NCJ Number
158993
Editor(s)
K Hamai,
R Ville,
R Harris,
M Hough,
U Zvekic
Date Published
1995
Length
254 pages
Annotation
This study of probation in 11 countries throughout the world discusses some theoretical, methodological, and empirical considerations in comparing probation in different countries and then presents the findings of a comparative case study on probation services and practices in the 11 countries.
Abstract
Part I of the book considers the nature of comparative research and presents an overview of the origins, historical trends, and development of probation. It reviews the development and convergence of probation within the civil law and common law traditions. Part II presents material from the comparative case studies and concludes with a comparative analysis of the case studies. The countries included in the study are Australia, Canada, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sweden, England and Wales, and Scotland. Most of the information on probation in these countries has been extracted from the national reports that were prepared by the national experts in each of the participating countries. Some of the material has been reproduced directly from the experts' reports. The editors have also summarized some information in the form of tables and figures; and when appropriate, they have synthesized the material to focus on the key points of similarity and difference between the systems. The topics discussed for each probation system are the origins and purpose of probation, the probation order, organization and structure, probation as a profession, variations in probation function, and volunteer probation personnel. The results of this comparative analysis show probation systems in a state of flux. Faced with increasing crime, the more industrialized countries have placed renewed importance on probation as a means not only of reducing reoffending, but also of containing burgeoning prison populations. This has led to more overtly "correctionalist" systems than before, as probation clienteles include a growing proportion of more serious offenders. For individual chapters, see NCJ-158994-9001. 8 figures, 15 tables, a 252-item bibliography, and a subject index