Antecedents of Managerial Justice: Perceptions, Causes, and Implications of Risk Management and Credentialing Practices for Probation Staff

• In Event: Condition-Setting Practices in Probation

Abstract

Community supervision is the most common form of formal social control in the U.S., with 3.67 million people under probation or parole supervision (Kaeble, 2024). Community supervision populations expanded rapidly to reach their current scope (Phelps, 2020), and some scholars argue that this contributed to a redefinition of goals within the criminal legal system to focus on the efficient management—rather than rehabilitation or punishment—of a criminalized underclass (Feeley & Simon, 1992). This model of “managerial justice” is heavily debated, with some finding that line-level probation/parole officers still pursue more individualized goals of rehabilitation and punishment (Cheliotis, 2006; Lynch, 1998). Using survey data from 99 officers in a statewide probation agency, we used confirmatory factor analysis to develop scales measuring two dimensions of managerial justice: risk management and credentialing. We fitted regression models to examine individual- and office-level characteristics that predict officers’ endorsement of managerial justice. Drawing from qualitative data (semi-structured interviews with 94 officers at the same agency and participant observation of trainings in which they participated), we contextualize our findings, which complicate the concept of managerial justice and shed light on its antecedents. We conclude by discussing the implications of managerial justice for community supervision practices.

Authors

• Benjamin Mackey, Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence, George Mason University

• Loveline Phillips, Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence, George Mason University