Student Name: Haseeb Yasin

Student Number: 20092456

Course: Social Science

Lecturer: Donal Keating

Date of Submission: 7th Of November

Table of contents:

Plagiarism declaration:...................................................................... 4
Introduction:....................................................................................... 5
The Criminal Justice Administration Act 1907...............................5
The Criminal Justice Act 1960:.........................................................6
Rehabilitation......................................................................................6
Reference List.......................................................................................9
Plagiarism declaration:

Department of Applied Arts

School of Humanities
Waterford Institute of Technology

I certify that this assignment is all my own work and contains no plagiarism. By submitting
this assignment, I agree to the following terms:
Any text, diagrams or other material copied from other sources (including, but not limited to,
books, journals and the internet) have been clearly acknowledged and referenced as such in
the text by the use of ‘quotation marks’ (or indented italics for longer quotations) followed by
the author’s name and date [eg (Byrne, 2008)] either in the text or in a footnote/endnote.
These details are then confirmed by a fuller reference in the bibliography.

I have read the sections on referencing and plagiarism in the handbook or in the WIT
Plagiarism policy and I understand that only assignments which are free of plagiarism will be
awarded marks. I further understand that WIT has a plagiarism policy which can lead to the
suspension or permanent expulsion of students in serious cases (WIT, 2008).

Signed: Haseeb Yasin Date: 07/11/2022

Student Number: 20092456

Course: Social Science
Introduction:

According to (Diana, 1960) probation refers to the suspension of a sentence by the court. This
means that the offender will remain in the community until the duration of the sentence has
passed by. However, if the offender has been involved in any misleading conduct that would
lead him/her serving the sentence behind bars the practitioner would look at his/her behaviour
throughout this process to assess whether the offender will be likely to reoffend or reform.
This simply gives the offender a choice between reforming or being punished.

The probation of offenders act 1907 was where if, a person accused of committing an offense
that is punishable by a court of summary jurisdiction, the court determines that the charge is
proven but is inefficient to impose any punishment other than a normal punitive measure due
to the accused person’s character, background, age, health, or mental condition as well as the
minor nature of the offense or mitigating circumstances surrounding its commission.

The Criminal Justice Administration Act 1907

Since the passing of the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 Into legislation there have been
many other legislations and acts that have been passed into law, such as the Criminal Justice
Administration Act 1914. This act was where if a community is developed or already exists
with recognition of care and control as one of its objects or amongst its objects subsidises
individuals under the age of twenty-one while societies for probation under the probation of
offenders act 1907 care for individuals while released from Borstal institution, reformatory or
youthful industrial schools, or under supervision.

When a court of summary jurisdiction issues a probation order for someone who seems to be
under twenty-one, the court may designate any person suggested by a recognised society to
serve as the case’s probation officer, or when a probation officer provided by a recognised
society is appointed to act in any case and the society later determines it is expedient for
another officer provided by the society to replace the officer originally appointed, the society
may subject to the courts approval and appoint that other officer to act. At that point the
probation order will take effect as if the substituted officer had been appointed to act at the
beginning of the case.
Another key element to note is that a recognised society may receive payments from funds
given by parliament under the criteria recommended by the Secretary of State with the
Treasury’s permission, in order to cover the costs incurred by the organisation.

The Criminal Justice Act 1960:

In this act the minister may issue regulations allowing for the temporary release of
individuals serving a sentence of penal servitude, incarceration, or detention in Saint Patrick’s
Institution subject to any conditions (if any) that may be imposed in each unique situation.

Any rules made pursuant to this section shall be laid before each House of Oireachtas as soon
as it is practicable after they are made, and if a resolution annulling the rules is passed by
such House within twenty-one days after the rules are laid before it, the rules shall be
annulled accordingly but without affecting the validity of anything previously done
thereunder.

