ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter was to review the changes and developments that occurred during the years in Israel’s Juvenile Probation Service (JPS), from the positive criminology perspective. The main purpose of Israel’s JPS is to treat and monitor convicted juvenile delinquents in the community, in order to adapt them to a normative lifestyle and reduce recidivism. Over the years there were changes and developments in the legislation and the means of intervention for juvenile delinquents in Israel’s JPS. This chapter will discuss these developments, while emphasizing their advantages and disadvantages in the context of delinquent rehabilitation. The conclusion of this review is that along with the positive changes that occurred in Israel’s JPS, reflected in the development of new community-based prevention programs during the last two decades, Israel’s JPS has also been affected by a stricter approach towards juvenile delinquents that has taken place in other Western countries. These trends are reflected in a shift from a rehabilitative to a punitive approach and back, instead of increased use of rehabilitative components in a positive approach (e.g., social support, acceptance, hope), which were found to be effective in the rehabilitation and reintegration process of offenders, as positive criminology emphasizes.
