NCJ Number
111587
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 50 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1986) Pages: 78-81
Date Published
1986
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Probation as currently understood and practiced dates from 1841, although supervision of troublesome members of society has been practiced in different ways and for different reasons for centuries.
Abstract
With the industrial revolution and the development of a large, complex, impersonal, urban society, earlier approaches to keeping an eye on problem members of society no longer worked, and more formal mechanisms were required. Massachusetts passed the first probation statute in 1878; and by 1920, 33 states had implemented adult probation and all States allowed for juvenile probation. As probation became institutionalized, it also grew away from careful monitoring because it became a supplement, rather than an alternative, to incarceration. Current interest in intensive probation supervision suggests a return to the earlier times when probation was viewed as an alternative, when caseloads were small, and when the goal was to help the offender modify his behavior in such a way as to be law abiding and self-sufficient. While the future is difficult to predict, the opportunities for reform have never been better. Remembering the past may facilitate moving forward. 22 references.