Development of a Court Intake and Assessment Team
| Published date | 01 June 1978 |
| Author | Laurence Coates,Fred Jarvis,Pat Hutchinson |
| Date | 01 June 1978 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455057802500202 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
38
Development
of
a
Court
Intake
and Assessment
Team
FRED
JARVIS,
LAURENCE
COATES,
PAT
HUTCHINSON
PROBATION
OFFICERS
give
very
high
priority
to
the
preparation
of
court
reports,
and
the
subsequent -work
with
the
client
appears
to
be
related
to
the
amount
of
time
which
officers
have
available
over
and
above
that
which
is
required
to
prepare
their
reports.
A
survey
undertaken
by
the
Leicestershire
and
Rutland
Probation
Service
during
1971
showed
that
the
quality
of
on-going
work
declined
as
the
number
of
court
reports
increased.
Since
the
demand
for
reports
was
constantly
increasing
this
might,
it
was
felt,
account
for
the
lack
of
development
in
treatment
methods.
It
followed
that
treatment
might
have
to
be
separated
from
court
work
if
progress
were
to
be
made.
If
the
two
areas
of
work
were
separated,
court
work
might
also
benefit.
Offiicers
concentrating
on
the
preparation
of
reports,
both
criminal
and
domestic,
would
acquire
a
special
expertise.
By
undertaking
court
duties
on
a
regular
basis
they
would
become
more
familiar
with
the. work
of
the
court,
and
develop
better
relationships
with
the
justices
and
their
clerks.
By
their
acceptance
of
regular
duty
officer
functions,
the
agency’s
handling
of
casual
callers
would
become
more
consistent
and
professional.
The
paramount
advantage,
however,
would
lie
in
the
en-
hancing
and
refining
of
assessment
and
diagnostic
skills.
At
the
same
time
probation
officers
working
in
the
area
teams,
freed
from
court
and
ofhce
duty,
would
be
enabled
to
give
priority
to
the
treatment
of
their
clients.
It
would
be
logical
indeed
to
regard
their
teams
as
&dquo;treatment
teams&dquo;.
It
was
these
ideas
which
led
the
Leicestershire
Probation
and
After-
Care
Service
(which
was
formed
in
April
1974
by
the
amalgamation
of
the
Leicester
City
and
the
Leicestershire
and
Rutland
Services)
to
con-
sider
seriously
the
development.of
a
Court,
Intake
and
Assessment
Team
at
its
central
Leicester
office :
a
team
to
undertake
all
social
inquiry,
domestic
and
divorce
reports
on
clients
in
Leicestershire
and
its
environs
not
currently
under
supervision;
to
be
responsible
for
the
coverage
of
the
two
Magistrates’
Courts
in
Leicester
and
the
Crown
and
Divorce
Courts,
and
to
undertake
the
daily
task
of
duty
officer.
The
idea
of
such
a
team
had
been
mooted
in
one
way
or
another
for
a
number
of
years.
The
former
Leicester
City
Service
had
in
1973
set
up
a
small
courts
servicing
unit
under
a
senior
probation
officer,
but
all
court
reports
had
continued
to
be
prepared
by
non-specialist
probation
officers.
After
the
amalgamation
of
the
Leicester
City
and
Leicestershire
and
Rutland
Services
there
were
signs
of
increasing
frustration
amongst
the
younger
probation
oflicers
regarding
opportunities
for
dealing
imagi-
natively
with
clients.
They
learnt
during
training
all
kinds
of
new
methods,
but
the
organisation,
with
its
emphasis
upon
serving
the
courts,
gave
them
little
time
or
opportunity
to
apply
them.
In
October
1974,
after
the
staff
at
the
central
Leicester
office
had
held
a
tense
and
critical
meeting,
a
study
group
of
all
grades
was
set
up
to
investigate
the
feasibility
of
making
greater
use
of
differential
treatment
methods.
Following
this
a
working
party
was
formed
to
consider
the
practical
aspects
of
such
a
project,
comprising
an
ACPO,
two
seniors
(one
of
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