Can Prosecutors be Social Workers?

Abstract

How do prosecutors behave when the state puts them in charge of solving social problems? Drawing on interviews with prosecutors in California, this article investigates the degree to which problem-oriented strategies can transform the conventional prosecutorial role. The data show that problem-oriented prosecutors regard themselves as more responsive to the communities they serve and more inclined to develop creative and broad-ranging strategies to manage deviance within these communities. But there are significant limitations to the social worker role embedded in the problem orientation. First, problem-solving approaches are most compatible with chronic, low-level criminal offenses that hold little professional allure for prosecutors, who therefore have little incentive (at least in traditional professional terms) to devote time and energy to solving them. Second, the problem-oriented model produces among prosecutors a challenging role conflict, as the skills required for effective, creative problem-solving contrast sharply with those traits that traditionally define a good prosecutor. If problem-solving strategies are to effectively take hold, therefore, the prosecutorial role must be reconceptualized and the institution of prosecution reconstituted to accommodate a wider range of attitudes and actions.

Citation

Levine, K.L. (2007), "Can Prosecutors be Social Workers?", Sarat, A. (Ed.) Studies in Law, Politics and Society (Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, Vol. 40), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 125-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1059-4337(06)40005-3