Discuss post do both as separate attachments

Ever since the beginning of the use of probation with John Augustus’s model there has been a few shifts and changes that have been introduced as society has changed as well. Initially probation officers were just there to enforce the restrictions and rules on the individual and make sure they were adhering to their probationary terms. Then in the 1960’s and 1970’s the role shifted to help offenders rehabilitate and reintegrate back into society. “The strong emphasis on rehabilitation is demonstrated by the recommendations made by a panel of experts formed in response to President Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 address to the U.S. Congress” (Gideon & Sung, 2011). This panel wanted the focus to be on rehabilitation and offering offenders programs and services to help them become better and able to better reintegrate back into society. Then again, another shift in the 1980’s to a model that felt it important that the punishment fit the crime, and this was a more strict and harsh approach. There has been several shifts and changes in the probationary approach and as times goes on there has an introduction to different ways to help offenders. As of late some probation officers are shifting to more of a social service role in which they offer more of a therapeutic approach and they really emphasize that the offender make changes to their life that can help them become law-abiding citizens. Probationers in this role usually help their probationers counseling, finding community programs, and offer services that go outside the traditional role of probation officers.

Probation officers who encompass this social worker role in how they help offenders have shown positive feedback. “The ‘social work’ role is oriented towards the assistance or rehabilitation of the offender” (Miller, 2015). In doing this, there has been a reduction in recidivism as offenders are getting more help and support that they need from their probation officers. Whenever offenders are able to receive help from programs or support from people around them there are more positive effects in their life and therefore they have less chance and finding themselves engaging in criminal activity again. With this social worker role, however, it may be important that the probation officers receive additional training tailored towards the role in order to best help the offender. Although a lot of the approach is seen in the probation officer themselves as far as compassion and treatment of the offender, there may also be some benefit to training them to best help the offender. The social worker role is very different than the traditional and more harsh role of a probation officer therefore it would be beneficial for the probation officers who are most interested in the social worker role to be given training that can best help them take this role on.

References

Gideon, L., & Sung, H. E. (2011). Rethinking corrections: Rehabilitation, reentry, and

reintegration (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 9781412970198.

Miller, J. (2015). Contemporary modes of probation officer supervision: The triumph of the

"synthetic" officer? Justice Quarterly, 32(2), 314. doi:10.1080/07418825.2013.770546