Probation In The Criminal Justice System

For some reasons of justice or cost, most offenders are not imprisoned, and more than 90 percent 0f all imprisoned offenders are eventually released. If laws are enacted that limit probation or increase the length of imprisonment by abolishing parole, there must be corresponding increases in prison space to accommodate the results. Limiting or abolishing parole release causes increases in the use of probation. “Truth-in-sentencing” laws permit only small grants of good time, while “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” statutes mean lifetime imprisonment on a third felony conviction. Criminal justice in America is divided between federal and state governments, and at each level power is diffused further, shared by three branches-executives, legislative,
A disproportionate share of the criminal justice goes to the police. Law reflects the need to protect the person, the property, and norms of those who have the power to enact law. Probations and parole are linked to particular segments of the criminal justice system and a system of laws most frequently invoked against a distinct type of offender: the poor. Probationers or parolees who are not arrested may have been rehabilitated, or they may be more successful at avoiding detection. The bible-based practice of placing an offender who was unable to pay compensation in involuntary servitude for no more than six years can be seen as a precursor to the concept of probation. Classicalism challenged disparate justice by emphasizing equality founded on a social contract. The classical concept of free will is the basis for the concept of mens rea in the contemporary justice system. The classical view provides the basis for determinate sentences. Free will is an oversimplification because one’s position in socity determines the degree of choice with respect to comminting
The term probation was applied by John Augustus to the practice of bailing offenders out of court, followed by a period of supervised living in the community. The spread of probation was accelerated by the juvenile court movement, which started in 1899 in Chicago and developed rapidly. Many early probation officers where volunteers or worked part-time. Probation is administered by more than 2000 separate agencies usually located in the executive branch of state government where it is typically combined with parole. In the larger states, it is usually administered at the county level. Probation at the state level promotes uniformity; at the county level, diversity. A crime such as murder, kidnapping, and rape usually precludes a sentence of probation, as do second or third felony convictions. A judge considering a sentence of probation considers the quality of service provided by a probation agency. Through a probation subsidy, the state reimburses the county for offenders placed on probation instead of being sentenced to a state prison. Conditions of probation in different probation agencies typically exhort the probationer to live a law abiding life, work, and support dependents. The court can impose any conditions of probation that are reasonably related to the rehabilitation of the offender or the protection of the community.