Visual methods and probation practice

Abstract

Visual research methods have gained increased prominence in social science research in recent years, driven in part by the increased accessibility of technology and the manifold possibilities for the production of imagery. Within the field of criminology also, the ‘visual’ has come increasingly to the fore, evident in the dedication of a handbook specifically to the topic of ‘Visual Criminology’ and the proliferation in a range of studies utilizing visual research methods. While visual imagery and issues or representation have been a focus of ‘cultural criminology’ for a number of years it is perhaps surprising that historically there has been less sustained attention to the visual within the discipline of criminology. Within scholarship focusing specifically on probation practice there has been a tendency to rely on interview-based methodologies, and the use of visual methodologies to explore the context of practice has been very limited. This chapter provides a brief overview of visual research methods, and highlights some of the epistemological and ethical challenges of this approach. Some studies that have used visual methods to varying degrees to explore probation practice are then considered. The potential of visual methods to render practice visible and the merits of increased visibility are explored.