Probation

Probation can refers as a punishment; a convicted offender is placed and maintained in the community under the
supervision of duly authorized agent of the court. Probation can also refer to an organization; the probation
department manages, supervises and treats the offenders and carries out the investigations for court.

According to Homer S. Cunnings; "Probation" is a method of discipline and treatment. If probationers are carefully
chosen and the supervisory work is performed with intelligence and understanding, we can work miracles in
rehabilitations.
According to Reinmen, "Probation is a methods of treating the offenders by releasing them on good behavior upon
conditions prescribed by court and under guidance of probation officer."
A compact definition of Probation can be stated as Probation is a method of treating (correcting) suitably selected
offender by releasing him into the community upon certain conditions prescribed by the court on conviction, before
sentencing (offender) generally upon supervision of Probation Officer.

The philosophy of probation is one which believes that the average offenders are not actually dangerous criminals.
Advocates of probation suggest that when offenders are institutionalized instead of being granted community
release. Probation involves (a) the withholding of imprisonment of the convicted offender, (b) conditional release,
(c) permission to live in the community and (d) supervision of an agent of the court. Probation is the sentence in
which the offender rather than being incarcerated is retained in the community under the supervision of a probation
agency and required to abide by certain rules and conditions to avoid incarceration.

Background of Probation:
Probation as a method of correctional service evolved after the criminologists and legal jurists thought of means of
reformation to criminals by giving them a chance to prove their worth and not confine them to the prison bars. The
word probation is derived from the Latin word probatus meaning tested or proved. The first Probation
officer in this world is said to be JOHN AUGUSTUS, a Boston Cobbler who is regarded as the Father of
Probation who in 1841 volunteered to assist offenders if the court would release them to his care. As John
Augustus was a cobbler operating in and around the courts of Boston, he daily used to watch the court proceedings
of the criminals and used to wonder on the alternative methods available for the rectification of criminals other than
imprisonment, a method enabling the criminals to rectify their mistakes and lead a normal societal life far away from
the dark side of criminal world. John Augustus also had the self belief that young culprits convicted of criminal
offence if sentenced to prison would make them more strong hard and fast criminals by mixing with other old
criminals.
Thus the entire life of these culprits would be ruined if they are made to stay in jails without giving them a chance to
reform themselves or rectify their mistakes. This thinking led John Augustus to formulate the concept of Probation
who later in 1841 appealed to the court to voluntarily assist the offenders and lead them to correctional
methods if the court would release them to his care.

The offender may be released on probation after the suspension of his sentence on the following two considerations,
namely:
1) His case may be considered as really hopeful when judicial leniency is expedient.
2) Probation may be intended to serve a positive role as method of guidance; assistance
and supervision of the probationer so that he may rehabilitate himself for the normal
social life. As with the probation, the utilitarian aims of treatment and incapacitation have been the
paramount goals of probation
Process and procedure in probation: Probation can be viewed as a process with an identifiable beginning and end.
The process consist three basic stages:
Placement of an offender on the probation.
Supervision and service delivery for the probationer.
Termination of the probation.

