The threat of mission distortion in police‐probation partnerships

Abstract

Purpose -The growth of formal police-probation partnerships in the USA has been accompanied by an increased awareness of the potential threats of mission distortion. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of mission distribution Design/methodology/approach -The paper is based on interviews with police and community corrections officers involved in an active partnership in Spokane, Washington. The paper emphasizes the abuse of authority, stalking horse incidents, and the scope of legitimate police and probation authority. Findings -Ultimately, mission distortion has the potential to undermine the credibility of police-probation partnerships. Originality/value -The paper offers training and policy recommendations for police and community corrections administrators.

Collaborative Governance and Partnerships in Policing

“…Research also indicates that having members from both sides in the same team may fix this problem. That is, mixing employees from both sides (in addition to the general partnership agreement) may deal with the role confusion for efficient service delivery [6]. This study also suggests that mission distortion is more likely when officers from different agencies overstep their mandate and thus the need for guidelines on roles and boundaries is required.…”

“…following the police-probation partnership [6]; it was found that officers from each section (correction and law enforcement) sometimes go beyond their authority. Research also indicates that having members from both sides in the same team may fix this problem.…”

Police-led partnership responses to high risk youths and their families: challenges associated with forming successful and sustainable partnerships

“…Broader, more coordinated approaches are necessary to tackle the individual, family and community-level factors associated with crime in general, and juvenile delinquency in particular (Bronfenbrenner 1988, Rosenbaum 2002, Murphy and Worrall 2007. Diverse and multi-agency approaches, rather than criminal justice-only interventions, are needed for these high risk young offenders (Rosenbaum 2002).…”

“…Early examples of partnerships around crime control were often dyad partnerships formed between police and other criminal justice agencies, such as corrective services or so-called community corrections. These partnerships remained within the criminal justice arena and were formed between the key players in crime control and law enforcement (Rosenbaum 2002, Murphy andWorrall 2007). More recent approaches have extended the notion of the 'policing family' to include other regulatory and rehabilitative agencies, and the broader community (Loader 2000, Penfold et al 2004, Huey 2008.…”

“…Multi-agency partnership interventions that address crime and community safety problems are increasingly popular both within and beyond the criminal justice system (Murphy and Worrall 2007). While early examples of these partnerships emerged predominantly within the criminal justice arena Á for example between police departments and community corrections Á more recent police-led partnership approaches have moved beyond the boundaries of the criminal justice system to involve other regulatory as well as rehabilitative agencies.…”