How has the historical development of probation influenced its modern operation? How would you answer someone who says that intensive probation is merely a return to probation as it was originally envisioned by John Augustus?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The idea of community supervision began in medieval times with the practice of judicial reprieve that allowed judges to suspend punishment so that convicted offenders could seek pardon, gather new evidence, or demonstrate that they had reformed their behavior. Other practices called recognizance enabled convicted offenders to go unpunished if they agreed to refrain from further criminal behavior and sureties or certain people had to make themselves responsible for the behavior of the offender. The modern probation concept originated with John Augustus who began to supervise offenders released to his custody by a Boston judge in 1841 . Probation is a criminal sentence that suspends or delays a correctional term in a prison or jail. The philosophy of probation rests on the assumption that the typical offender is not a dangerous criminal but someone who has the ability to reform. Once on probation, the offender is subject to certain rules and conditions that must be followed to remain in the community. If conditions are not followed, there is potential that the community sentence will be terminated. However, in most states they have a more stringent program called IPS where the primary goal is decarceration. Such programs rely on a great degree of client contact to achieve the goals of decarceration control and reintegration and therefore we see the concepts of recognizance and sureties in IPS as a throwback to what John Augustus envisioned and intended.