CHAPTER 8 PROBATION (part 1)

Summary: Chapter 8 — Probation (Part 1)

What probation means

Probation is a court-authorized alternative to imprisonment. After conviction and sentencing, the court may suspend execution of the sentence and allow the person to remain in the community under specified conditions.

A probationer is supervised and guided by a probation officer and must comply with the court’s requirements. The lecturer describes probation as a privilege and second chance, not an automatic right. Its aims include rehabilitation, avoiding unnecessary imprisonment, and reducing jail overcrowding. The lecture links the word probation to Latin terms meaning “testing” or “to prove.”

Key terms

• Petitioner: A convicted defendant who formally applies for probation. Applying does not mean probation has been granted.
• Probationer: A person placed on probation by the court.
• Probation officer: A person who investigates cases referred by the court, supervises probationers, or performs other related duties.

Legal basis in the Philippines

Presidential Decree No. 968, or the Probation Law of 1976, established probation as a less costly alternative to imprisonment, particularly for first-time offenders. Under the decree, the court may, after conviction and sentencing, grant an application to suspend execution of the sentence and place the person on probation under specified terms and conditions.

The lecture notes that PD 968 separates adult probation from juvenile matters and excludes those covered by PD 603, the Child and Youth Welfare Code.

Historical precursors to probation

The lecturer traces probation’s roots to English legal practices that sought to moderate punishment:

• Benefit of clergy: A practice associated with the church under which clergy could claim authority over a member accused in a king’s court, bringing the matter under ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
• Judicial reprieve: A temporary suspension or postponement of a sentence, including, in some cases, a reprieve from execution on conditions such as deportation.
• Recognizance: A sworn promise to keep the peace and behave well, sometimes used to defer judgment.
• Transportation: Punishment involving the removal of offenders to penal colonies, where they served their sentences through labor.

According to the lecture, these practices arose in England and were carried to the American colonies. It distinguishes the English origins of probation’s antecedents from the later development of probation as a formal system in the United States.

People and events in probation’s development

• John Augustus is identified as the father of probation in the United States and the initiator of the probation process. A Boston shoemaker, he helped develop practices that later became characteristic of probation.
• Matthew Davenport Hill, an English lawyer, is identified as a key figure in the development of probation in England, including the practice of suspending sentences and supervising offenders in the community.
• Teodulo Natividad is identified as the father of probation in the Philippines. He co-sponsored House Bill No. 393 and chaired a committee that prepared a draft decree for an adult probation system.
• Father Cook, working in Boston around 1870, investigated young offenders’ circumstances and advised courts about their potential for reform. The lecture says courts later placed young offenders under his care.
• Massachusetts passed the first probation law in 1878. The lecturer names Governor Alexander H. Rice as the official who signed it and says the law provided for paid probation officers.
• Edward H. Savage, a former Boston police chief, was appointed as a probation officer and is described as the first paid probation officer.
• The Federal Probation Act of 1925, signed by President Calvin Coolidge, extended federal probation. The lecture also notes a practice that allowed some prisoners considered not dangerous to work during the day while remaining in jail.

Early Philippine probation law

Act No. 4221, enacted in 1935, was the Philippines’ first probation law. It created probation offices under the Department of Justice and provided probation for certain first-time offenders aged 18 and older.

The Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional in People v. Vera in 1937. The lecture explains that a key issue was that implementation depended on provincial boards choosing to provide funds for probation officers, rather than applying uniformly nationwide.

Benefits and purposes of probation

The lecturer presents probation as beneficial to individuals, families, victims, government, and society. It can:

• Support rehabilitation in the community rather than expose suitable offenders to hardened criminals in prison.
• Reduce prison and jail populations and lower the government’s costs of confinement.
• Protect victims through restitution while preserving the aims of justice.
• Help preserve family relationships by avoiding the separation of a parent or spouse from the household.
• Offer eligible first-time or repentant offenders a second chance and an opportunity to become productive members of society and taxpayers.
• Reduce reoffending and help prevent crime when limited to appropriate candidates and combined with supervision and treatment.
• Reduce demands on correctional institutions and police resources associated with feeding and guarding people in custody.

Probation also reflects the belief that human life is valuable and that society has a moral responsibility to help people recover from wrongdoing.

Speakers and sources mentioned

• Speaker: Jennifer Casabar, the lecturer presenting the chapter.
• Laws and legal materials: Presidential Decree No. 968 (Probation Law of 1976); Presidential Decree No. 603 (Child and Youth Welfare Code); Act No. 4221; the Federal Probation Act of 1925; and People v. Vera (1937).
• Historical figures: John Augustus; Matthew Davenport Hill; Teodulo Natividad; Father Cook; Governor Alexander H. Rice; Edward H. Savage; and President Calvin Coolidge.
• Other sources and institutions: English common-law practices, American and Philippine courts and legislatures, and United Nations congresses on crime prevention and the treatment of offenders.