Abstract
Overpopulation of prison systems has led to the need to find alternative means of sentencing the people that are convicted of a crime. There are many variations that are used, but two of the most common are community service orders and probation or parole. In many cases they are combined. Through critical analysis, it shows that there is a lot of benefit, but there are also a lot of problems associated with these two methods. Overall the most effective would be a combination of the two alternative sentencing options.
There are continued issues, when it comes to the prison system housing too many offenders, and it is becoming more apparent that there have to be alternative sentencing options available. In 1998, there were about 1.8 million people that were incarcerated.Correctional facilities cannot continue to house so many people without there being other options, because even if there were more built, as the population grows and crime continues, it would just cause more overpopulation issues. Two alternatives that have proved to be beneficial are community services orders and probation or parole. There are many issues that occur with both of these programs, but the benefits in many ways outweigh the consequences. Some of these benefits include the fact that people learn the importance of paying back to the society that they live in. Also, some of the volunteer programs are needed as a way to be able to get certain unwanted jobs done, such as road cleanup crews. Some of the benefits of probation and parole are that the offender is allowed to be out of prison and be with their families, while they are finishing their sentence.
Community Service Orders
Community service orders are where a person is forced to the position that they have to either pay back their crime through hours of community service, or they face a separate punishment that was set up by the judge in case of failure to complete the community service hours. The idea of community service was created as a direct result to try to ease the burden of overpopulated prison systems. The average number of community service hours can range from 40 to 240, but they can range no higher than 500 hours. Community service can also be given in addition to probation, parole, fine, or restitution.
Some of the crimes that community service is the most common punishment for are theft, driving under the influence, and drug use. One of the best things about the community service alternative is there are even some programs that allow a person to get their court appointed community service from home. There are over 50 different possibilities of volunteer activities for people that are on court-ordered community service.
There are some negative connotations about the idea of community service being court appointed. One of the biggest concerns is the fact that many people say that it gives the wrong idea of volunteering. Another downfall is that, in some cases, there are problems where people that are regular volunteers get offended, because they see people that are there due to court orders getting treated in the same manner that they are. A third issue is where people that are sentenced to community service may feel resentful, and it would end up showing in the work that they do. Another issue that comes up is that a company may feel nervous about having someone put into a volunteer job that may be close to the same line of business that the person was involved in, during the time when the crime was committed.
Probation/ Parole
A second alternative to incarceration is the option of probation/ parole. This option allows for a person to receive partial freedom back, but it limits the activities that a person is allowed to take part in. There will be a mixture of scheduled office visits, stay away from certain individuals, and pay restitution. The probation officer can request a drug test at any time, especially in the case that the charge was alcohol or drug related.
There are some definitive differences between probation and parole. Probation refers to someone being originally sentenced to supervision, but not being incarcerated. Parole refers to someone that receives a conditional early release from prison, but they are both handled in very similar manners.
There are over 600,000 felons that are currently paroled, and most of them are not being watched as closely as they need to when it comes to deterring the negative behaviorisms that caused them to be arrested to begin with. In 2011, roughly 853,900 people were on probation at the end of the year . In total, roughly 1.1 million people were either placed on or taken off of probation.
One of the hardest parts for many of the people on probation is making sure to have the funds that are needed to pay at the appointed times. If a person does not pay the required amount, they could end up incarcerated for the remainder of their sentence. One major problem comes from the extremely large case loads that are handled by the probation and parole offices. They have so many people that have to check in with them, there ends up being a problem with the amount of attention that the officer can give.
Combining the Two
In most cases, the idea of probation or parole is directly linked with community service. Many offenders will end up going to probation and still having to worry about the number of hours that are assigned to them through community service. When it comes to the length of probation or the number of community service hours that are handed out as a punishment to the convicted offender, the sentence is determined by the crime that has been committed. If for any reason the judge feels that these are not adequate, due to the severity of the crime, it will force the offender to have to be incarcerated. This may also happen in the case of an overruled plea bargain. While the prosecutor may offer probation and community service in trade for the guilty verdict, it is up to the judge to agree or disagree with the sentence that was offered. The judge can still make the offender face incarceration, even if the incarceration was not part of the original plea bargain.
Many people believe that only an everyday people will end up getting these types of punishment for breaking the laws. The truth is that there are celebrities that also find themselves with probation and community services orders. One such celebrity is 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson. He was charged and convicted for domestic violence.
One of the jobs of the probation officer is to ensure that the community service is also being completed in the allotted amount of time. If a person were to follow all of the guidelines, the probation officer may decide to speak with the judge about lessening the length of time that the person in on parole.
Conclusion
Through finding different alternatives to incarceration, there is the benefit of not having the need to keep building more jails and prisons. Also, there is the benefit of not having to worry with parole cases of the individual being institutionalized beyond the point of rehabilitation. This is also a time where younger offenders have a better chance at getting a second chance.
Many people find that there are going to be pros and cons of any kind of situation. This one is no different. While there are less people in prisons and jails, there are more issues with people discriminating against them. When it comes to jobs, very few businesses are willing to hire someone that has newly gotten into legal trouble. Another problem come from the idea that many of the business may refuse to a allow someone to work their volunteer area, because they disapprove of the specifics of the crime.
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