Making Police-Probation Partnerships Work

• NCJ Number: 212706
• Author(s): David Murphy
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 211 pages
• Sale Source: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC
• Publication Format: Book (Hardbound)
• Publication Type: Case Study
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This case study of a probation-police partnership underway in Spokane, WA, identified and analyzed unanticipated consequences of probation-police partnerships.

Abstract

The case study is preceded by the presentation of brief histories of community corrections and community policing. This is followed by an overview of the relatively recent strategy for increasing the effectiveness and appeal of community corrections and community policing through the development of partnerships between community corrections officers and the police. In focusing on the unanticipated consequences of such partnerships in the Spokane program, this case study used personal interviews and field observations to obtain an understanding of the experiences of those involved. The analysis begins with a discussion of purposive social action and unanticipated consequences viewed as analytical concepts. Some reasons for the emergence of unanticipated consequences are considered, and pertinent examples are presented. The discussion then turns to the importance of research that identifies such consequences, in order to reduce the threats of negative consequences that undermine purposive social action. The study examined the effects of the partnership on officers' preservation of the integrity of their respective mandated roles. It provides insight into how the partnerships alter the nature of participating officers' efforts to enforce the law and supervise offenders in the community. The analysis of unanticipated consequences of partnerships and recommendations for constructively dealing with them focus on identifying and managing the nature and boundaries of the expanded roles of the two professions in the partnership. Recommendations pertain to organizational responsibilities in managing the partnerships to ensure that the individuals officers involved are not left to fend for themselves in defining the nature and execution of their duties. Chapter notes, 156 references, appended description of the study, and a subject index