Difference Between Probation And Probation

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Probation and Parole: Effective or Ineffective? Probation and Parole allows offenders to avoid imprisonment or have the opportunity to be released from a penal institution after serving a percentage of their sentence. Probation is usually ordered by the judge in lieu of incarceration. Damme, Y. (2017). The offender is granted probation only if he or she is not a risk to society and if incarceration is not what said offender needs. The individual placed on probation is allowed to live freely in society, however the individual has to abide by their conditions of supervision. Damme, Y. (2017). There is an array of conditions that must be followed, for example the probationer has to live at the address reported or notify their officer if they …show more content…

Similar to the conditions of probation, parolee’s must abide by their conditions while on supervision as well. Failure to abide by the conditions of parole can result in re-imprisonment. Both probationers and parolees are to remain crime, drug, and alcohol free and not own any dangerous weapons or firearms.
I am a probation and parole officer and at times wonder if probation and parole is actually helping anything or if it’s just continuous vicious-repetitive cycle. As an alternative to imprisonment or early release one has to question whether or not probation and parole supervision is effective or ineffective. Through research I’m hoping to find that answer which will help shape my views on my …show more content…

With this being said, this title comes with a hefty price tag. In 2015-2016, the Louisiana prison population was 38,296. Mai, C. (2016). The total amount of money spent on the prisons within the state was $658,657,908.00, which cost tax payers almost $17,199.13 dollars a year per inmate. Leblanc, S. (2016). This is an important factor when looking at the cost of housing inmates versus releasing them on supervision. In 2015-2016 year, Probation and Parole supervised 70,756 offenders for a grand total of $69,845,645.00. Leblanc, S. (2016). Of the $69,845,645.00 the state is paying for staff, infrastructure costs, and vehicle maintenance. Leblanc, S. (2016). Individuals are in agreement to inmates being released to supervision because it is a cheaper alternative than paying for a prison cell and also personnel supervising these cells twenty-four hours a day. The state of Louisiana has already taken an initiative to cut the cost of mass incarceration by introducing the criminal justice reform package. The package is aimed to lower the prison population by at least 10% which will save $78 million dollars over the next decade. O'Donoghue, J.

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