The idea of assisting inmates in integrating back into society is a rather reasonable one since it is quite expected for a prisoner to encounter difficulties when reverting back to life in a community. Indeed, research indicates that a significant number of former prisoners find it incredibly hard to become a part of their community once again (McKee, 2018). The described challenges are associated both with external factors, namely, the hostility of community members, and the internal ones, specifically, the inmates accepting new patterns of interaction within prisons. Therefore, using parole as the tool for avoiding the development of the specified problems, including the acceptance of the prison-related behaviors and the reception of societal contempt, seems a reasonable step to take. However, the use of parole may be considered a risk to the community in the situations where a prisoner is mentally unstable. Therefore, the application of the parole technique should only be seen as possible once tight control over the paroled criminal is established.
The adoption of community corrections as the strategies for helping former inmates to integrate back into society appear to be quite a sensible tool. However, the specified approach implies facing certain challenges, such as the understandable fear within a community of allowing a convicted criminal into its environment. The issue might seem as nonexistent with minor offenders, yet in the cases that involve murder and other serious crimes, the concept of probation becomes a more palpable threat to the community. To address this problem, one might want to advise the reinforcement of control over the actions of the criminal and the focus on rehabilitation as the central idea of change as opposed to the emphasis on punishment (Voorhis & Salisbury, 2016). Fostering a positive rapport with the community should also be seen as critical, which is why working with community members should also be recognized as an important part of the process.
References
McKee, A. (2018). Criminal justice | Section 6.4: Parole, probation, and community sanctions | Professor McKee’s things and stuff. Web.
Voorhis, P. J., & Salisbury, E. J. Correctional counseling and rehabilitation. New York, NY: Routledge.