Probation Practice Research Articles

Probation practice and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Twenty-one Community Rehabilitation Companies were set up following the division of the National Probation Services during 'Transforming Rehabilitation' in England and Wales, under a 2013 Ministry of Justice initiative. Reunification commenced in 2018. A study completed prior to these changes suggested that probation officers had had little training in recognising attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and may have been underestimating its prevalence among their clientele. Given the substantial changes in probation staffing and organisation since 2018, a new study seems warranted. The aim of the study was to understand experiences of people under a community sentence who reported having ADHD and of probation staff working with them. Using a qualitative research design, one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with client facing probation staff recruited from one Community Rehabilitation Company. Service users undertaking a community sentence who had been diagnosed with or self-identified as having ADHD were then identified and recruited by these staff; those who consented were also interviewed. Transcripts were analysed using a thematic analytic approach. Thirteen probation staff and six male offenders under community sentences, agreed to participate and completed interviews. The overarching themes emerging from the two groups were similar, both reflecting on descriptions of ADHD; treatment of ADHD; experiences of having or working with ADHD in the wider community and in the criminal justice system specifically and visions of future support needs tied to the order. In addition, probation officers specifically raised the matter of payment by results. Both service users and probation staff identified gaps in knowledge, experience and services, but areas of good practice were also identified. The findings highlight the continuing under-acknowledgement of tailored clinical support for people serving a community sentence who have ADHD together with a lack of support and training about ADHD for probation staff. Return to the national organisation of probation services and recognition of need for a range of relevant skills offers a great opportunity for re-evaluating supervision and management of offenders under community sentences who have ADHD. These findings provide the basis for a template for developing knowledge and support provision for probation staff to recognise ADHD, or its likelihood, and their capacity to follow through with appropriately informed personalised supervision plans and access to specialist service advice and support.

Positive reinforcement in probation practice: The practice and dilemmas of praise

Positive reinforcement is a key part of probation practice, and linked to client desistance from offending. The main way practitioners positively reinforce clients’ prosocial comments or behaviours is through praising them. However, praise is tricky in interaction, as people are under pressure to accept the positive assessment whilst also avoiding self-praise. Applying conversation analysis to 21 video recordings of probation sessions originally collected for the Jersey Supervision Skills Study, we examine how this important aspect of probation features and functions in practice, and how clients respond. Our analysis shows how practitioners and clients manage the practice and dilemmas of praise.

Using the Experience of South Korea in the Establishment of the Probation System in Russia

In this article, the authors discuss the opportunities and challenges of implementing a probation system in Russia based on the Federal Law "On Probation in the Russian Federation" adopted in 2023. It is noted that this law has a framework character and requires the development of a detailed regulatory framework for its full-fledged functioning from the beginning of 2024. The authors propose strategies for implementing the law, which include effective communication and coordination between stakeholders, training programs, the involvement of volunteers and non-profit organizations. The article provides a comparative analysis of Russian probation practices and the Korean probation system, which is recognized as one of the most advanced among APR countries. This system has a complex structure, it includes professional and volunteer staff, various rehabilitation programs and offender support services. The challenges facing the Korean probation system are highlighted, including urbanization, an economic crisis, an ageing population and a lack of resources. The authors emphasize the lessons that can be learned from the South Korean experience, especially the potential benefits of electronic monitoring, spiritual education and other aspects of probation. The study shows that the active participation of volunteers contributes to the successful rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders. The importance of a holistic approach to probation is emphasized, as it takes into account not only the offender's personal characteristics but also his or her relationship with the community. The authors stress that certain elements of the Korean probation system, such as the involvement of volunteers in the implementation of offender re-socialization programs, as well as the emphasis on community involvement can heighten the effectiveness of the probation system in Russia. The article underscores the importance of studying and applying international experience in the field of probation, as well as the need to study UN and Council of Europe documents and improve the system of recording recidivism rates in Russia.

Testing and refining an approach to identifying health and social care needs in probation.

We piloted an approach to identifying the health and social care needs of people on probation using a survey consisting of validated screening tools and key additional questions. We share findings from our analysis of the sample data, showing that there is a high complexity of needs in this population, with 65.4% of participants reporting at least one unmet need. We also explore the acceptability of this approach to identifying needs being used in routine probation practice and make recommendations about how identification and recording of needs could be approached and further researched in the future.

A Systematic Scoping Review of Measures of the Quality of Health and Social Care for Adults in the Criminal Justice System: Learning for the Probation Service.

