Pros And Cons Of Probation And Parole

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There other options available to those who have been convicted of a crime besides continuous incarceration. Two of these options include probation and parole. To understand how they work, there has to be an understanding of what they each are and how they are alike, what the advantages are, and what the disadvantages are for both. Alternative options come with a lot of back and forth on whether they are effective or not. It is a community’s job to figure out what works best for them. First up is knowing the definition of both parole and probation. Parole is “the supervised early release of inmates from correctional confinement” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 304). Probation is “a sentence served while under supervision in the community” (Schmalleger,
The first disadvantages have to do with the lack of punishment. There are those that believe “punishment should be a central theme of the justice process” and that a period of incarceration is need of society and the victim (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 306). Some see a prison sentence as a needed punishment to either make the offender learn from their mistakes as well as a way to give the victims closure for the crime committed against them. The next disadvantage I the risk to the community. Having criminal offenders out and fraternizing with the public, “increases the risk that they will commit additional offenses” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 307). With an offender being about in the world, it is much harder to keep track of and monitor what they are doing while serving their time on parole or probation. The last advantage is the increased social cost. The options of probation and parole “increase the chance that added expenses will accrue to the community in the form of child support, welfare cost, hosing expenses, legal aid, indigent health care and the like” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 307). This disadvantage rebuts the cost advantage. It is based off of the belief that these offenders will go out and cost the economy more in other aspects than they would if they were incarcerated for any particular time. These disadvantages are meant to give a look at the threats that parole and probation poses to the

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