In recent decades probation is being extensively used by courts as an improved form of non custodial alternative in place of incarceration. Probation aims at rehabilitation of offenders by allowing them to live in society under supervision and surveillance rather than subjecting them to socially unhealthy atmosphere of the prison life. Probation is a method of treatment of offenders who are considered fit to the rehabilitative processes within the society itself.
In recent decades probation is being extensively used by courts as an improved form of non custodial alternative in place of incarceration. Probation aims at rehabilitation of offenders by allowing them to live in society under supervision and surveillance rather than subjecting them to socially unhealthy atmosphere of the prison life. Probation is a method of treatment of offenders who are considered fit to the rehabilitative processes within the society itself.
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In recent decades probation is being extensively used by courts as an improved form of non custodial alternative in place of incarceration. Probation aims at rehabilitation of offenders by allowing them to live in society under supervision and surveillance rather than subjecting them to socially unhealthy atmosphere of the prison life. Probation is a method of treatment of offenders who are considered fit to the rehabilitative processes within the society itself.
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Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Baixe no formato DOC, PDF, TXT ou leia online no Scribd
The modern correctional methods of treatment of offenders such
as probation, parole, indeterminate sentence and other minimum security devices are being extensively used throughout the civilized world for the reformation and rehabilitation of offenders as the normal members of society. The problem of crime is therefore, no longer to be treated as an isolated problem but it is directly linked with the social defense and as such has to be attended with greater care and attention. In recent decades probation is being extensively used by courts as an improved form of non custodial alternative in place of incarceration. Experience has shown that the age old custodial method of institutional incarceration suffered from two major defects, namely, it increased the dependence of offenders on prison institution and at the same time brought about a decrease in his capacity to readjust to the normal social life after release. Again, conformity with strict prison discipline was no guarantee that the prisoners will transform into a law abiding citizen. Other inevitable consequences that ensued from prisonisation of offender were loss of job, separation from family, contamination due to association with hardened and professional delinquents. On the other hand, reformative treatment measures in the form of guidance and supervision have proved effective in meeting the needs of delinquents for their rehabilitation in the community. It is in this back drop that probation of offenders has been widely accepted as one the non institutional method of dealing with corrigible offenders particularly, the young offenders, the first offenders and the women offenders. It aims at rehabilitation of offenders by allowing them to live in society under supervision and surveillance rather than subjecting them to socially unhealthy atmosphere of the prison life. The release of an offender on probation enables him a free life in the community and reform himself as a normal human being in own natural surroundings. During the period of probation, he remains under the supervision and guidance of the probation officer who endeavors to bring about the desired change in offender’s attitude to life and his social relationship with the community.
Definition of Probation:
Generally speaking, probation is a method of treatment of
offenders who are considered fit to the rehabilitative processes within the society itself, without the necessity of being sent to institutional prisons. The term probation is derived from the Latin term ‘Probare’ which means to test or to prove. it is a custodial suspension of sentence of an offender who is not likely to resume a criminal career if kept under careful supervision, guidance and control. In other words, the release of offenders on probation is a treatment device prescribed by the court for persons convicted of offences against the law, during which the probationer lives in the community and regulates his own life under conditions imposed by the court of other constituted authority, and is subject to supervision by a probation officer. Donald Taft defines probation as the “postponement of the final judgment or sentence in a criminal case, giving the offender an opportunity to improve his conduct and to readjust himself to the community, often on condition or conditions imposed by the court and under guidance and supervision of an officer of the court”. It is in fact the suspension of sentence during the period of liberty in the community conditioned upon good behavior of the convicted offender. The basic purpose of allowing the offender the benefit of release on probation is to keep him away from the evil consequences of incarceration and offer him an opportunity to lead a socially useful life without violating the law. Thus it may be said that probation is a treatment reaction to law breaking and an attempt to mitigate the rigors of the offender rather than making him suffer incarceration in the prison institution.
The Nature and Scope of Probation:
According to Homer S. Gunnings, probation is a matter of
discipline and treatment.If probationaers are carefully chosen and supervision work is perfofmed with care and caution,it can work miracles in the field of rehabilitation of offenders. The release of offenders on probation has often been criticized by some penologists as an easy let-off or form of leniency which undermines the basic purpose of punishment.But this criticism seems to be unwarranted because probation,whether it is for juveniles or adults,permits a more congenial social social atmosphere than prison institution,and makes possible varying degree of control over delinquents together with the option of sentencing him to a term of imprisonment if he violates the conditions of probation.Thus probation enables the delinquent to maintain contract with his family and other social agencies and leaves him independent for self support.Thus he does not remain a burden on his family or society because he can earn his living himself. Briefly speaking, probation is an embodiment of a progressive correctional policy based on indiviualisation of treatment method.it is rather a selective measure depending on the discretion of the court.The actual selection for release of offender on probation depends on careful investigation of personal case history and social circumstances of the offender.The investigation is done by a probatuion officer who prepares a pre sentence report to be filed before the trial court prior to final disposal of the case.
Andrea Mayr - David Machin - The Language of Crime and Deviance - An Introduction To Critical Linguistic Analysis in Media and Popular Culture-Continuum (2011)