PROBATION is not a "sort option" for offenders, the Law Reform Commission report says. It is "difficult and painful to change life patterns", it notes, and certain offenders have said they would prefer to go to prison than participate in a particular intensive probation programme.
The Law Reform Commission says it is "absolutely satisfied" that even the most rudimentary cost benefit analysis would indicate the Probation Service should be a "primary" target for additional resources in the area of sentencing.
While research has not been carried out on the effectiveness of probation in Ireland, the experience of officers working on the ground is that a significant number of people who are placed on it do not make further court appearances.
The report calls for greater funding for the intensive probation scheme (IPS), which was implemented in the early 1990s and operates in Dublin and Cork.
At the very least, it should benefit from the savings accrued by not having to keep offenders in custody, the report says.
The IPS scheme combines rehabilitation with incapacitation, through intense supervision, and the report says this combination works well.
