The United States probably has the highest numbers of prisoners, with over two million people in various prisons. Crime got on the rise in the 1980s and in the 1990s which made the criminal justice department quite ruthless. Today, with crime rates lowered, other alternatives to incarceration such as rehabilitation and treatment, fines and probation should be applied. A study report suggested that about forty percent (about 600,000) of the prisoners should not even be in prison. According to the report, about twenty-five percent of prisoners were involved in non-violent crimes while fifteen percent have already served long terms in prisons. The United States would greatly benefit economically just by releasing this percentage of the prison population. Probation seems like a good alternative for those convicted of non-violent crimes. Incarceration for a few years sometimes only makes the worst out of a person instead of positively impacting on that particular person. This essay aims to analyze whether probation presents as a good alternative to incarceration for nonviolent crimes and how the country would benefit from this idea.
Crimes incapacitated in the 1980s and in the 1990s such that the criminal justice officials became quite ruthless in dealing with criminals of any kind. Today, crime rates have considerably decreased, and a good number of inmates are those involved in nonviolent crimes. Nevertheless, the prison population is still quite high, and the number seems to increase every year ( Liptak, 2008) . The society has become more civilized, and people tend to do good more often as opposed to the olden days. Today, major crimes include drug use and drug trafficking. Many inmates in prison have already served long terms and may definitely cause no harm if they are released or better if they are released on probation terms. The society today needs a more understanding criminal justice system. The increasing rates of incarceration continuously create a rift between the public and the criminal justice system, creating some form of hostility.
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Probation is much more efficient as compared to incarceration, for nonviolent crimes ( Green & Winik, 2010) . While on probation, a convict would always try as much as possible to comply with the law in order to stay out of prison. The violation of the probation terms are quite clear and such guides and transform the behavior and conduct of the convict. Unlike the harsh and unfriendly prison life, probation has the capacity to transform a convicted criminal positively. Short prison terms may not do much for hardcore criminals. As a matter of fact, prisons may sometimes make the worst out of an individual instead of molding such an individual into a better person. While in probation, the fear of breaking the law and ending up in prison would always guide the individual to do good. Probation terms may also indicate certain treatment programs for the convict aimed at transforming the individual into a better person. With probation, the government can also get to receive revenue in the form of charges or fines which will be put in other constructive programs.
This initiative may impact quite positively in the society. There are many families, many children whose parents are serving long jail terms. Releasing these people would make their families very happy. Furthermore, the released population of inmates into the society would constitute an added workforce in the society. Probation would uphold the quality of the nature of our society. It would indicate a high level of civilization in our community.
The report mentioned above indicated that if the forty percent of the prison population is released, the government will save more than twenty billion dollars annually ( Schmitt, Warner & Gupta, 2010) . With unemployment on the rise, this actually opens gateways to a lot of opportunities. The money saved can be used to employ about three hundred new police officers, three hundred new probation officers or even more than three hundred new school teachers. If the initiative to ban incarceration for nonviolent offenders goes through then, the government may consider employing more probation officers and probably look at other sectors such as education too. The probation officers would then work to ensure that offenders on probation comply with their probation terms and with the law ( Maruschak & Parks, 2012) . The government may also opt to use the money to get rid of other challenges such as the foreign debt so that the country’s economy may develop.
In my opinion, I think that probation for nonviolent crimes as an alternative to jail-time would sound like quite a great initiative. Lowering the number of prisoners would save the country a lot of money, and through probation, the government would make extra money, which together, would be used to get rid of challenges such as unemployment. Probation with treatment programs guarantees a positive transformation in convicted nonviolent criminals ( Green & Winik, 2010) .
The prison population in the United States is quite massive while many prisons should not be doing time in the first place. As described in the discussion above, probation presents as better alternative to incarceration when it comes to dealing with nonviolent crimes. Probation offers a better chance of transforming a criminal behavior and also saves the country a lot of money which may be put in other constructive processes. Releasing nonviolent criminals alone would save the country a lot of money which could be used to get rid of societal problems such as unemployment and poverty. The society would also look more civilized with the probation initiative in place.
References
Green, D. P., & Winik, D. (2010). Using random judge assignments to estimate the effects of incarceration and probation on recidivism among drug offenders. Criminology , 48 (2), 357-387.
Liptak, A. (2008). 1 in 100 US adults behind bars, new study says. New York Times , 28 .
Maruschak, L. M., & Parks, E. (2012). Probation and parole in the United States, 2011. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics , 23(1), 114-140.
Schmitt, J., Warner, K., & Gupta, S. (2010). The high budgetary cost of incarceration. Washington, DC: Center for Economic and Policy Research .
