Friday, May 20, 1960
University Daily Kansan
Page
Probation Officer Is 'Big Brother'
(Editor's note — This is the second of two articles describing the program and problems associated with students who Juvenile probation officers in Douglas and Franklin Counties.)
Py John Macdonald
When a Douglas county juvenile offender is placed on probation after his hearing, the KU student probation officer, who made the preliminary investigation of the case, faces his greatest challenge.
The boy has done wrong. The officer is perhaps the only person who is interested in his future.
The hearing, the conclusion of which comes when the judge gives his decision, is conducted in the private chambers of the judge.
After the investigation the student probation officer files a petition for the court which lists the facts of the case and testimony by persons involved in the case.
Unlike a criminal trial which is brought to the court in the name of the state, a juvenile hearing is conducted in the interest of the child.
Only persons directly interested in the offender are allowed to be present at the hearing. It is an informal meeting presided over by the judge and is designed to give the juvenile the feeling that the people are interested in helping him and not merely there to see that he is punished.
An important duty of the probation officer during the hearing is to make recommendations to the judge pertaining to the court's decision in the case.
Since the student probation officer has been close to the offender and his family and is familiar
with his social, economic and emotional background, the judge, in most instances, feels that the recommendation of the probation officer should be considered heavily in making the decision.
Recommendations Sound
"The recommendations of the student probation officers are sound in most cases," said Judge Charles C. Rankin. "I rarely make a major change in their suggestions."
After the hearing and the recommendation the juvenile judge makes the decision. He may place the offender on parole for a period of time with periodical reports to the probation officer.
However, if the judge feels that he should have further instruction he may place the juvenile in a correctional institution. If he thinks that commitment to such an institution would not help and if he feels that his home environment is not good either, he may attempt to place the juvenile in a private home or private agency, such as Father Flanagan's Boys' Town in Omaha, Nebr.
If the juvenile offender is committed to a correctional institution, the student probation officer is usually through with the case.
He may, however, serve as probation officer for the same offender if he is released within the time the student is still enrolled in the course. This situation rarely occurs as the average length of time a juvenile is in an institution is from eight to 12 months while the student takes the course in Law school for only nine months.
Friendship Sought
Friendship Sought The student probation officer first
of all tries to get the juvenile's friendship and confidence to instill self-confidence in the boy.
The paroled offender must report to his probation officer periodically, usually once a week or once a month.
The officer continues checking and evaluating the juvenile's progress since the time of the offense.
If at the end of the probationary period, the juvenile has not committed further offenses and has shown progress in his ability to cope with society, he is released from the custody of the court.
"There are definite advantages and disadvantages to a system such as Douglas county has worked out with the KU Law school," Judge Rankin said. "But I am sure the advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages."
Turnover Disadvantage
He said the greatest disadvantage is the turnover of students every nine months. This prevents one particular student from handling a case if it lasts longer than the time he is enrolled in the course.
Judge Rankin, Paul E. Wilson, associate professor of law, and Edward Dunn, Newton third year law student and chief county probation officer, agree that a full-time probation officer could handle some cases more thoroughly. But, they said that the interest shown by the students offset this lack of time on the part of the student probation officer.
H. B.
Dairyland
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the juvenile court operation is to help the child and not merely to punish him, experience is an important asset in aiding the probation official to deal with the multitude of problems.
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For this reason the program in Douglas county serves two purposes. It helps the county juvenile court with their juvenile problems and it provides the way for future lawyers to gain experience in human relations.
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