Essay On Parole Vs Incarceration

Since President Richard Nixon first announced the War on Drugs forty years ago, the United States has implemented tough on crime criminal justice policies that have given it the United States the distinction of having the highest incarceration rate in the world. Consequently, over the past forty years, criminal justice policymaking has been characterized by overcriminalization, increasingly harsh sentencing and parole regimes, mass incarceration of impoverished communities of color, and rapid prison building. These policies have also come at a great expense to taxpayers. But budget limitations are finally prompting states across the country to realize that less punitive approaches to criminal justice make more sense and also better protect our communities. This has lead to the increased use of parole and probation. Parole and probation are intended as alternatives to incarceration for eligible offenders not deemed a threat to public safety, with parole being granted at the end of a stint in

For example, offenders who fail to show up at their meetings because they cannot pay the probation fees should not be sent to prison. Neither should drug-addicted offenders who cannot participate in the required treatment program because it is not available in their area; nor unskilled and uneducated offenders who can't find gainful employment; nor indigent offenders who are unable to establish a stable residence and support any dependents; nor illiterate offenders who cannot fill out the right forms. I believe certain offenders need the extra help to comply with the rules of their release and therefore it should be provided. Such support systems should include programs to help offenders get a job, better placement for indigent offenders, and more treatment programs for the drug addicted