The Panoptic Reach of The Probationary System

Most interactions with the police are inherently nerve wracking because of the power dynamic that exists between law enforcement and civilians. Whether it be due to a simple traffic stop or the result of evading a warrant, the presence of that type of authority is incredibly impactful. And if someone is unfortunate enough to have an encounter with the police that results in an arrest, the nervousness and anxiety they have just experienced are going to become a semi-constant fixture in their lives long after the uniformed officers leave. After going to court, receiving a sentence, paying all of the required fees, and in some cases even after serving time in incarceration, the system becomes a pervasive entity in the form of probation.

The probation system is another avenue one must pursue in the name of state mandated rehabilitation following being found guilty of a crime. However, rehabilitation seems to be found by very few in the system. It is far more likely that someone will remain caught up in the throes of perpetual probation, than it is to move on and return to society in a state of normalcy. The inescapability of this system is by no means an accident. The probation system serves as an effective method of continually feeding the needs of the prison industrial complex. But probation is far more lucrative than just keeping prisons up and running. The very existence of probation and its associated rules, creates the possibility of failing to follow those rules. And as soon as someone violates their probation, they find themselves in deeper trouble than when they began their arduous legal journey. The system is a viscous cycle, but it was not designed that way because of some malicious intent of those in power, but because it is a consistent and unwavering cycle of revenue. In this essay, I will be focusing on the perpetuators of this system. Not those that have been sentenced to follow the program in hopes of being a productive member of society, but those that seek to maintain control from people that fail to adhere to all the parameters of their sentencing.  

Depending on the charges and the sentence handed down by the judge, probation can vary in a multitude of ways. A person could be commanded to do anything ranging from community service at the local Goodwill or going to substance abuse therapy. Some others are even sentenced to live in half-way homes or community corrections after they are released from incarceration. And in certain instances, a person might receive all of the above. In addition, after being placed on probation a person is assigned a probation officer (PO) who is in charge of monitoring their clients completion of the program. The officers are in place to serve as a method of monitoring the behavior of criminals as they reintegrate with society after receiving preliminary punishment from the legal system. This is an extension of the control of the legal system that exists outside of jails, prisons, or courthouses. This omniscient presence gives way to the feeling of always being watched which Michael Foucault described as panoptic.

The Panopticon is a prison structure in which the guards reside in the center of all the cells containing prisoners. This structure provides them with the availability to maintain a constant state of monitorization. It also provides a sense of uncertainty for the prisoner because they are never entirely sure whether or not they are always being watched. As terrifying as the panopticon sounds, according to Foucault, the panopticon exceeds its physical walls. “So to arrange things that the surveillance is permanent in its effects, even if it is discontinuous in its action; that the perfection of power should tend to render its actual exercise unnecessary; that this architectural apparatus should be a machine for creating and sustaining a power relation independent of the person who exercises; in short, that the inmates should be caught up in a power situation of which they are themselves the bearer.” (Foucault, 1975) From a panoptic point of view, placing criminals into a probationary system comprised of nearly round the clock monitoring is the next logical step in maintaining control over those that have found themselves in the system.  

Robert Montano, my friend and co-worker is all too familiar with the probation system because he has been battling it for years. Robert and I discussed his current bout with this panoptic system and his views on whether or not it serves any real purpose other than making money off the misfortunes and human errors of people with a criminal background and further embedding them into the system. Robert was arrested on felony driving charges that evolved from him evading a reckless driving offense. In simpler terms, he was caught street racing, was sentenced to probation, fled the state, and was eventually apprehended by the police. This was his first and only criminal offense. When asked why he fled, Robert explained that it was the disingenuous nature of probation. “It’s a joke. The system doesn’t care about me. They just wanted my money.” I asked Robert why he felt that he was not cared for by the system and he told me that he was reassigned to seven different probation officers in the matter of a year and a half, leaving him feeling like a metric rather than a person. In addition, he told me of his first meeting with his initial probation officer. The officer did not even care to read Robert’s case in its entirety and had already made his own determination that Robert was either arrested for a DUI or domestic violence. Robert believes this was because he is Latino. Robert tried to tell his PO that his charge had nothing to do with drugs, alcohol, or violence in any form but was still recommended for drug and alcohol therapy classes. Robert would pay for these classes out of pocket and was additionally subjected to random drug tests, which he also paid for on his own. “The rules of probation encourage me to disengage internal emotions rampage frustrated because my PO sets the stage… You fool me no I don’t use dope I don’t smoke yet everyday I’m forced to call the UA hotline on my own dime you waste my time” (Lewis, 2010) It is no wonder why Robert and so many others violate their probation when they feel as though the legal system is actively working against them. 

I can empathize with Robert’s probation experience in many ways. I was sentenced to a year of probation when I was nineteen and I also felt the system was praying for me to violate my probation so I would be forced to sacrifice more of my time and money. But unlike Robert, my crime was actually a DUI and I was ordered to go through similar alcohol therapy classes and monitored sobriety via random drug tests. In many ways the punishment fit the crime, so I took my punishment on the chin and did all I could to remain abstinent from drugs and alcohol while on probation. But as I kept going to my state mandated therapy and submitting to the drug tests, I became increasingly disheartened. I would go to group therapy twice a week as I was instructed. I would do all I could to keep my head above water while our “therapist” would openly rub her current drug use in the faces of her clients. I vividly remember her telling us that she was too high off Xanax to adequately lead us in a group discussion. I was beside myself in the midst of this hypocrisy. Not just the hypocrisy I found in that particular circumstance but the hypocrisy of the whole situation. I was supposedly on probation so that I could gain the proper tools needed to not become a repeat offender. But in all reality, I was just experiencing another branch of the panopticon. For instance, the people that were in charge of my therapy and monitoring my sobriety were not doing so to ensure my safety or well-being. They were just an extension of the police, because if I failed a drug test or did not show up for class that is exactly who they were sending to come find me. “Rather than the massive, binary division between one set of people and another, it called for multiple separations, individualizing distributions, an organization in depth of surveillance and control, an intensification and ramification of power.” (Foucault, 1975) I felt as though I was in the midst of a system that was operating by giving me just enough rope to hang myself from.   

The panopticon thrives off of the external power it has through exterior systems like probation. It is easily marketed to the public as another way of keeping repeat offenders off the streets. It is seen as a valuable tool to keep addicts away from drugs. But at its core, probation is nothing more than an unprecedented method of control on those that have deviated from regularity and broken the law. It is contradictory to its own ethos of being a form of recovery because the punishment for not reforming properly is to end up back in the control of law enforcement. “Where we attempt to draw a line between civil authority and ecclesiastical customs, what endless disputes would ensue? In short, to what side soever we turn our eyes, we are presented with a confused scene of contradictions, uncertainty, hardships, and arbitrary power. In the present age, we seem universally aiming at perfection; let us not therefore neglect to perfect the laws, on which our lives and fortunes depend.” (Voltaire, 1872) The current state of probation is an abomination. The system erodes the progress of those trapped inside of it and is more of a trap than anything else. But that trap will forever have its teeth dug into people like Robert and I, just waiting for the perfect moment to pull us back in.

 

 

Works Cited

Beccaria, C., Voltaire, Voltaire, & Young, W. (1793). An essay on crimes and punishments. by    the Marquis             Beccaria, of Milan. with a commentary, by M. de Voltaire. Printed by         William Young, no. 52, Second-Street, the corner of Chestnut-Street. 

Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Vintage Books.

Lewis, Shantel. (2010) “Probation” Captured Words Free Thoughts Vol. 8. 2010