NCJ Number
184136
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 64 Issue: 1 Dated: June 2000 Pages: 40-45
Date Published
June 2000
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Fifteen parole officers at a regional juvenile parole office completed 72 copies of an instrument designed to measure their perceptions of the paroled juvenile offenders on their caseloads within the context of balanced and restorative justice.
Abstract
The authors developed the Balanced and Restorative Justice Evaluation Screen (BARJES) as a result of an ongoing dialogue on how to quantify and measure balanced and restorative justice within the provision of aftercare services. The authors thought that the relationships and perceptions that parole officers have with juvenile offenders might provide a good basis on which to accomplish this measurement. The BARJES includes 15 items that reflect the three basic areas of balanced and restorative justice: (1) offender accountability, (2) offender competency development, and (3) community protection. Results revealed that the BARJES was a reliable and valid rating instrument for the purpose for which it was designed. The BARJES was excellent in its ability to predict whether juvenile offenders fit the category of successful or unsuccessful. Findings indicated that mechanisms for systematic appraisals of parole officers’ perceptions of juvenile offenders can be developed and that the BARJES may serve as a model amenable to revision as well as a guide in the development of similar tools. Tables, figure, and 3 references