PREDICTION OF RECIDIVISM AS A RATIONALE FOR THE DISPOSITION DECISIONS OF PROBATION OFFICERS IN A JUVENILE COURT SETTING

• NCJ Number: 14041
• Author(s): S B CHESS; F P BESAG
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 62 pages
• Grant Number(s): 73-NI-99-0016
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: National Technical Information Service; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

ANALYSIS OF THE DISPOSITION DECISION-MAKING PROCESS BY JUVENILE COURT PROBATION OFFICERS IN MILWAUKEE COUNTY, WISCONSIN.

Abstract

THE AUTHORS WERE INTERESTED IN THE BASIS FOR DISPOSITIONS AND THE CONSISTENCY OF DISPOSITIONS ACROSS OFFICERS IN ORDER TO ASSESS THE NEED FOR AND THE PRACTICAL UTILITY OF INTRODUCING AN APPROACH BASED UPON THE LIKELIHOOD OF FURTHER DELINQUENT ACTIVITY. THE RESEARCH PERTAINING TO THE PREDICTION OF RECIDIVISM WITHIN A DELINQUENT POPULATION WAS REVIEWED AND EVALUATED TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF FIRST, DEVELOPING THIS APPROACH, AND SECONDLY, INCORPORATING IT INTO THE DECISION MAKING AND INTERVENTION PROCESSES OF THE JUVENILE COURT. TO ANALYZE THE CURRENT DISPOSITION PROCESS, THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN COURT STATISTICS WAS COMPUTERIZED. PERCENTAGE ANALYSES AND CORRECTIONAL ANALYSES WERE PERFORMED TO DETERMINE WHICH CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OFFENDER AND OFFENSE WERE RELATED TO THE DISPOSITION REACHED. OF THE SEVERAL PAPER AND PENCIL MEASURES RESEARCHED TO EVALUATE THEIR ABILITY TO DISTINQUISH RECIDIVISTS FROM NON-RECIDIVISTS, THE JESNESS INVENTORY POSSESSES THE GREATEST POTENTIAL AS A SCREENING INSTRUMENT. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO EVALUATE THE DEGREE OF FAKEABILITY AND VALIDITY FOR A JUVENILE COURT POPULATION. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)