© British Association of Social Workers
Social Inquiry Reports in One Juvenile Court: An Examination
Stephen Osborne completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Sussex in 1975, where he obtained a first class honours degree in History. He then spent a period of time engaged in research studies at Oxford and as a lecturer in Social Studies at a College of Technology in the West Midlands, before training as a Social Worker at the University of Bath in 1980–82. This paper is based upon research carried out by Stephen Osborne in 1981, as part of his MSc thesis in Applied Social Studies at the University of Bath.
Summary
The paper begins by briefly outlining the current debate over the usage of social inquiry reports in the juvenile court, particularly with regard to the effect that their recommendations can have upon the lives of young people appearing in that court. It then discusses the findings of research carried out by the author into the social inquiry reports presented to one juvenile court. In particular it examines the contents and format of these reports, the effect that concepts of ‘welfare’ and ‘justice’ have upon the recommendations of these reports, and the differences that exist in the reports presented by the probation and social services. It concludes that there is a pressing need for a revision in the presentation of these reports to the court as no consistent standard of information is being offered. It also argues that it is time to reassess the role of treatment in the juvenile justice system, in the light of this and other recent research, and to separate more clearly the components of welfare and justice within this system.
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