Running Head: SOCIAL SERVICES FOR PROBATIONERS 1
Social Services for Probationers
Institutional Affiliation
Student's Name
Date
SOCIAL SERVICES FOR PROBATIONERS 2
Response one
Hello West, I agree with you that a social service approach for dealing with offenders or parole is
very appropriate. It would help them get better and avoid committing the offense again or going
back to their old characters. I also agree with your post that the offenders could be challenged
with their mental health because of issues with job opportunities or problems from their families,
making social services the best way to help them adjust (Grigsby, 2012). You needed to mention
wearing civilian clothes instead of uniforms when dealing with convicts because it helps build a
good relationship with them. This is important because the convicts could learn to be better
people and avoid going back to their bad characters. It would also be essential for there to be
frequent meetings with the convicts together once in a while during their patrol to encourage
them through their progress in changing their characters. It would prompt them and give them
hope for better days as their character changes through the parole.
According to the bible, Jesus showed a good example for treating the wrongdoers well to
motivate them from committing mistakes and crimes. He allowed the prostitute to clean his feet,
and when people asked him why he allowed the Woman to cry on his feet, his answer to them
was a lesson that we must accept sinners and encourage them to be better. Jesus straightened up
and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” "No one, sir," she said
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
SOCIAL SERVICES FOR PROBATIONERS 3
References
Grigsby, R. S. (2012). Convict Criminology and Social Justice Advocacy Toward Radical
Change. Journal of Prisoners on Prisons, 21(1 &2), 81-90.
Holy Bible, John 8: 10-11
Zoukis, C. (2014). College for Convicts: The Case for Higher Education in American Prisons.
North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
Response two
Hello Glasster, I agree with you that using strict law enforcement on probationers would cause
their characters to be worse rather than changing. I found it very beneficial that you mentioned
social services to be beneficial in helping them to change their characters and aim for being
better people (Zoukis, 2014). Social service-oriented probation is beneficial in helping the
probationers learn the correct way to react to some situations and people in ways that will not
harm anyone. It will also help them see the benefits of seeing life positively rather than from a
negative side. In my perspective, I think that another method to help the convicts be better is by
engaging them with ex-probationers to allow them to engage and share means that helped them
be better people. It would motivate them to change sooner and go back to their ordinary lives.
Biblically, social services are a form of helping and considering those in need because it is
always the right thing. Wrongdoers, in this case, are the needy, and they require support and love
to help them turn from their bad characters (Wittekind, 2018). Social workers specialize in
seeing people from a positive side and looking at what they can do rather than looking at what
SOCIAL SERVICES FOR PROBATIONERS 4
they did. It is a good strategy, not only biblically but according to humanity, because it helps
people look at their good sides; it's a way of motivating them. Psalm 41:1 "Blessed is the one
who considers the poor!" Matthew 7 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's
eye and pay no attention to the plank in your eye?" judging others is considered wrong, and it
does not help in changing character in any way.
References
Holy Bible, Psalms 41:1
Wittekind, K. (2018). The Bottom Two Percent: Using Positive Psychology to Create Change
Among Convicts. Master of Applied Positive Psychology.
Zoukis, C. (2014). College for Convicts: The Case for Higher Education in American Prisons.
North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
