If I were the governor of Massachusetts I would not abolish parole. We need parole. The judges would let a lot of criminals off on probation if we didn't have parole because they don't want them sentenced to ten years in prison but, because they will be released in a year on parole they are all set on the sentence. We need to keep the space open for more hard core criminals that just don't care. I would say about thirty percent of first time offenders learn their lesson the first time around and should be released on parole.
             Probation is a joke. There are so many changes that need to be done. The first problem is that probation is different depending on the court you are in. Which it should be the same no mater what court you are on probation out of.
             Probation officers need more time in fieldwork. They need to be out on the streets more doing ride a rounds with the police, home visits and work visits. They need to be seen not spending all their time in the courthouse. There is no point on having the probation officers out seeing if the probationers are violating their probation if when the probation officer brings them in for violation the judge just assigns them to pay more restitution or extends their probation. There needs to be some sort of consequences. The probation officer is the only one that looks like a fool when they keep bringing someone in for violation and the judge does nothing about it. That gives the probationer a lot of fear in the system. Again I am not saying this happens in all the courts but I feel as though it happens in a majority of them.
             I think there needs to be a better training system for probation officers. They need to know how everything works and for some reason the state segregates every job. You only know what you need to know. They should know how to do it from the beginning till the end.
             You get what you pay for. There is not enough money spent ...