Advantages And Disadvantages Of Probation

Probation is a sentence whereby a convict is released from confinement with certain restrictions such as close court supervision. It is given as an alternative to a prison term or given out to the offender to suspend a prison sentence if a convict has demonstrated good behavior. Probation begins early in the English criminal law of the Middle Ages. This form of punishment emerged as a result of the harsh and strict penalties that were imposed on people who committed less than serious crimes. In the United States, probation developed from the work of a temperance activist known as John Augustus in Boston in the 1840s, who persuaded judges to release drunkards, and later some other minor offenders, into his care. The term “probation” was associated with John Augustus. He was the first to allow the accused to be granted bail until the trial.
Due to the harsh punishment that many were suffer, this led to many people being upset with how the justice system was being run. This started the process of different measures being used to compensate for inhumane punishments. Pardons could be purchased by the defendants, activist judges could refrain from applying statutes, and allowing offenders to be charged with lesser crimes were just a few new procedures adopted.
John Augustus …show more content…
Probation has many advantages over imprisonment which include: promoting rehabilitation of the offender, allows offender to participate in treatment programs to prevent future offending, reduces the negative effects of imprisonment; the costs are less, and it minimizes the impact of conviction upon the family of the offender (Potas, 1976). The disadvantage of the probation system is that it provides the opportunity for offenders to re-offend. Although the Probation and Parole Service and sentencing courts are careful to make community safety their main priority, probation makes it easier for offenders to re-offend(Potas,