improve the Probation System Numerous promising initiatives have started with the main objective to enhance the work of probation services. Initiatives have been taken to enhance the value of probation services. Probation leaders have developed three important elements towards the improvement of the values of the probation agency. These three key measures are: 1. Service Delivery Review; 2. Standards for Core Functions; and 3. Assessment of Program Effectiveness. The first approach consist on the probation agency, to review their services in the last recent years, involving a consultation with the community questioning whether special services are still needed or should be eliminated. This will focus in the examination of competitive options to better serve the probation services. The second method is composed of standards that will improve the function of probation. The standards are focus on the establishment of requirements to offer the best service and encourage the acceptance of the best practices. This will ensure that supervision of offenders in the community can be an efficacious sanction and a way to help offenders to conduct a responsible life. Three key areas such as: supervision, report writing, and accountability measures will be the base to accomplish it. Besides, stakeholders such as: the public, victims of crimes, local community partners, judges, criminal justice partners and offenders would play an important role of this method. The third measure will be the use of instruments like the CPAI which allows administrators to keep the function of the programs objectives, and it can be used to identify training and staffing requirements. Also, the CPAI assesses the following elements: Program implementation (conditions under which the program was introduced); Pre-service assessment (application of the principles of risk, need and responsiveness); Program characteristics (targeting of criminogenic factors and the use of cognitive behavioral techniques); Program integrity (service delivery); Relapse prevention (the extent to which programs focus on post- release intervention programs, staff characteristics relevant staffing and training issues); Evaluation ( the extent to which the system emphasizes encourages research and evaluation activities); and General (emphasis on ethical concerns and security of program funding). Some researchers state that probation is more effective and cost efficient than imprisonment and the majority of researches show that probation is a successful program for offenders.
We can conclude that, the more the probation agency is focus toward the community or social side, the more effective will be.

References

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The family, the church, the neighborhood, secular school, industrial organization, and social institutions should work together for the reformation of juveniles. They should create new effective methods that help on the treatment of juveniles’ delinquents. Community influences is the most important way to help them be responsible in life. The reality is that our probation agencies of the juvenile courts are not prepared to resolve cases involving existing problems within a family. Researchers have concluded that if the family presents problems, the delinquent child is a result of those issues. In other words, the problems of a child are problems are issues that demand the support of a community life. For years we have experienced that it has been almost impossible for the individual to help himself or herself, we must focus on the treatment of the juvenile that must be linked with the community service at the same time. Therefore, the community should receive preparation on this matter. Top of Form

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