Probation Strategies of Juvenile and Adult Pre-Service Trainees

• NCJ Number: 195857
• Journal: Federal Probation Volume: 66 Issue: 1 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 33-37
• Author(s): Robert A. Shearer Ph.D.
• Date Published: June 2002
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes and compares the probation strategies of juvenile and adult probation trainees in a study requested by the Texas Office of State Courts, which is responsible for preservice probation training for juvenile and adult probation officers, with attention to the accuracy of personal selection for juvenile compared with adult positions.

Abstract

The sample consisted of 158 probation trainees in a Midwestern State. The research instrument used was the Probation Strategies Questionnaire (PSQ), which is a 24-item instrument designed to measure support for the three predominant caseload-management strategies noted in the literature: casework, resource brokerage, and law enforcement. Five groups of trainees were administered the PSQ over a 1-year period as the pre-service training was conducted. Three of the groups were juvenile probation trainees (n=93), and two were adult probation trainees (n=65). They were administered the PSQ at the beginning of training. The average length of service for the juvenile trainees was 21 months; for the adult trainees, it was 14 months. Data from the PSQ responses were analyzed by using analysis of variance, correlation, and multivariate analysis. A number of conclusions were drawn from the study. First, the agency apparently did a good job of selecting juvenile and adult trainees, because the juvenile trainees indicated a much lower law enforcement orientation. Second, gender did not have a role in the probation strategies of juvenile and adult probation trainees, indicating that the training population was relatively homogeneous in their perception of what probation officers should do on the job. Third, apparently the "law enforcement" strategy faded with the number of years in probation; more research is needed to explain this phenomenon. Finally, the PSQ appears to provide a sensitive measure of probation strategies in a variety of probation settings, thus enhancing the technology of matching officers with interventions; however, the realization of the potential of this technology will require that more agencies provide additional information on probation strategies. 3 tables and 18 references