Crime and Criminal Justice in Israel: Assessing the Knowledge Base toward the Twenty-First Century

13 JUVENILE AND ADULT PROBATION IN ISRAEL

CHAPTER THIRTEEN JUVENILE AND ADULT PROBATION IN ISRAEL Yael Hassin and Menachem Horovitz1 Background The developments in Western countries, in the last several decades, which introduced the awareness and conviction that offenders need to be treated with alternatives to incarceration , brought about the accelerated emergence of extrainstitutional service. At the same time, in some of these countries, particularly in the U.S., the concept of "correctional services" includes serving time in an institution. In a marked contrast to this conception, in Israel the essential element that characterizes correctional services is that they are offered in the community and not within an institutional arrangement. In Israel, prisons are not considered part of the correctional services, but the youth protection authority (which administers institutions for juvenile delinquents) is part of these services. Thus, when a court convicts an offender, the penalty can be served as part of "community-based corrections." These extrainstitutional correctional services are expected to offer "correcting " assistance to the convicted offender, while serving the penalty, and with such treatment to bring about the prevention of recurring criminality. There is little doubt that any intervention of the correctional services is considered a penalty by the offender, this even when the professional terms for this intervention regard it as "treatment." It is entirely possible that the intention of the legislature and the 315 316 CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE services involved truly intend to llelp the offender by adapting an individual approach to his or her needs. However, at one level or another, the mere intervention of these services imposes !1 limitation on the individual's freedom. 'rhis limitation prevails not only when the individual serves a selltence inside a prison, but also when under probation, when in addition to the order, a host of restricting conditions may apply. Clearly, the extent to which an offender can take advantage ofrelative freedom differs in these two settings: while in prison, freedom is taken away, but under probation freedom is restricted but not denied. The emergence of alternatives to incarceration was accompanied by debates between those who favor and those who disfavor such alternatives. The debates, e.specially in the U.S., focuses on one hand on the increasing overcl"owding in prisons and jails that pressures the correctional services that request the courts to resort more to alternatives to incarceration. On the other hand, the high crime rate of serious and violent offenses results in a push to maximize penalties and use actual imprisonment and for longer periods (Geerken and Hayes, 1993, 549). The juvenile probation servic€: and the adult probation service are two of the more salient servil;es in Israel and are considered, by law, as alternatives to imprisonment. These two services handle a relatively large number of offerlders (see Table 13.1). Of all the correctional services in Israel, these are the oldest and m()st institutionalized in Israeli law enforcement. This chapter is devoted to these two services. Juvenile I)robation The Juvenile Probation Servi(:e In Israel there are three main yCluth laws. The first is tlle youth law (trial, punishment, and modes oftreatment), 1971, whi.ch deals solely with juvenile delinquents. The second is the youth law (treatment and supervision), 1960, which deals mainly with nondelinquent minors who require protection. Under-age (e.g., for legal responsibility) minor delinquents are handled by welfarE~ officers and not by correctional officers. 'rhe third is the probati.on ordi- Table 13.1 Youths and Adults under the Care of Probation Services ACTMTIES OF PROBATION SERVICES UNDER CARE OF ADULT PROBATION SERVICES UNDER CARE OF YOUTH PROBATION SERVICES* At the Tenninated New cases At the At the Terminated New cases At the end of during during beginning end of during during beginning the year the year the year of the year the year the year the year of the year 1953 Investigation 38 301 276 63 Probation 247 63 182 128 1960 Investigation 144 691 726 109 3,397 6,457 7,014 2,840 Probation 627 448 477 598 856 359 476 739 1970 Investigation 598 2,714 2,739 573 6,109 10,560 10,100 6,569 Probation 1,816 1,045 956 1,905 1,475 1,294 1,129 1,640 1980 Investigation 1,017 3,419 3,652 784 6,762 9,478 9,346 6,894 Probation 1,778 1,173 1,298 1,653 2,196 1,757 1,878 2...