Probation officer-client perspectives on inappropriate conditions of supervision: implications for procedural justice and the therapeutic alliance

Probation operates through a set of behavioral restrictions and mandates known as conditions of supervision. Little research has explored how probation officers (POs) and clients perceive the appropriateness of conditions of supervision, a significant gap since perceptions of conditions’ appropriateness may influence perceptions of procedural justice (PJ) in the supervision process, which in turn is known to affect the quality of the therapeutic alliance (TA) between PO and client. Both PJ and TA, collectively and independently, have been found to affect supervision outcomes. Drawing on interviews with 94 POs and focus groups with 26 probation clients, we analyze perceptions of inappropriate supervision conditions to examine how this may impact the TA via PO and client experiences of PJ. Ultimately, we find that POs and clients concur that mismatched, overwhelming, and unclear conditions are inappropriate. While POs blame the court for these conditions, clients also assign some responsibility to POs, weakening perceptions of PJ and TA. Thus, this study illustrates a need to address PJ and TA with relevant, realistic, and clear conditions.