atric service is available through the public welfare department. Two to four weeks are allowed for investigation, and a written report is presented to the court. TENNESSEE. The only probation officer in the State is located in Knox County. Little or no probation work is done in the State at present." VERMONT.-Presentence investigations are made only if the court so orders, which is rarely. VIRGINIA. This State has no adult probation, due to lack of probation officers. WASHINGTON.35-The only presentence information available is that supplied by the prosecuting authorities or by the defendants. WEST VIRGINIA.-There is very little probation in this State. The sheriff supplies whatever presentence information the court is able to obtain. WISCONSIN.36-Milwaukee, municipal court.-Free medical and psychiatric service is available, and since 1936 all probationers have been referred to the county dispensary for medical examination. This is not done, however, until after defendants have been placed on probation. No presentence investigations are made, but in 1936 report of the department recommended their initiation.37 A 1937 statute provides for the appointment of 10 probation officers, to be distributed on a regional basis. Tenn. Acts 1937, ch. 276. 83 "The lack of probation officers to make presentence investigations, supervise probationers, and present to the court facts calling for the revocation of probation, is perhaps the principal reason why probation is not more extensively used in Tennessee." PIRA Report: Tennessee (1937) 74. Vermont has a State-administered probation system. Vt. Pub. Acts 1923, No. 7, 3, 4, 30 (2). Wash. Laws 85 Washington has a State-administered probation system. 1935, ch. 114, Wash. Rev. Stat. Ann. (Remington, Supp. 1936) 10249-6. 36 The Wisconsin probation system is State-administered, and all probationers are under the care of the Board of Control, except in Milwaukee County, where probationers are under the control of the courts and the local probation department. Wis. Stat. (1935) §§ 57.02, 57.02(3). "Because of the reduced number on probation, and consequently, a reduced case load per officer, it is now feasible to begin the service of presentence investigations with a written report of the findings to the court. Since such investigation cannot be made until after conviction, it would necessitate postponement of the imposition of sentence by the court for a few days to permit the investigation and the report to be made. The value of such investigations is that it gives the court complete and valuable personal, social, and economic data concerning the defendant, thus enabling the court to determine more adequately and accurately what type of treatment would best suit the needs of the particular case, and how long such Courts outside Milwaukee County.-The psychiatric field service of the State Board of Control is always available to furnish examinations called for by the probation units. The majority of judges do not avail themselves of the opportunities for presentence investigation. Where such investigations are made the results are generally presented in court orally. It was estimated that in the Madison unit presentence investigations are made in only about 10 or 15 out of every 100 cases. INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE IN SOME WELL KNOWN PROBATION DEPARTMENTS Many probation departments in the United States have developed facilities for excellent investigation services. It has been the good fortune of the majority of these units to be situated either within the limits of a large city or in the midst of a well-populated industrial area. Enlightened public support and interest has made possible the employment of comparatively large staffs of probation officers, together with the indispensable clerical assistance. The proximity to other social service agencies, the relatively greater availability of medical, psychological, and psychiatric services, and the larger revenues which a metropolitan area affords have all contributed their part to the success and quality of the service which these probation departments offer. Officers are almost invariably better paid and employed on a full-time basis in these probation offices, so that a more competent and interested personnel is engaged in applying and developing the probation method. But even where such salutary conditions prevail, a variety of factors serve to handicap the efforts of probation officers in supplying a satisfactory and dependable investigation service. Funds, though abundant in comparison with those of the underdeveloped units, are still inadequate to insure a complete, well-rounded investigation program in all cases. The reluctance of many courts to grant suffi treatment would appear to be advisable. Eventually, such presen tence investigations should be made for at least all persons convicted, who are legally eligible for probation." Annual Report, Probation Dep't, Municipal Court, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1936). cient time for the gathering of complete information before passage of sentence results too often in the presentation of an incomplete picture of the defendant's possibilities and history. A description of the investigation procedure of all the well-organized probation departments scattered over the country cannot be attempted in the space available. A few departments have been selected for illustrative purposes. Exclusion of any unit does not imply that it fails to offer an acceptable or even an exemplary service in the field of investigation, for several excellent units have been omitted. But it is to be hoped that an examination of the investigative practices of those few departments which have been regarded as particularly satisfactory by other writers in the field will reveal: (1) Some standards and goals for the improvement of less well-conducted units; (2) the relatively greater possibility of more exact justice to society and to the individual which an adequate program of investigation offers; and (3) the inadequacies and obstacles which beset even comparatively well-developed units at present. Los Angeles County.