Being a Probation Officer can be interesting and challenging at the same time. You can make a positive impact on one’s life. A Probation Officer’s main role is to make sure that those released into his care are properly rehabilitated and obey to the terms of their probation. The officer also educates those released on probation on what they can and can’t do during the probation period
“Probation and parole can be very cost efficient. In 2010, Larry J. Siegel wrote a report stating that the U.S. spends about twenty five thousand dollars meanwhile probation only spends two thousand. The government saves twenty three thousand dollars by keeping inmates out of prison and keeps prisons from overcrowding. Dangerous criminals should be kept in prison instead of being let out and keeping minor offenders in. Probation helps offenders recover by allowing them to enter society with a different mindset. Probation helps offenders recover by allowing them to do such things as preserve employment, gain support and help from their loved ones and once again become a productive citizen. That can’t be done in jail.
Most prisoners have drug addictions. Keeping them in doesn’t give them the help that they should be receiving. The offender being out and put on probation allows him to recover himself by taking part in a rehabilitation center. Cons: there is the issue of community safety. Many offenders present a risk to community safety, even if it’s because the person persists in the risky behaviors associated with alcohol or drug abuse. Setting any offender free poses somewhat of a risk, however slight. The courts, judges, defense and prosecuting attorneys and probation personnel weigh these risks and balance them with the best interests of the probationer and victim.
Usually, probation personnel monitor high-risk offenders closely through home arrest or electronic monitoring. Then there is the problem of victim concerns. Victims vary widely