Communicating Care and Coercion in Juvenile Probation

In most Western states, probation of juvenile delinquents spearheads social policies. The general idea behind these policies is to protect society against the wrongdoing of young offenders by monitoring and rehabilitating them. The mixture of corrective and supportive approaches makes juvenile probation a hybrid practice. This study analyses the interactional strategies of both probation officers and juveniles to deal with this situation. It is shown that participation in conversations about recidivism and risky behaviour creates the opportunity for juveniles to show genuine intent to change their problematic behaviour and for probation officers to assess the chances of future progress in a more realistic way. The nature of the relationship between care and coercion depends on how things are worked out in the interaction between professional and client.