ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the attitudes of probation officers in the state of California toward providing procedural safeguards for juveniles as they are processed through the justice system. The data were collected in 1963 after California had revised its laws regarding procedures in delinquency hearings, but prior to the Gault decision. The chapter examines the social and occupational correlates of "legalistic" thinking among probation officers. It assesses the role of legalistic orientations in the decision-making process. The Los Angeles Country Probation Department services not only youth who have been adjudicated as delinquent but also adults who have been found guilty of a felony by the criminal courts. The chapter examines a number of social and occupational characteristics of officers in order to assess their relationships to scores on the due process index. It also discusses some variables as amount and type of education, involvement in professional activities, age, length of time employed, and extent of contact with delinquent youth.
