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Guidelines may indicate that probation is an option, giving the judge some leeway in sentencing. Still for other judges, the kinds of services an offender may require will often dictate whether or not probation is a viable option.
A number of the crimes that occur in my state are related to drugs; the sale of drugs, being in possession of drugs, being under the influence of drugs in a public place. In many instances, contingent upon the factors outlined above, probation is a viable option even if the person pleads guilty, particularly if this is a first offense, the client is an habitual user but no one else is directly hurt in the commission of the crime, and in situations of possession with no intent to sell.
I think that imprisonment is imposed in many of these cases when it should not be. The three strike rule with habitual users when no one other than the user is physically harmed in the process incarcerates a number of individuals with no real options for rehabilitation...
I also think that socioeconomic factors and race play a critical role in who is imprisoned and who is not. In keeping with this line of thinking, the kinds of drugs that are evaluated in these crimes are often looked at different; for example, crack instead of powder cocaine.
Although the legal system tends to make a distinction between alcohol and illicit drugs and the options of probation or imprisonment differ significantly because of these differences, one of the crimes that is alcohol related where probation should not be an option is drunk driving that leads to another individual being hurt or killed. Although alcohol is legal, the abuse of any drug is a serious matter, and when an individual puts others at risk because of his or her individual choices, then probation should be considered less than imprisonment.
References
Abadinsky, H. (2008), Probation and parole: theory and practice. 10th Ed. Prentice Hall.
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