Rehabilitation

According to (Trust, 2011) Ireland has been overusing imprisonment as punishment as

opposed to sanctions such as probation. This suggests that Ireland has one of the highest rates
of prisoners in Europe. However, a large amount of the people serving these sentences, are
only there for short term periods of time which is about 6 months. The vast majority of
people that are sent to prisons in Ireland are there for non-violent offences. (Trust, 2010)
suggests that since the rate if non-violent crimes is low, prisoners could be handled with non-
custodial means.

Sending people to prison for non-violent crimes who do not pose a threat to society, or the
community is very costly for the state and in the long run is not very effective. According to
the Scottish commission the community should have a huge role in the involvement of
offenders reforming. According to (Trust, 2011) it was reported that the average cost of
keeping someone in custody for a year was 87,950 However it was approximately estimated
that the cost of a community service order costed 1500

Losing contact with relatives and friends and employment can lead to negative effects for the
offender’s family, taken into consideration it is a non-serious offence. Community sanctions
fend off isolation for the offender and can evade the negative impacts of going to prison. The
state is providing a host of services such as rehabilitative practises to help change/reform the
person from their bad habits and addictions such as drug use, mental health issues and the
social economic exclusion. These community sanctions increase the likelihood of the
offender to reform themselves and turn their lives around.

Lower rates of re offending is another reason why this should not be an alternative to
imprisonment. There is substantial evidence that proves that individuals/ people given
community sentences are far less likely to reoffend than those who get sent to prison. There
should be a balance between suspended sentences and community sanctions and therefore
should be more of a focus on rehabilitative methods as opposed to imprisonment.

(Trust, 2011) suggests that these sanctions are available to the Irish court which include
supervision and non-supervision required. This is a punishment given if a person is charged
with an offence, but the court thinks the charge has been proven. When handing out this type
of sanction the court can also give their own terms and conditions such as supervision of the
offender or payment of compensation to the victim.

Probation Order:

According to (Trust, 2011) This can apply for about two to three years with the goal of
rehabilitating the individual. Watching for the safety of the public and stopping the likelihood
of someone reoffending. Probation orders can come with conditions such as residence
requirements, treatment requirements and/ or reporting requirements.

Fines:

(Trust, 2011) highlights that, fines can be given for many criminal offences depending on the
severity of the offender’s crimes. The failure to pay fines can lead to 90 days in a prison.

Suspended Sentences:

(Trust, 2011) shows that, this is solely given to only those who will more than likely not re-
offend within a fixed period of time. However, the court may also decide to add additional
conditions such as going to therapy or treatment for addictions.

The Drug Treatment Court Programme:

According to (Trust, 2011) this programme begun in Dublin and is available to those
criminals who live in Dublin over the age of 17 and need help with tackling their drug
addiction. Its main focus is on people who have been convicted of non-violent crimes and
those who applied to be a part of this programme.

Geiran and Durnescu (2019) state that The Council of Europe and the ERCSM stressed the
fact that probation agencies should set goals to reduce reoffending by having a positive
relationship with offenders. They suggest that having a relationship with the offender will
result in the probation officer maintaining order and control while carrying out the
community-based work under the supervision and guidance of the probation officer.

The “nothing works to what works”, theories received a lot of positive support from the
various Council of Europe recommendations. It suggests that probation agencies must have a
good relationship with an offender as a way of supervising and having control where needs
be, to improve social interaction/inclusion.
Reference List
Dernescu, G. (2010, May 4). Pains of probation: effective practice
and human rights. Retrieved from National Libraty of Medicine:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20442271/
Service, T. P. (1977). Misuse of drugs act 1977. Retrieved from
Legislation relevent to probation:
http://probation.ie/EN/PB/0/959D19D3CDB23BD48025802600
40F8A3/$File/Misuse+of+Drugs+Act,+1977.pdf
trust, I. p. (2011, july 11). Probation Service: Annual Report 2010.
Retrieved from https://www.iprt.ie/prison-reports/probation-
service-annual-report-2010/