Institutional Myths of the Probation Field
An Inhabited Institutionalist Approach to Understanding Condition-Setting and Violation Practices
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8401206 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Benjamin J Mackey (0000-0002-4598-7633), C J Appleton, Loveline C Phillips (0009-0003-2766-4798), Ronit Peled-Laskov (0000-0002-1964-651X), Joann S Lee (0000-0002-5405-910X), Faye S Taxman (0000-0001-9530-731X) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-23 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal of Criminology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0955 • E-ISSN: 1464-3529 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjc/azaf120 |
| OpenAlex | W7117132898 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 35 |
Probation is common globally, and many probation clients receive violations. Research on violations focuses on client characteristics or probation officer (PO) decision-making without considering the influence of the courtroom workgroup of judges, prosecutors and defence attorneys. Based on interviews with 94 POs in a statewide US probation agency, we analyse POs’ perceptions of their interactions with the courtroom workgroup using an inhabited institutionalist framework. We find that social interactions foster institutional myths leaving POs feeling disempowered during condition-setting but authoritative at violation hearings. This shapes how POs use violations: to modify conditions they deem inappropriate. Our findings suggest that probation violations are not deployed solely in response to clients’ behaviour, but in response to social interactions with the courtroom workgroup
Feeling · Mythology · Officer · Perception · Scapegoat · Workgroup · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
Focally Concerned About Focal Concerns
Probation officers’ discretionary decisions in responding to probation violations
Tackling the Issue of Limited Dialogue and Strengthening Collaboration Among Court Actors for Improving the Condition-Setting Process
Patterns of Compliance and Noncompliance During Probation
Inequality on probation
Sensemaking in the Legal System
The Cinderella complex
The point of diminishing returns in juvenile probation
Criminal Courts as Inhabited Institutions
Juvenile justice reform and the courtroom workgroup
Between probation and revocation
Probationer violations and officer response
Roles and Power within Federal Problem Solving Courtroom Workgroups
Courtroom workgroup dynamics and implementation of Three Strikes reform
The Role of Courtroom Workgroups in Felony Case Dispositions
Institutionalized Organizations
The case for an inhabited institutionalism in organizational research
Inhabited Institutions
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |