Probation and the Effects of Supervision

Probation and the Effects of Supervision
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Abstract
Past research on probation and supervision has shown that recidivism can be reduced by adopting a balanced approach when it comes to supervision programs. The real effects of supervision are yet to bet determined despite the earlier claims from existing literature. This research examines the effect of supervision on prison population, cost saving and recidivism. The findings reveal that supervision helps a great deal in prison decongestion through prison diversion. Apart from that, increased surveillance and monitoring activities during probation costs more when compared to incarceration. The results also indicate that supervision contributes to increased recidivism. The paper also discusses the implications of these findings.
Introduction
Congestion in prisons has been a major problem in many countries because of the ever increasing number of criminal offenders and that is why policy makers had to come up with alternative systems of criminal sanctions in an attempt to decongest prisons (Brown, 2007). Probation is one of the most popular alternatives to incarceration and the new method has led to positive outcomes in some countries, but other countries are still struggling to implement the new alternative. Despite the fact that the program has been a success in most countries, some policy analysts still claim that the program is not appropriate for serious offenders because they are more likely to recidivate. The program also faces image problems and inadequate funding for probation agencies. Supervision is one of the measures that have been put in place by most probation agencies to eradicate recidivism, but very little research has been to determine the effects of supervision on crime (Brown, 2007). Most researchers have always been interested in finding out the effectiveness of supervision programs in terms of prison diversion, cost savings and reduced recidivism since the program was used for the first time 1950s. This paper will critically analyze probation and the effects of supervision.
Background Information
The growing prison population in the 1980s was caused by exchanges in the criminal justice system when retribution and deterrence became the guiding philosophy instead of rehabilitation. Some of the criminal offenders had to be punished in the community through probation programs order to decongest prisons (Brown, 2007). The probation was given some serious thought and consideration during this period because most countries had been very skeptical about the whole program when it was suggested for the time in the 1950s. The idea of punishing criminal offenders within the community was not well received because most people thought that it as a very lenient proposition and there was no guarantee that it would reduce the recidivism rates. Supervision programs were introduced as a result of these concerns in order to reduce recidivism, save state money and at the same time divert prison bound offenders (Brown, 2007). Although supervision programs were supposed to achieve numerous goals, a recent survey reveals that the programs have not been very successful. The shift from regular probation to intensive super...