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Trevor Ringwood
Tamara Webb
ENGL 1010
4/30/15
Hold or Release what is the Answer?
In the nation today there is a growing concern about the prison and how they are starting
to overcrowd with inmates. To deal with this problem the government is pushing to let out
certain inmates, some of which are felons into the public on probation. This has caused alarm to
those whose communities it is now affecting as well as the law enforcement agencies. Due to the
increased work load that will be put on agencies to watch over and rehabilitate these individuals
not to mention the drastic work load increase that will be put on probation officers who at the
moment already have trouble dealing with the work load that they have already. The probation
system could be the best solution to overcrowding in prisons, but right now it is not currently
viable because there are tools that the probation system is not implementing and the probation
officers are already overburdened as is.
The majority of the problem for the overcrowding obviously is the inmates and the reason
why they are there. Due to the War on Drugs that took place during the 90s a lot of inmates that
are in the prison system are there due to overly strict drug charges most of which are for
possession or distribution of marijuana. Now this is interesting due to the surge of states that are
legalizing the use and selling of it.

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You'll notice that rising crime rates is not part of the explanation [for
the increase in prisoners in the United States]. Crime has not
seriously increased, but the war on drugs and some other factors have
changed to put more people in prison for longer periods of time. The
4 Biggest Reasons So Many Americans are Behind Bars
US federal prisons are significantly overcrowded, holding 40 percent
more inmates than they were designed to incarcerate. More than
219,000 people are currently locked up in federal prisons, with nearly
half of them serving time for drug-related offenses. (Facing
overcrowded prisons, US wants to cut drug sentences rt.com)
From these two quotes it is clear that a significant number of inmates that are
incarcerated are so because drugs. Most of which are non violent cases which dont warrant a
lengthy incarceration. With this being said many people have called for a lot of these convicts to
be released and for more leniencies on conviction of non violent drug crimes mainly the ones
that deal with marijuana.
I agree full heartily with this stance due to the fact that these people dont necessarily
pose a threat to society and also with the nation slowly starting to be more accepting of
marijuana. If this leniency begins to happen then the rate of people that are prosecuted and
incarcerated for these charges should also decrease.
With overcrowding though some people or more specifically some
government agencies have been taking more of an opposite route. In an

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article published by Dersert News by Madeleine Brown the issue is addressed

where some felonies are being let out of jail instead of people who are only in
there for misdemeanors.
"The ludicrous part of this is now to keep my misdemeanor criminals;
I'm letting felons out the door. ... That's not good for my community,"
Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy said.(Madeleine Brown, Bill passed by
Legislature may mean Utah jails will release some felons early Desert
News)
There are opposition to this happening and rightly so if people are needed to be released it should
be low risk inmates not felons who committed crimes that had put people in danger. There is a
need to let people out yes but should it be felons? Now this article just mentioned pushes being
made in Utah if this is a nationwide push shouldnt there be a resolution nationwide? This isnt
the question that this paper is trying to answer but still keep it in mind.
By reserving the most severe penalties for serious, high-level or violent drug traffickers,
we can better promote public safety, deterrence and rehabilitation, while making our
expenditures smarter and more productive, Holders says in the speech. The mandatory
sentences were adopted during the war on drugs in the 1980s, but the US simply lacks
the funds and the capacity to imprison low-level drug offenders.
Mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenses have played a huge role in
the explosion of the U.S. prison population, Durbin said in a news release. Once seen
as a strong deterrent, these mandatory sentences have too often been unfair, fiscally

