Probation is the most common sentence in the United States (Petersilia, 1998a). The administration of probation services maybe under the auspices of the judiciary or an agency in the executive branch of government; in either event, a probation agency provides services to the judicial branch of government. Many US Laws and judicial procedures have been influenced by early English common law and judicial customs. Evidence also shows a distinct British influence on US prison architecture and design as well as other corrections-related phenomena (American Correctional Association, 1983). Parole was first adapted in New York in 1876.
Probation is considered a front-end sentence, whereby judges impose conditional sentences in lieu of incarceration. In most cases, probationers do not serve time in either jail or prison. Rather, they must comply with an extensive list of probation program conditions as specified by the court. Probationers remain free within the jurisdiction of sentencing judges while on probation. If
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In addition, we will state the advantages and disadvantages of probation as what we have previously learned in our subject in Corrections. First, we will tackle about the advantages of probation. Some of these are: It allows the first and light offenders the opportunity to have a second chance in life, it prevents first offenders in turning into hardened criminals, and it also lessens overcrowding in jails and prisons. Then, the disadvantage of probation is that the community believes that the convicted criminals should not be back on the street because they might commit other crimes. Another disadvantage is how the probation officers treat their offenders inconsistently. Despite of the disadvantages stated above, we can say that probation is of much help for the change in the probationers’ lives. Parole has some advantages. A parolee has an opportunity to contribute to society. Also, supervising a parolee is less expensive than incarcerating a