Probation, Parole, and Community Corrections

The criminal justice system

There are three interdependent agencies (law enforcement , courts and corrections ) which work at the federal and local levels . The present criminal justice system is based on three theories retributive rehabilitative and restorative theories . These are basically the steps that an offender must go through in for the system to succeed (Thomas 2005

Probation and parole in correction

The use of parole and probation is governed by two competing philosophies positivism and classicalism . Classicalist 's posits that offenders choose their behavior and therefore they should be punished to

br avoid future criminal acts . On the other hand positivists assert that individuals are forced to commit crimes and therefore the conditions that lead to such behaviors must be corrected , ultimately leading to the rehabilitation of the offender . Legal acts and public opinion dictate the application of parole and probation

Probation refers to the withholding of sentence and allowing the offender to serve sanctions imposed by the court while living in the community . This is the most used correctional option that does it work under the probation department . Probationers are required to adhere to condition set by the courts including reporting to the probation officers and maintaining employment (Bureau of Justice Statistics 1988

Probation and parole officers have two main functions in the criminal justice system . First they help in decision making process which involves investigation work to help the courts in making decision to probation in lieu of a prison sentence . For parole the decision would be to...