NCJ Number
111956
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 51 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1987) Pages: 22-27
Date Published
1987
Length
6 pages
Annotation
With increasing prison overcrowding, there is increased reliance on probation and parole and a vigorous development of intensive models of community supervision.
Abstract
In many cases, this increased reliance on probation and parole has resulted in more paper-shuffling, increased bureaucracy, larger caseloads, overburdened officers, and poorer services. For John Augustus, the founder of modern probation, the goal of community release was to help offenders rehabilitate themselves and return to the community as productive citizens. In many cases, this goal has been lost. However, hope for change can be seen in intensive probation supervision programs, such as the one operating in Georgia. Such programs have the potential for relieving prison overcrowding, reducing correctional costs, and providing greater protection to the public in both the short and long run than do conventional probation. With their emphasis on surveillance, substance abstinence, employment, reparation, and community service, intensive probation supervision offers offenders greater freedom than incarceration and greater hope of returning to the community as productive citizens. Successes of such programs provide a model on which the criminal justice system can build. 11 footnotes.