Alternatives to imprisonment : is probation effective?

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to research the perception of University students towards probation orders. Alternatives to imprisonment, to the public, are seen as lesser forms of punishment. Probation orders, as an alternative to imprisonment, deals with rehabilitating offenders in the community. Unfortunately, the work undertaken during probation orders may be subject to criticism by the general public. Here, in this research, an overview of the concept of probation and the many roles a probation officer takes on shall be discussed. Furthermore, university students are asked to voluntarily participate in an online questionnaire, to research whether they perceive probation orders to be effective or not. The research is a quantitative approach and a total of 102 respondents took part in the online questionnaire. The information received was gathered and analysed, upon which it is concluded that there seems to be a high percentage of university students who think that probation orders are effective.