Parole and Probation in the United States

In this paper I will discuss the history of parole and probation in the United States and how it came to exist in today's society. In the main section of this paper I will concentrate on three main topics. The first issue that I will delve into is the effectiveness of parole and probation in the U.S. The second issue that I will examine is the recidivism rate of offenders participating in the parole and probation systems. The third and final issue that I will address, in this paper, is the financial burden or the cost of the parole and probation system in the United States in comparison to the cost of traditional prison confinement as a punishment. After discussing the three issues that I previously mentioned I will make creditable suggestions for possible improvement of the current parole and probation system and explain why I feel that these changes will improve the current institution.

I will end my paper with my own conclusion, based on my research for this paper.

Parole and Probation in the United States.

History

Leniency has a long history in the criminal justice system. From my readings many people look at the church as the first institution that was granting leniency to criminals by providing them sanctuary from secular law. In my paper I am discussing parole and probation I will begin by discussing probation. (Grinnel, 1941)

Probation is a task of the court. The judge releases a convicted offender, with conditions, into the community under the supervision of an agent of the court, normally referred to as a probation officer. When a pre-sentence investigation is the source for sentencing, the probation officer will already be familiar with the case when he assumes supervision, by performing their own investigations. Probation grew out of a number of early methods of lessoning severe punishment. One of these early methods was "right of clergy". Early American courts were known to lighten strict punishment by permitting the convicted minor offender to go free on condition of good behavior. (Grinnel, 1941)