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irresponsible and a threat to public safety. Given tight budgets and overcrowded prison
cells, judges should be given the authority to conduct an individualized review in
sentencing certain drug offenders and not be bound to outdated laws that have proven not
to work and cost taxpayers billions (Facing overcrowded prisons, US wants to cut drug
sentences rt.com)
As Durbin is saying there is a better way for these people and incarceration isnt always
the best thing for them. The system that can give these convicts the structure and rehabilitation
that Durbin mentioned is the Probation and Parole system. However the same thing that is
happening in the prisons with overcrowding and a tight budget is happening in the probation
system. A probation officer right now is already being assigned an unrealistic workload without
this push taking affect. This is due to budget cuts that law enforcement agencies have to make.
When they are assigned to make budget cuts the probation system is usually the one to take a hit
leaving them shorthanded and making it a necessity to give these officers more cases then they
can bear. What Durber is says is a problem for the prison system is already a problem for the
probation system, so if we made this a solution for the prison system then we would just be
shifting the problem over to the probation system instead of trying to fix the problem all together.
While caseload size will grow as offender populations increase, workload per officer is a
more stagnant figure, as there are only so many working hours available in each day,
week, month, or year for each officer. (Matthew DeMichele, M.S. (A.B.D.)Brian K. Payne, Ph.D.
US courts.gov)
With this problem as a whole people need to tighten up every aspect of the systems that
are in question and the probation system is no different. There are different practices that are not

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being fully implemented in the system one of the major ones is called EBP or evidence based
practices. This type of practice is only being implemented by a very small portion of the
probation system and in that portion that does exercise it they have seen very prominent success.
William Burrell is an expert on this and shares his frustration at the lack of implementing this
practice.
Probation and parole agencies in the US are in a challenging position. A
comprehensive and compelling body of research and knowledge, known as evidencebased practices (EBP), suggests that well-designed and well-implemented correctional
programs can reduce recidivism significantly.
This frustrates me, because probation and parole continue to suffer from poor outcomes
and a marginal public image. We can do better, and we know how. What is holding us
back? This is an opportunity to transform community corrections that wont last forever.
(William Burell thecrimereport.org)
If there is still improving that needs to be done then in my opinion then we should wait to
give the probations system a work load such as what has been discussed. Now it is near
impossible to get anything perfect but with something such as this where something is proven to
work but is yet still not being implemented throughout the system they need to take a step back
and work at it until the majority sees the benefit of this. All this being said the probation system
is still a very effective system where most people that go through it have a positive experience
and the people that usually fail their probation usually fail it on the technicalities such as the
curfew and abstinence from drinking and alcohol. The probation system doesnt just keep an eye
on the people that they are over but they also provide much needed services to the people in

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question. They provide rehab so that they can overcome many dependencies such as drugs that
can be the fuel for their crimes. Another service that can be provided is job training; this is
especially helpful because the majority of the people in the system do not have the skills that are
required to make an honest living. Most of these people actually want a fresh start and to give
up the life they once knew they just lack the knowhow and the probation system is crucial to
them acquiring these skills.
Now is the probation the right solution for the overcrowding of jails? I would say yes but
in time, there is a still issue inside the system that needs to be fixed especially the excessive
workload. What is being suggested right now will just shift the problem to another area instead
of getting rid of it once and for all. As far as cost effectiveness goes we will save money through
the probation system but only if we do it effectively if not then we will just be wasting money
somewhere else. So is there a solution that can solve the problem right now? The answer to that
one is no, some things might keep the problem at bay but in doing so the problem will just come
back with a vengeance so if we as a nation want to go in the direction of using the probation
system as a solution then we need to first fix the deeper problems then we can watch as the
problem will be fixed.

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Bibliography

Brown Madeline, Bill passed by Legislature may mean Utah

jails will release some felons early Deseret News Published:
Sunday, March 16, 2014
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865598799/Bill-passed-byLegislature-may-mean-Utah-jails-will-release-some-felons-

early.html

Burell William D. Probation and Parole: Why Dont We Do What

Works? Web April 26, 2011 12:35:56 pm
DeMichel Matthew & Payne Brian K. Probation and Parole Officers
Speak OutCaseload and Workload Allocation, Published by the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts www.uscourts.gov

Publishing Information
Facing overcrowded prisons, US wants to cut drug sentences Rt.com

August 12, 2013

Probation officers helping offenders get back on their

feet US Courts.gov June 2004

The 4 Biggest Reasons So Many Americans are Behind Bars attn.com