NCJ Number
85666
Journal
Bewaehrungshilfe Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Dated: (1981) Pages: 25-31
Date Published
1981
Length
7 pages
Annotation
From the judge's perspective, a 2-year West German pilot project that provided social work assistance to defendants at the detention stage of processing did not achieve its goal of reducing the number of detentions, although processing time was shortened in some cases.
Abstract
The project focused on cases of medium seriousness. Social worker involvement was to provide background information on defendants to assist judicial decisions regarding pretrial detention. However, since detention hearings are held on the day following arrest, the time frame precluded a meaningful social worker contribution to detention decisionmaking. Social worker activity during detention, however, proved effective with respect to the information obtained on defendants as well as in the counseling services provided. Their referral assistance in drug and alcohol cases and their ability to persuade clients on bail to attend hearings was worthwhile. The service raises legal issues, since clients are more likely to reveal self-incriminating facts to social workers who are not exempt from testifying in court. Clients must be made fully cognizant of this potential pitfall implicating their basic rights. Another problem is that these early psychological and treatment interventions may preempt treatment conditions traditionally imposed upon sentencing and may obscure economic criteria used to assess the likelihood of appearing for trial.