NCJ Number
88790
Journal
Bewaehrungshilfe Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: (1981) Pages: 171-183
Date Published
1981
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Use of volunteers in corrections and the probation service in West Germany has not been fully developed and remains in need of managerial and training guidelines. A recruiting and training program operated in Frankfurt provides initial insights for organizing volunteer work with offenders and ex-offenders.
Abstract
Volunteer involvement with offender resocialization and rehabilitation is needed to help inmates bridge the gap between the correctional system and its personnel to the society at large. Most offenders find the freely given assistance of a private citizen more acceptable than that of a professional functionary. Since probation assistance begins only upon release, volunteer involvement at the prerelease stage is another advantage. Volunteers can be assigned to individual inmates or used in leading group discussions and other activities. The Volunteer Counseling Post provides training, orientation, and advice to persons preparing for correctional volunteer work in Hessen. Introductory courses, held twice yearly, and not binding and provide mainly motivational material. Once trainees decide to continue, they attend group seminars with substantive material on the justice system, crime causes, offender characteristics, and correctional conditions. The seminars also cover practical aspects of dealing with offenders and developing counseling skills. The program continues to give practical advice once volunteers have begun their duties. The courses are jointly sponsored by the State Department of Justice and a local community college to enhance the likelihood of attracting motivated and qualified recruits. The program adds from 15 to 20 new volunteers each year to the approximately 350 currently involved in correctional work in the State of Hessen. Nine footnotes are given.