NCJ Number
77517
Journal
Australian Crime Prevention Council Forum Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (1980) Pages: 3-5,7,9-11,13,15,17,19,21
Date Published
1980
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This Australian paper reports on volunteer probation programs and other uses of volunteers in criminal justice programs in Hawaii, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Ontario, Canada.
Abstract
The programs were visited by a volunteer from Victoria, Australia, to glean suggestions for improving the volunteer probation officers program existing in that area. Observations are made about each of the programs visited, including volunteer court programs in Hawaii, the National Information Center on Volunteerism in Colorado, and the volunteer probation counselor program in Nebraska. Suggestions for the volunteer program in Australia include having a specified time commitment from the volunteers, starting an information bureau on volunteer programs operating in Australia, and holding juveniles in detention only for a short time before they are brought before the court. One action that should be implemented immediately is abridged predisposition reporting in order to facilitate the sentencing process. In addition, the report suggests that the government should set up a task force to investigate the role of the private sector in criminal justice.