The probation process is usually carried out to those individual offenders whose crimes do not amount to full trial. There are some conditions that are supposed to be met by the individual law offender such as refraining from drugs and even some groups of people. Failure to observe the required rules may end up someone in jail after their probation sentence is revoked. The probation sentence is usually imposed by a criminal law court whereby the individual offender is allowed to stay in their community but under special scrutiny of an appointed officer.
Considerations in Appointing a Probation Officer
There are various parameters that should be put into consideration when appointing a probation officer. The key thing is the type of the offense and also the location of the offender. In the normal practice however, there are standardized procedures which are used to identify the individual probationer’s needs. The guidelines on sentencing are aimed purely to improve on the effectiveness and consistency in all the courts and the states which in turn will result to more public confidence at the same time enhance fairness and equity. Quite a number of changes have taken place in the statutory guidelines also in penal codes in which the system gives powers to the presiding judge.
The strict sentencing guidelines are as a result of the many changes in the judicial composition . It always results in the enactment of custodial sentences as well as in the specific offences or for the case of a repeated offence by the same offender. However, that is not always the case since in the case where the sentencing guidelines are extremely rigid and formulated in rigid way, the resulting effect will be to determine the sentence by simply observing the specific offence. In other cases judicial precedent will be applicable especially in the case of a court of a lower rank.
An individual probation officer will consider the following factors in the process of establishing ties with the offender; the type supervision to be followed, for instance, the following are the major types of supervision followed:- pretrial supervision whereby the offender is asked to refrain from the use of drugs and other drug substances. There is also the felony connection probation where the offender is supposed to be communicating with the supervisor. Finally but not the least we have the felony deferred adjudication where a person is put on adjudication waiting for further investigation on the extent of guiltiness.
Generally, before the parameter of probation process is identified, the following conditions should be met first. The first condition is that the individual probationer should refrain from committing any offense against the laws of the state or any other form laws for a given state. This will help in the process of rehabilitation and also in determining the extent of probation process. The offender adheres to the state laws thereby reducing the chances of their probation being revoked.
Individual offender should also try and avoid injurious or vicious habits which may be against the state law. The offender should completely abstain from taking alcohol and any other form of drugs such as marijuana. All this is aimed at lessening the chances of a full sentence. There is also limitation on the places one is supposed to visit. They should also avoid the company of people with questionable characters. Probation officers have a right to visit the offenders at their place of residence without a prior notice and for that matter the offender should adhere to the rule.
In assigning the probation officer, there should be a consideration of the external environment of the offender. This helps to identify the logistic measures appropriate for the given situation. Attitude of an offender is also another paramount thing to consider in the probation process. There also the issue of the motivation behind probation for a given individual person. Finally the external environment should also be put into consideration so as to control the whole probation process.
Conclusion
The starting point for sentencing is the offense . The court should consider the offender’s responsibility in committing a crime when they are analyzing the extent of any crime. This should also be the basis of pointing out the imprisonment time. The youth who are found on the wrong side of law should be rehabilitated to reduce their chances of future repeating the crimes. The restrictions on liberty must be commensurate with the seriousness of the offence. The department of justice should also work closely with the Federal and State law governing bodies to bring harmony in all the systems of government
It is evident from the above study that the entire probation procedure should be planned and controlled for it to be effective.
References
Roger, W., Haines, j., & AL, E. (2006). Federal Sentencing Guidelines. New York: Thomson West.
Stephen, F. (2002). Rethinking what works with offenders: probation, social context and desistance from crime. Chicago: Willian Publishing.
Thomas, W., & Hutchison, E. A. (2006). Federal sentencing Law and Practice. New York:
West Publishing.
