Blog 6: "Probation vs Parole"

Today I was in the student center and I heard a group of people arguing about the difference between probation and parole. Although I didn’t know these people, I really wanted to chime in because the information that was stated was wrong. It made me laugh and it sparked an idea of what I could possibly write my blog on. LOL! Probation is a decision handed down by a judge and it may be implemented instead of jail time or in combination with some jail time. It allows the convicted person to live in the community for a specified period of time under the supervision of a probation officer. Depending on the circumstances and the seriousness of the crime, the judge can specify restrictions on the offender's activities during the probationary period. If an offender violates the conditions or rules of probation, he or she may be sentenced to imprisonment by the judge. Parole is the early release of an inmate who has served part of his or her prison sentence. The inmate is allowed to return to the community under the conditions of parole and the supervision of a parole agent. If the offender violates any conditions, it can result in a revocation of the parole and re-imprisonment for the offender.

Probation and parole has similarities, but they are in fact different. To be on probation is less severe because there isn’t a guarantee that you will go to prison. Although that it possible, it doesn’t happen all the time. When an offender is placed on parole, it is because they served some time in prison already and it is possible for them to get out. They have to go in front of a parole board for them to make the decision on whether they can parole out or not. I feel like offenders who parole out have a higher recidivism rate because they don’t know how to adapt to society due to being institutionalized. The solution for this is to properly teach them how to adjust to the community again. This will help so they don’t go back to prison.

Blog 5: "Juvenile Delinquency"

Juvenile delinquency is a major problem in our society today. Questions always arise about why this is such an issue. My belief is that juvenile delinquency occurs depending on how that child was raised. There are several things that could possibly make a child act out of character such as, a child not getting enough attention at home or if the household is unstable. Children will do anything to receive love and attention from their parents, but if there is a lack of these emotional attachments, the child seeks attention from elsewhere. That is when a child goes out and gets into trouble. If they dont have the proper guidance from an adult with authority, children will do whatever they want to do.

Delinquents are hard to figure out because sometimes they don’t know how to properly express how they are feeling. Our society today needs to pay more attention to our youth because they are our future. People need to be more involved, and try to help the kids who are less fortunate in their community. The youth needs more role models to look up to. The last thing they need is adults pre-judging them or giving up on them once they get into trouble for the first time. We need to remember, if we don’t help them while they are young, they will be the future criminals in our community. Is that what you want?

Blog 4: "What a Correction Officer Should Know"

I never knew what being a corrections officer entailed until I visited Statesville Correctional facility with my class. I became interested in the job because it was a risk taking job. We only live once and going out on a limb is pretty exciting to me. After thinking and thinking, I realized that maybe that atmosphere is not for me. I say that because I am getting older and I want to start a family one day and having a risky job will not be stable for my household. I would hate to get hurt on the job and I would not want my significant other or my family to worry about me all the time. That kind of lifestyle will not benefit me; however I know there are some families it does work for. My decision was confirmed after I did a little research and watched this video as well as other videos.

The spark of my interest in this career field will forever remain, but I just feel in the long run it will not be valuable for me. Instead I will focus on getting set up in my career goal which is being a juvenile probation officer in Tennessee. I did research on this field recently, and they are in need of them. This journey is a great opportunity for me because I wanted to move there and it is just ironic they are looking for people in the field I desire.

Third Post

The prison population today is made up of mostly African American men and I sit back and wonder why all the time. I personally don’t know what it is like to be a black man, but I am a black woman and I can only imagine the obstacles they come across in their everyday life. They experience discrimination sometimes, even if they aren’t doing anything wrong. Although this may be mind boggling to me, I have to think where this seed was planted. When we see violent crimes on television or robberies, what race is usually the offender? Think about it.



There has been a stigma placed on black men for years and no matter what, it will continue to be that way because it is instilled in our youth. The United States incarcerates more of its youth than any other country in the world. In order to get things in place we have to start with the young generation because the youth eventually turn into the adults that I am now mentioning. This is why me reaching my career goal is very important to me. Helping the youth will relieve some problems, but not all I’m sure. I don’t plan on changing the entire country because I am not trying to seek that kind of recognition, but being able to change someone’s life daily would be life pleasing to me.

Second Post

My career goal is to eventually become a juvenile probation officer. Juvenile probation is the oldest and most widely used vehicle through which a range of court-ordered services is rendered. I honestly feel they do an extreme amount of work, but in my eyes I just like to help people. The official duties of a juvenile probation officer can vary from state to state and can even differ between jurisdictions within a single state. Some of the basic tasks consist of intake screening of cases referred to juvenile and family courts, predisposition or presentence investigation of juveniles, and court-ordered supervision of juvenile offenders. This type of career choice interest me and I get so excited thinking of the next steps to make this profession a reality. I know some people view this type of job as stressful, but at the end of the day someone has to do it. There can be a lot of challenges and I love that kind of atmosphere because I grew up facing challenges every day. That is why I work so hard to achieve my goals today and I will not let anything blind me from doing so. This line of work needs dedicated individuals willing to put forth a lot of effort. All in all, people need to help children who made a mistake in the past to make better choices and become law abiding citizens.    

First Post

My name is....well you don’t need to know my name, but I have big dreams for my career goals. I am currently a student at Northern Illinois University and I will be graduating in December 2011 so the real world is coming very soon for me. My major is Sociology with an emphasis in Criminology and there are a lot of things I can do with my degree. After I am done with my bachelor’s degree I want to continue my education and get my master’s degree so when I do get a job, I can make more money. I plan to do a few other professions before I settle into my lifetime goal. First, I would like to be a campus police officer to get my feet wet. The reason I chose this is because I love to help people. Also I know how it is to feel unsafe on campus so I want to be the person to help change that and make an impact on other people's lives. Another thing I would like to try is being a corrections officer for the Department of Corrections. I visited a prison with one of my classes and I instantly became interested. My lifetime job I would like to uphold is being a juvenile probation officer. Our youth today is a bit out of control so I want to join that field to possibly have an impact on our children and give them the proper guidance. Although this may seem crazy, I like to have a variety to pick from. I want to explore my options so that way I make sure I am doing the things I love for the rest of my life.