Rurality and probation practice

Abstract

This article reviews a much-neglected area of probation practice: rural service. It reviews relevant literature from other human services to make the case that while the predominant focus in much of the available literature is upon questions of increased costs in delivering service to dispersed populations, there are other important aspects of the rural context which bear upon the delivery and receipt of service. It concludes with some consideration of the potential of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) for more locally variable and flexible forms of service delivery.