Community Corrections. Theory of Probation and Parole

Community Corrections
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Community Corrections
Community supervision is a popular reentry strategy in multiple criminology management systems. Policymakers intend to have individuals who have been convicted of various crimes or incarcerated to reintegrate back to the community without problems. Partially, the general community offers a different social structure as opposed to prisons. If the reentry strategies are not examined efficiently, chances are high that more people would be readmitted into incarceration centers. Currently, the number of individuals in community correction systems such as probation and parole outweigh those in the prison. The question must then be raised about the effectiveness of such systems. This paper examines probation and parole as reentry strategies that have gained popularity in the justice system of the US on the grounds of its viability to execute the integration of individuals back into society. This analysis is vital to the effect that continuing to subject more people to community supervision without certain information about the theory, principles, and viability of the programs could only amount to barriers to the success the justice and criminal management systems aim to achieve.
Theory of Probation and Parole
The psychological criminology theory has been vital to the initiation and implementation of community supervision. Psychological criminology operates within the confines of influencing the community towards various prospects in criminology. First among the areas of emphasis is the classification of the offenders’ needs and risks (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens, 2012). Correctional facilities cannot claim to understand the entire correctional process before they know what particular offenders need. Psychological criminology theorists have also been integral to developing strategies that foster adherence to the set principles of community supervision. Each offender has unique needs. That could make it challenging to address all the offenders efficiently. However, psychologists ease that task by classifying offenders and deciding what they need to be accorded at any particular time. Psychologists have also developed the techniques that are used to counsel, assess, or view offenders. It is worth remarking that offenders do not behave necessarily as normal human beings (Dan, 2009). As such, advising supervisors and other stakeholders on how to handle them is a positive step in any correctional space. Ultimately, psychologists have been used to develop case management plans. That works in tandem with the understanding that offenders manifest different perceptions about society.
Psychological criminology input on corrective measures in community supervision is rooted in its social learning theories. Social learning theorists believe that behaviors can be learned, but only if they are reinforced (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens, 2012). Social learning theorists believe that each individual has the ability to be a criminal. The reason why some people are not criminals is that such behaviors have not been reinforced in their systems. Additionally, people manifest different coping behaviors. While others, depending on their coping behaviors, may opt for criminal acts, other people make wiser decisions. Within the context of social learning, it is believed that if people are put to learn particular behaviors, they will do as long as all the necessary factors are put into considerations (Dan, 2009). In community supervision, reinforced learning is rooted in the outcomes of failures. That is, if an offender fails to adhere to particular standards, he/she can be subjected to some punishments. With that, they are supposed to change their behaviors.
Principles of Parole and Probation
Both parole and probation work within defined principles to match the set standards. Remarkably, parole is a reentry strategy in which an offender is introduced back to the community before he/she completes his/her term in prison (American Bar Association, 2007). This happens when the correction officers believe that such an individual could complete his/her reformation while integrating with other people in the community. Probation occurs even before one is jailed. Depending on the scope of the offense, judges and other stakeholders in the judicial system can decide that an individual is put under probation. Parole and probation operate within the principle that if an offender violates the set conditions, he/she should be sent back to jail. Those offenders are also assigned su...