Re-entry, Probation, and Parole Reform
Introduction. Before developing any argument, it is necessary to define the terms of re-entry, probation, and parole.
Re-entry can be described as a process of support for criminal offenders to integrate into the normal environment and their communities.
Probation is the time that a person spends under a supervision instead of staying in prison.
The parole system has to incorporate the effective and advantageous re-entry programs.
Thesis: it is necessary to develop more efficient ways to apply the probation system, as well as find new opportunities of implementing the re-entry process because these reforms have a high potential to bring positive changes to the society in general.
Argument 1. First, the probation system is not as efficient as it could be, and it damages both the inmates and the society due to its imperfections.
Current probation system is based on the several levels of supervision, which differ from each other by the level of interference with the inmate’s life.
The intensive probation, which can be presented in a form of GPS monitoring or home detention is an extremely intrusive way of supervising, which may lead to the situation when the offender would feel threatened and thus try to sabotage the probation (Petersilia, Joan).
On the other hand, the informal supervision does not allow the office to interfere with the offender’s life, thus, leads to little control over his or her actions, which can cause the case when the offender gets back to the criminal activity.
Thus, there should be a unified method of supervision, which would be suitable for both the violent criminals and the people whose crimes were not extremely dangerous.
Argument 2. Second, one of the main issues in the current re-entry and parole systems is the fact that the risk of the inmates to return to the engagement in the criminal world is still high.
The released prisoners often find it difficult to find their place in the civil life, so they tend to return to the engagement in the criminal activity, as it seems easier for them (Listwan, Shelley Johnson, et al.).
The government spends a lot of money to incarcerate and then release offenders with no effort to limit their prospect to break the law (Cnaan, Ram A., et al.).
The re-entry program can be organized with the use of examination and psychological observation which will be successful and make the released prisoner benefit from the process.
Argument 3. In order to decrease the amount of prisoners that return to the criminal activity, it is necessary to both effectively use their time of the imprisonment and to provide the necessary help for them during their re-entry.
In the majority of cases, the offenders go back to criminal activity because they do not have any idea of how to live differently.
The period of imprisonment allows the inmates to spend their …
