According to the United States' Department of Justice's Bureau of Statistics (2004), the number of adults in the correctional population is increasing at an average of 3.4 percent annually; this represents close to a 20 percent increase since 1995 alone. In 2003, a total of 1,470,045 inmates were in prison at year's end. Of these, 1,296,986 were under State jurisdiction and 173,059 were under Federal jurisdiction. The total number of people who were either in prison or jail, on probation or on parole was 6.9 million. This paper examines one sentencing option for the population of federal offenders, namely that of probation.
Worth and Sarat (2001) define probation as a criminal sanction and note that, as a sentencing option in the court system, probation allows offenders to live and work in the community, support their families, receive rehabilitative services and make restitution to the victims of their crimes. Thus, the probation option is often a benefit to both the prisoners and the larger society.
Worth and Sarat (2001) also point out that in lieu of incarceration, the federal offender remains under the court's supervision for a specified length of time. Further, it is excepted that offenders will follow a set of requirements, the most typical of which are to: obey all laws; abide by all court orders; report any and all changes of employment or address to their probation officers; abstain from excessive use of drugs or alcohol; refrain from travel unless it is okayed by a probation officer; and submit to drug testing.
In his discussion of federal sentencing options, Tonry (1998) points out that offenders given probation are subject to both announced and unannounced visits from probation offers as a means of verifying that they are abiding by the terms set for their probation. Further, probation can be revoked if the parole officer discovers that there have been violations of any stipulated requirements. Tonry also re...