Criminal Justice Probation and Parole Discussion Module 4: Chapter 9 Discussion Board Assignment Read Chapter 9 of the Abadinsky textbook. Then answer the

Criminal Justice Probation and Parole Discussion Module 4: Chapter 9 Discussion Board Assignment

Read Chapter 9 of the Abadinsky textbook. Then answer the questions below in the Canvass forum created by the instructor.

In speaking about the conflicting roles probation officers must assume, Claude Mangrum notes: “There is nothing necessarily incompatible between warmth and acceptance and firm enforcement of the laws of the land. We must take whatever corrective measures are necessary, but these must not permit us to demean the dignity of the individual.” The author of the text further notes that if a probation or parole officer has been warm, concerned, and helpful, positive feelings from the offender will predominate; but if the officer is not sensitive to the needs of the offender and does not evince a feeling of acceptance, negative feelings by the offender will predominate.

Questions:

In your informed view, how should probation officers approach the offenders on their caseload? Should probation officers be warm, concerned, and helpful toward their probationers or should they promote professional distance and approach their probationers as strict rule enforcers? Explain.

Do you or disagree with Claude Magnum’s assertion that there is nothing incompatible with a probation officer offering warmth and acceptance while at the same time firmly enforcing the laws of the land? In essence, do you think a probation officer can successfully balance both roles? Should they try and balance both roles? Explain.

There is also a controversy in probation and parole as to whether, when completing field visits, the probation and parole officers should do them with stealth and with confidentially versus making themselves visibly known when conducting field visits. For example, in some jurisdictions, officers are required to use unmarked vehicles and when mailing items to use envelopes that do not contain references to the Department of Corrections or Probation/Parole services. In other agencies, probation officers are required to wear clothing and drive cars that identify their status as probation/parole officers. Question:If you were the head of a probation department, which of the two policies denoted above would you require your officers to abide by? Explain your choice.

Module 4: Chapter 9 Critical Thinking Question

Read Chapter 9 of the Abadinsky textbook. Then answer the questions below in the Canvass forum created by the instructor.

In assessing the relationship between employment and probationer/parolee recidivism, recent research has shown that the quality of work is more important than the simple existence of a job in reducing recidivism among probationers and parolees. The research suggests that simply forcing probationers and parolees to get a job, particularly low-paying unskilled employment, upon release may not be enough to prevent them from recidivating and going back to prison. Additionally, research has shown that most probationers and parolees are often undereducated with few marketable skills, which makes it difficult and frustrating for them to find any kind of work and near impossible to find high quality work that has been linked to lower rates of recidivism. Moreover, research has shown that federal and state prison systems have been deficient in their approach to training and educating inmates for employment, which has made finding employment even more problematic for parolees.

Question: You have just taken over as director of a parole department that is characterized by low employment rates and high recidivism rates among its parolees. The result of the high recidivism rates has been that this particular parole department leads the state in sending offenders back to prison through parole revocations. State prisons are severely overcrowded and the governor has pointed to this particular parole agency as a major contributing factor to the overcrowding problem in the state prison system. Also, staff morale has been demoralized as a result. This has led to high turnover rates of parole officers in this department, which has been extremely costly by having to find, hire, and train new parole officers constantly.

You have been hired by the governor to, as she states, “turn this ship around.” Your mission is to increase both the employment rate as well as the employment quality among the parolees under supervision in the department, improve parole officer morale and reduce employee turnover, and reduce budget expenditures. The governor has given you ten days to come up with a comprehensive plan to fix the issues in the parole agency. She wants the plan on her desk by the end of the tenth day.

Critical Thinking Assignment: Develop and write a comprehensive plan specifically detailing the strategies you would employ to: 1) increase employment rates while at the same time increasing the quality of jobs that parolees obtain; 2) increase parole officer moral and reduce employee turnover rates; and 3) reduce budget expenditures.