-In Los Angeles County the work of investigation is carried out by the court division, consisting of 15 officers. Each officer is permanently assigned to one of the several court departments trying criminal cases and four men are attached to the master calendar department which hears arraignments and pleas in criminal cases. These officers hold one division meeting a month at which they discuss their common problems and study the procedure used in conducting investigations and in writing reports. The usual practice of the superior court judges is to set the date for the probation hearing two weeks from the date when permission is granted the defendant to file an application for probation. Consequently, if the application is immediately transmitted to the probation office, there will be about 12 days available in which the officer can conduct his investigations and prepare his report to the court. If, on the other hand, there is any delay in transmitting the application to the probation department, it is obvious that the remaining time may be so limited as to prevent the completion of the investigation by the date set for the hearing. In understaking the investigation, the officer first familiarizes himself with the facts shown in the defendant's application and in the transcript of the record of the preliminary hearing. Immediately upon receipt of the application, steps are taken to obtain the record of the defendant either from the police or from the sheriff's bureau of identification or from both.88 As soon as the investigating officer has obtained some of the background of the case an interview is held with the defendant. If the defendant is out on bail, he is notified to come to the probation office; otherwise, this interview is conducted in the jail. Because of the lack of privacy in both the general conference room of the county jail and in the probation office when the interview takes place there, it is difficult to establish a confidential relationship between the officer and the applicant. A comprehensive work sheet usually serves as the outline for the interview with the defendant. The work sheet calls for some 65 items or groups of information covering the man's heredity, environment, personal history, his previous offenses, and the facts and circumstances surrounding the present offense. In addition, the defendant is asked to write out a narrative description of his offense and of any other facts and circumstances he wishes to explain. In opening the interview, the investigator first makes a statement to the applicant making clear to him the function of the probation department in regard to his case, pointing out that the probation officer is there to be helpful and requesting the truthful cooperation of the defendant in his own interest. Questions are then asked which usually follow in detail the data called for by the work sheet, on which the answers are recorded. When this series of questions is concluded the interview is usually at an end, except for such additional questioning as may be necessary to clear up obscure statements. Of particular interest to the inves "The responsibility for obtaining some of these data formerly rested with each individual investigator, but in 1936, through WPA assistance, one man and two stenographic assistants were stationed in the police bureau and were solely concerned with checking the records of applicants for probation. These workers prepared a transcript or summary of the reports and data in the police files on the applicants under scrutiny. Their work constituted a real time-saving device for the investigating officers. 73115-39-VOL. II-14 tigator are the reasons given by the defendant for the commission of the present offense, and there is generally detailed examination into this particular matter. At this point the investigating officer has available all the information that is of official record in the files of the police or of the sheriff's office, the defendant's own story and his answers to the questions on the work sheet. There is also at the officer's disposal the replies from letters of reference sent out on the day the case was filed in the probation office. Where time permits, the investigator proceeds to contact other persons who are connected with the case or who are interested in the defendant, seeking to expand the information he has at hand and to verify that already given him, particularly in regard to facts and statements supplied by the defendant. Among those who are contacted, time permitting, are the complaining witness, the peace officers who acted in the case, the district attorney who handled the case, the family and relatives of the defendant, and possibly his employer. Where replies to the letters of reference indicate any possible help from these sources, personal interviews are arranged with some of these people. Some 3 or 4 days before the date set for the probation hearing, the investigating officer dictates the report to be presented to the court. Each probation report commences with a face sheet which is filled out by the officer who has conducted the investigation. Supplementary or additional data are then dictated and this material when typed is attached to the face sheet forming the complete report to the court. The headings used in dictating the report are as follows: (1) Previous arrests: In which is detailed the defendant's police record. (2) Present offense: This is a brief summary of the offense and the circumstances immediately connected with it. (3) Defendant's statement: This summarizes the defendant's explanation of the offense and any other facts he may have added about himself. (4) Economic status: This includes the probation officer's findings as to the economic status of the defendant and his family, covering his employment record and his possibilities for future employment. (5) Comments: Here the probation |