The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

Perceptions of Probation Officers
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This section focuses on the youth perceptions of probation officers in Woodbury
county. The majority of the white youth do not have extensive criminal records. Many of
the youth interviewed are familiar with one probation officer. Responses were for the
most part short and precise. Therefore, there is a lack of good quotes. All youth seem to
have good relationships with their probation officers. There is only a select few that
expressed negative feelings about their officers. The youth that do have negative
comments have more severe records or have committed more serious crimes.
Treatment
In response to the question, “On the current referral, do you feel the probation
officer treated you fairly”, positive feelings are evident. These feelings are supported in
both the open ended interviews and the closed ended self reports. The self reports show
that most of the youth questioned felt their probation officers treated them fairly (72
percent of the whites, 80 percent of the blacks). Fifteen percent of the whites and 9
percent of the blacks believed their probation officer sometimes treated them fairly, while
13 percent of the whites and 12 percent of the blacks felt they were never treated fairly by
their probation officer (Tables 5, 6).
The interviews reveal that the majority of the youth feel their probation officers
treat them fairly. They do not have any lengthy comments on the topic, just “Yes” and
“Yeah.” The communication level between the white youth and their probation