The Schism between the Law and Social Worker
| Author | L. F. Lowenstein |
| Published date | 01 April 1976 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X7604900202 |
| Date | 01 April 1976 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
L. F. LOWENSTEIN, M.A., Dip.Psych., Ph.D.
THE SCHISM BETWEEN THE
LAW
AND SOCIAL WORKER
It
is becoming increasingly apparent to specialists dealing with
juvenile and adult offenders, as well as the ordinary citizen, that
there are at least two approaches at the extreme ends of opinion for
the treatment of offenders.
The police
and
the magistrates on the one hand, and the social
workers and those espousing psychological expertise on the other.
It
is for this reason
that
the following questions occur and require
careful appraisal:-
1. Why is there this schism between the law and agencies that
deal with the rehabilitation and diagnosis of offenders?
2. What is the orientation of each, and how does this contribute
to the division?
3. What might be areas of agreement and disagreement?
This will be demonstrated through adialogue between representa-
tives of the law and representatives of the social work psychological
orientation.
As to the question why there is a division between law agencies,
such as the police, magistrates and institutions and social workers and
others specializing in work with individuals, the following might be
given as a possible answer: the answer must be based on history and
the resulting orientation of each.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (1943-1973), police
and
magistrates are themselves
not
always in complete accord,
but
they are agreed in so far as they concern themselves with "offenders"
or "alleged offenders" who are or are
not
"bad"
as opposed to
"mad".
The term police is used to denote a body of people organized
to maintain civil order and to investigate breaches in the law.
According to Adam Smith, the task
of
the police is to
"the
domestic
~
A~l~
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