Parole
Parole is the other name of Conditional Early Release from Prison or Jail under supervision, after serving a
portion of the sentence that was sanctioned for the offender. This practice presupposes that the offender has
successfully demonstrated conformity to the rules and regulations of the prison environment and has shown an
ability to conform to societys norms and laws. The facts that parole involves some incarceration suggestion that
the average parolee has committed a more serious crime than the average probationers and hence, poses a greater
risk to the community.
According to Southerland and Cressey, "Parole is the act of releasing or the status of being released from a penal or
reformatory institution in which one has served a part of his maximum sentence, on conditions of maintaining good
behavior and remaining in the custody and under the guidance of the institution or some other agency approved by
the State until a final discharge is granted".
The word parole in French means word, and its use in connection with the release of prisoners was derived from
the idea that they were released on their word of honors. The practice of allowing prisoners to be released from
prison before serving the sentence of imprisonment pronounced by the court goes back at least to 18th-century
England. At that time almost all serious crimes (felonies) were punishable with death, but only a small proportion of
those who were convicted of felonies were actually executed. The majority of those who were sentenced to death
were pardoned by thinking, but their pardon was granted on the condition that they consent to be transported to one
of the colonies where labor was requiredduring the 17th and 18th centuries this was America and, following
American independence, Australia. Eventually the courts were given power to pronounce sentences of transportation
themselves, usually for a period specified in the sentence, but most sentences of transportation were modified by
executive action. In particular, there developed the system of ticket of leave, under which a convict detained under
a sentence of transportation was allowed a measure of freedom, or the right to return to England, in return for good
behavior.
When the sentence of transportation was abolished in the mid-19th century, the sentence that replaced it in English
law, penal servitude, incorporated the same procedure under a different name, release on license. The prisoner
sentenced to penal servitude could earn his release from the penitentiary, but not from the shadow of the sentence,
by his good behavior in custody.
As long as there have been prisons, societies have struggled with how best to help prisoners reintegrate in society
when they are released. In the United States, prisoners who have not maxed out are released to parole supervision.
Whether they are released through a discretionary or mandatory process, the majority of released prisoners will be
subject to some sort of post-prison or parole supervision. Parole is the responsibility of the executive branch
of government. In most states, it is administered by a board or commission appointed by the governor.
Characteristics of the Parole System:
a) A conditional release from the prison after serving a specific portion of sentence
b) Imposition of certain conditions for behavior
c) Remaining under the control of the officials of prison/correctional institution or supervision by a parole or a
police officer
d) Returning to prison after completing the parole term.
Objective of Parole System:
1) To make the prison inmates eligible for maintaining the continuity with his family life and to deal with family
affairs.
2) To save the inmates form the communal effects of continuous prison life.
3) To make the inmates eligible for the hang on to self-confidence and activating the interest in life of them.
Purpose of Parole:
For individual offenders, the major functions of imprisonment are retribution, removing dangerous people from the
community, rehabilitation, and specific deterrence of future offending after release. The goals of parole supervision
are similar and can be broadly conceived as service and surveillance: the rehabilitation of releases and
facilitation of their reentry in a community and the deterrence of crime and crime-related behaviors. In this
framework, parole then serves as a sorting function by identifying releases who fail quickly and returning them to
prison in order to protect communities and by making services available to those who might most benefit from
them. Successful reintegration of offenders protects the communities in which they reside. Thus, the purposes of
parole supervision are more utilitarian, integrative, and rehabilitative than the purposes of incarceration; retribution
recedes into the background
The Difference Between Probation and Parole and Their "Conditions"
People convicted of a crime and placed on probation serve their sentence in the community under the supervision of
a probation officer and must adhere to specific conditions. A sentence to probation is usually accompanied by a
"suspended sentence" to imprisonment. As long as probationers adhere to the conditions of their probation, they
remain free in the community.
If a probationer violates the conditions, however, his or her probation can be revoked (terminated) and the offender
may be sent to prison to finish the term of the original sentence. For example, someone given a sentence of five
years probation also receives a suspended five year sentence to prison. If, on the last day of the second year of
probation the probationer's probation status is revoked (terminated), he or she will be sent to prison for the
remaining three years in order to complete the original sentence.
Parole, on the other hand, is a conditional early release from prison which, like probation, is served in the
