5.2 Probation and parole notes

1. 5.2.1Probation: origin, concept and development in India

   Probation (Latin probare, "to test or prove") is a court's decision to release a convicted offender into the community instead of sending him to prison, on a bond of good conduct and usually under the supervision of a probation officer; it grew from the work of Matthew Davenport Hill (England) and John Augustus (Boston, 1841, the "father of probation"), and in India runs from CrPC 1898 Section 562 through the provincial Acts of the 1930s to the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 and CrPC 360 (now BNSS 401).

   Standard · 15 min · Full course
2. 5.2.2Probation of Offenders Act 1958 and CrPC 360/361 (BNSS 401/402)

   The Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 lets a court, instead of sentencing a guilty person, release him after admonition (Section 3) or on probation of good conduct for up to 3 years, with or without a probation officer's supervision (Section 4), makes it pay compensation (Section 5), bars imprisoning offenders under 21 without recorded reasons (Section 6) and removes the disqualification of conviction (Section 12); CrPC 360 and 361, now BNSS 401 and 402, give a parallel power and make courts record special reasons when they do not use it.

   Standard · 17 min · Full course
3. 5.2.3Role of the probation officer: pre-sentence report, supervision and the juvenile setting

   The probation officer is the court's social investigator and the offender's supervisor: before sentence he reports on the person and his surroundings (pre-sentence or social investigation report), after a probation order he supervises and helps the offender in the community, and under the JJ Act he does the same for every child in conflict with law, with or without a probation order.

   Standard · 15 min · Full course
4. 5.2.4Parole, furlough, remission and premature release

   Parole and furlough let a convict out of prison for a while under conditions, remission shortens the time he must serve, and premature release (decided by the government on a Sentence Review Board's advice) lets him out for good before the full term; all are executive measures that reward good conduct and help reintegration, not rights a court gives.

   Standard · 16 min · Full course

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