Identify and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of placing probation services within the judicial branch of government

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

? Probation is more responsive to the courts, to which it provides services, when administered by the judiciary.
? The relationship of probation staff to the courts creates an automatic feedback mechanism on the effectiveness of various dispositions.
? Courts will have greater awareness of the resources needed by the probation agency.
? Judges will have greater confidence in an agency for which they are responsible, allowing probation staff more discretion than they would allow members of an outside agency.
? If probation is administered on a statewide basis, it is usually incorporated into a department of corrections, and under such circumstances probation services might be assigned a lower priority than they would have as part of the judicial branch.
Disadvantages:
? Judges, trained in law and not administration, are not equipped to administer probation services.
? Under judicial control, services to persons on probation may receive a lower priority than services to the judge (e.g., presentence investigations).
? Probation staff may be assigned duties unrelated to probation.
? The courts are adjudicatory and regulative; they are not service-oriented bodies.