This is an excellent work that demonstrates how the HOPE probation program, though often thought to be structured solely around the goal of “deterrence”, can and should be administered in keeping with much broader criminological objectives.
In fact, Bartels writes convincingly about how such matters as “dynamic risk factors” are attended to, and how “strength-based” approaches are effectively used to animate probationers.
In other words, although there is a strict deterrent mechanism underpinning the HOPE project, Bartels notes how commentators and critics often fail to consider how HOPE draws criminological clout from the wider perspective of therapeutic jurisprudence: judges and other actors are encouraged to embrace an ethic of care in their interaction with probationers, to apply the law therapeutically and, to avail themselves of legal provisions (i.e. allowing for early termination of probation for worthy participants) expressly designed to further therapeutic and rehabilitative ends.
