Probation is a successful alternative to incarceration because it helps cut down on the amount of people in prison and gives the offender a chance to right their wrongs without serving unnecessary jail time. When a person commits a crime and ends up in prison they usually come out worse than they went in. Criminals who commit crimes such as tax evasion or fraud end up behind bars with murderers and rapists. These people deserve to pay for their crimes but often get put in situations behind bars that cause them to commit other crimes just to protect themselves. Probation is a great alternative for people who deserve to be punished but don’t deserve jail time. Being placed in prison ruins a person’s life. Once they get out it is hard to find a job which often leads the person back into a life of crime. I think probation and other alternatives should be used more often. If some of these people could be given a chance to do community service and serve their time through probation, maybe we would have more success stories and less repeat offenders.
