Interorganizational Trust and Distrust within the Belgian Juvenile Justice System

Within the theme of judicial trust, this study is focusing on the relationship between the judicial actors dealing with cases where minors are involved. More specifically, the aim is to include the juvenile public prosecutor’s office, the juvenile courts and the social service supporting the courts with information and the execution of measures. This part of the juvenile justice system plays a crucial role in the way the cases will be resolved, they cover a large amount of cases (139,982 new protectionist cases nationally in 2012), and are often the last resort to protect minors from dangerous situations or a criminal future. Since the literature suggests sustained effective coordinated action is only possible where there is mutual confidence or trust in complex organizational systems, it is predicted that this will also be an important factor in the juvenile justice system. However, to date, there is no knowledge on the nature of interorganizational trust or distrust in this specific context, let alone on the levels of interorganizational trust or distrust. For these reasons, the aim of this study is to conduct a thorough exploration of the interorganizational trust and distrust phenomena in the Belgian juvenile justice system, and in this way to add to the broader social discussion on court performance and the wider academic discussion on the nature of interorganizational trust.