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?