NCJ Number
158997
Date Published
1995
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This chapter considers the size and structure of the probation systems of 11 countries, how they are located within the criminal justice system in terms of employment status, and probation officers' relationship with the courts.
Abstract
The countries for which information is provided are Australia (New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia), Canada, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sweden, England and Wales, and Scotland. One table shows the size of each probation workforce and the population per probation employee. A figure indicates the proportion of probation staff that are probation officers, secretariat/administration, and "other." Two figures show the proportion of female probation officers and the proportion of female management staff in each country. The rest of the chapter examines, country by country, the balance struck in different systems between probation officers being "servants of the court" and "professional advisers." Also examined are the role probation officers play in providing sentencers with court reports that give advice and information, as well as the value placed by sentencers on such advice. Probation officers in most of the countries provide services to sentencers and are accountable to the court, but are neither employees of the court nor formally contracted to the court. 3 figures and 2 tables