Probation administrator in a large metropolitan county

  Please consider if you are a probation administrator in a large metropolitan county. You have been increasingly concerned over the past decade about the trend toward surveillance and monitoring of probationers, and the lack of support for rehabilitative programs like substance abuse and vocational training. There are more and more rules being passed down about the need to do urine tests for drug use, and a "zero tolerance" once someone tests dirty. Probation revocation rates are going up dramatically. While you agree that probationers that fail to meet their responsibilities should be revoked and sent to prison, you think the current reactive approach doesn't put enough emphasis on helping offenders, and many who are trying but have relatively small failures end up being sent to prison. You believe we need a more balanced approach to supervising probationers. How would you do this? What type of public message would you create about rehabilitative programs? How would you try to sell the need for these programs to your politically- sensitive leadership?