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On Becoming a Client
Author(s) -
McCleary Richard
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1978.tb00775.x
Subject(s) - typology , bureaucracy , agency (philosophy) , social psychology , psychology , recidivism , control (management) , personality , sense of agency , criminology , sociology , political science , computer science , law , artificial intelligence , social science , politics , anthropology
Participant observation and interview methods were used to study the informal typing decisions of parole officers employed in urban branch offices of a state parole agency. The data show that routine career contingencies determine not only the typology but also the nature of the typing decision. In general, parole officers are punished and rewarded on the basis of how much or how little trouble their caseloads cause the parole agency. To minimize this trouble, parole officers must control their parolees in an absolute sense. To control parolees in an absolute sense, parole officers misuse the informal typing system. The essay describes the data on which typing decisions are made, the decisionmaking process, and three types of parolees: dangerous men, noncriminals, and clients. Finally, the phenomena are related to Merlon's theory of the bureaucratic personality.