probation. unit 2

Probation. Unit 2
Name
Institution
The probation population in the United States today
Community-based programs are an option to the institutional placements and criminals are kept out of jails, state, federal and private prisons (Siegel & Bartollas, 2014). Currently, there is an approximated 6, 899, 00 individuals under the adult correctional system’s supervision. This is a decrease of 41, 500 from 6,940,500 in the previous year. This decrease in the number of people under correctional supervision systems during the past year is the highest since the year 2003, taking it to below 6.9 million. This decrease in the population during the previous year (down 0.6 percent) was less than one percent for the second consecutive year; that is down from two percent in the year 2012 when the fastest annual decrease in the number was experienced (Epstein, Martin, Segal & Westerland, 2015). An estimated one out of 35 persons in the country was under some sort of correctional supervision system at the end of the previous year. The top five states with the highest number of probation persons are Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, Texas and Columbia. One of the major crimes that lead to probation is violence.
Trends leading to Intermediate sanctions in the 1980s
As the country moved from the period 1980s into the 1990s, three major national trends came up within the criminal justice. The first one is the belief or assumption that the prisons were being overused for the criminals who actually did not require secure confinement, particularly drug offenders.

The second factor was the prison overcrowding which compelled states to resort to lower-cost alternatives that are community based, which would impose ‘tough or rough time’ in the society without having to risk or endanger the general public. The last factor was the public support for ‘just deserts.’ Upon review, they appeared to have some relation. Much of the attention on the intermediate sanctions has been caused by the effect of the war on drugs on the local and State corrections and courts (Epstein, Martin, Segal & Westerland, 2015). Majority of the criminals whose offenses are linked to drug have a drug use disorder and require treatment on substance abuse.
Identify the sanctions included in the continuum or ladder of intermediate sanctions
There are really a significant number of alternative sanctions that have been proposed, which were introduced during the 1980s. For instance, Community service, restitution, or compensation still have a sense of restitution to the infringed legal order as well as a sense of compensation for the offended. Nevertheless, in these sanctions, we find that there are definitely some sort of education and development or improvement. This is an element that can also be found in several other countries apart from the US, such as Finland, which introduced in the year 1991 purposely for reducing the populations in the prisons. Some other sanctions that were introduced include monitoring electronically, rigorous probation supervision, forced treatment, drug control and frequent house searches for illegal substance. There alternative forms of sanctions actually have a definite control element (Robert, 2015). The exhibits their fundamental function, which is the ensuring of adherence to the imposed conditions. The ever-increasing stress on the control and the indiscreet nature of the permanent supervision come as a result of anxiety about two main things; the first one is the fear that the judiciary would establish the punishment and retribution nature of the alternative sanctions; and the other one being the fear that the public would feel that they are not given enough protection from re-offenders.
Three of the most serious issues facing the jails in the U.S. today
The three major problems facing the US jails are overcrowding, mental illness and health care. The prisons are so full considering the number of crimes that are committed daily in the country, such that even the alternative sanctions have not been fully able to control the situation. Mental illness is also a problem since it is difficult to effectively handle people with such conditions due to the extra care needed, which overstretches the available resources (Robert, 2015). Lastly, the overcrowding in the prisons makes it difficult for hygiene to be maintained throughout.
References
Epstein, L., Martin, A. D., Segal, J. A., & Westerland, C. (2015). The judicial common space. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 23(2), 303-325.
Robert J. H. (2015). How Courts Impact Federal Administrative Behavior. New York: Routledge.Siegel, L.J., & Bartollas, C. (2014). Corrections Today. 2nd ed. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.