community, under supervision, and is subject to specific conditions. How early prisoners are released depends, in
part, on how well they behave while in prison. The amount of time taken off the end of their original prison sentence
is called "good time." For every day an inmate behaves properly in prison, good time may be awarded.
The grounds upon which an inmate accumulates "good time" varies from state to state. It is not uncommon for two
or three days to be taken off the end of an inmate's sentence for every day of good behavior while in prison. For
example, an inmate with a three year prison term may be released on parole after having been in prison for one year
(that's two days of good time for every one day of good behavior while in prison). Parole, like probation, can also be
revoked if the conditions are violated. Parolees who violate the conditions of their parole may be sent back to prison
to complete their sentence.
The following are typical conditions under which probationers and parolees must live if they hope to remain in the
community. They must:
report to the probation/parole officer by phone, in writing, or in person; abstain from the use and possession of
intoxicants or illicit drugs; remain in the county or state and not leaving without permission; abstain from
communication with persons on parole or inmates of penal institutions; refrain from association with persons who
have criminal record or who are involved in criminal activity; permit visits by the probation/parole officer into their
home, place of employment, or elsewhere; noticing the probation/parole officer of a change in residence, marital
status, or employment; carry out all instructions provided by his or her probation/parole officer; not possess or own a
firearm; submit to a urinalysis, curfew, or treatment as prescribed by the probation/parole officer; work regularly at
a lawful occupation and support dependents without public assistance as long as possible; refrain from violating the
law and report to the probation/parole, within a specified period of time;
pay a specified amount of money monthly for the term of the probationer's probation to defray the costs of his or her
supervision; and comply with all other conditions of his or her probation/parole as established by the court and the
probation/parole officer.
In addition to these standard condition, gang members on probation or parole may also be required to:
avoid contact with certain named persons (other gang members), stay away from specific places (gang hang outs),
and refrain from throwing signs, putting up graffiti, or wearing clothes or accessories which symbolize gang
membership. They may even be required to have certain gang-related tattoos removed or camouflaged.
As has already been mentioned, probationers and parolees who violate one or more of the conditions may have their
status revoked and sent to prison to complete the remainder of their original sentence.
The Goals of Probation and Parole
The goals of probation include:
allowing the offender to remain in the community in order to maintain his or her family contacts and employment
while being supervised by a probation officer, providing the offender with guidance from the probation officer and
access to community-based treatment programs, helping an offender become a law abiding member of the
community, being able to maintain employment and pay restitution to the victims of their crime (if so ordered by the
court), protecting the interests and safety of the public by providing supervision and treatment to those who do not
need to be isolated from the community, and offering these services at a cost considerably lower than incarceration.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, as of August 11, 1999, "The fee to cover the average cost of incarceration
for Federal inmates is $21,926." (U.S. Bureau of Prisons, 1999) For fiscal year 1999-2000, the fee in Florida was
$18,272 (Florida Department of Corrections) and, in 2000, the fee was $25,607 for the state of California.
(California Department of Corrections) Fees include the cost to feed, clothe, house, educate, and provide other
services (i.e., medical, religious, psychological, recreational) for an inmate for one year in addition to
expenses incurred for maintaining the prison facility and its personnel.
In comparison, the Florida Department of Corrections reported an annual cost of only $1,149.05 per probationer or
parolee for services provided during the period of 1998-1999. (Florida Department of Corrections) In California, for
the year 2000, that figure was $2,636. (California Department of Corrections) The cost of probation and parole are
much less than the cost of incarceration, and there are some convicted persons who are better served - as is the
public - when placed on probation or parole.
The goals of parole include:
serving as a reward for inmates who exhibit good behavior while in prison; contributing to a less violent
environment within the walls of the prison by providing an incentive to behave well, thus making it safer for
inmates, visitors, staff, and administrators; providing parolees with supervision in the community and access to
community-based treatment programs while serving out the remainder of their prison sentence;
helping an offender become a law abiding member of the community; protecting the interests and safety of the
public by incarcerating the offender and then providing community-based treatment to those who no longer need
to be isolated from the community; and providing correctional services at a cost less than the cost of
incarceration.
There are other benefits which may be attributed to the use of probation or parole, but the ones listed above serve
our purposes here. A lesser penalty for violating conditions of probation and parole may involve an increase in the
level of supervision under which the probationer or parolee must live. That's our next topic.