We conducted a systematic scoping review to identify quality indicators, guidelines or standards measuring the quality of health or social care for adult criminal justice populations that were relevant to probation practice. Seventeen papers were included, and measures were categorised by how they were developed, which national probation service health and social care strategy objectives they relate to, type of measures, and what is measured. We aimed to identify existing indicators that may support improvements in the health of people on probation and the care that they receive, and to share any insights around developing and introducing such indicators in practice.

XR technology and risk assessment: The future of probation training?

Risk assessment and prediction play a key role in decision-making in probation practice. Yet the practical application of risk assessment judgements can be impacted by a range of factors, with implications for people under supervision as well as for potential victims and the community. Furthermore, there has been a shift within probation training to remote and online learning platforms to support workplace development. This article describes an exploratory study assessing the capacity of technology-enhanced training tools for enhancing and improving risk assessment in probation home visits. The findings indicate that, despite the limitations of the research, virtual reality and 360° videos may be valuable tools for addressing a number of the inherent challenges facing current probation training.

How probation practices vary across rural, suburban, and urban contexts

ABSTRACT Research on criminal justice in rural areas is historically infrequent in the United States, and even though it has become more frequent recently, there has been even less work focused on rural juvenile justice. The purpose of this article is to compare juvenile probation practices in rural counties to those in suburban and/or urban counties. Overall, the implementation of programmes and policies is primarily based on the needs of larger counties. This article presents findings from 16 in-depth interviews with juvenile probation officers throughout Pennsylvania. Various struggles were identified by probation officers in smaller counties, such as travel time to facilities and limited resources. In contrast, many probation officers in larger counties discussed the additional resources they have been able to offer to juveniles. These findings have implications for theory, juvenile probation officer practices, programmes and policies in rural communities, and highlight the need for future research in this area.

Legacies of Change: Probation Staff Experiences of the Unification of Services in England and Wales

Abstract A discourse of professionalism has proved crucial to driving recent organizational restructurings of the probation service in England and Wales. The Coalition Government argued that bureaucratic, state provision of services had stifled probation practice—for which the introduction of market logic, via the 2014 Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) reforms, would restore professional discretion. And yet, the detrimental impact of TR on practice meant that re-professionalization was an important objective of yet more restructuring. This paper explores probation staff experiences of organizational change, particularly since services were returned to the public sector, in June 2021, through three dominant modes of workplace organization around which change has been articulated: professionalism, the market and bureaucracy. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 38 members of staff, it argues that the exercise of professionalism in probation has been, and continues to be, shaped by a legacy of organizational change that is both bureaucratic and dependent upon market(-like) mechanisms. It contends that the ongoing impact of a ‘discursive battle’ between market and bureaucratic forces has further eroded professionalism in probation.

The challenges of re-entry for men and women under probation supervision

The literature on probation supervision has paid significant attention to prisoner reintegration into society. Many of these studies are based on retrospective samples of ex-prisoners as their primary analytical focus. Research studies on the early transitions from prison to the community have predominantly examined men's experiences. This article explores the experiences of a small group of men and women serving their sentences in the community while under probation supervision. Drawing on interview extracts, it is argued that probation practices hinder, rather than support, post-release necessities for men and women seeking to reintegrate into society. The article highlights the implications for future research on probation supervision and re-entry.

Book review: Reimagining Probation Practice: Re-forming Rehabilitation in an Age of Penal Excess

Book review: Reimagining Probation Practice: Re-forming Rehabilitation in an Age of Penal Excess

Reimagining Probation Practice: Re-forming Rehabilitation in an Age of Penal Excess. By BurkeL.,CarrN., CluleyE., CollettS. and McNeillF. (eds) (Routledge, 2022, 247pp. £34.99 pbk)

Twenty authors have contributed to this collection of 13 essays. They are drawn from every branch of the ‘probation’ community—practitioners, inspectors, academic analysts and teachers. So, unsurprisingly, the quality of the expositions varies a good deal and, somewhat surprisingly, one voice is almost completely absent: that of offenders. Apart from a short quote from a bemused participant in a group work programme—a participant who clearly cannot see how he’s going to escape the traps surrounding him (p. 59)—the offender voice is absent. A bit of ‘lived experience’ would have leavened this sometimes ritualistically worthy loaf. The core message, around which all the contributors have mustered, is a plea, clearly set out in the editors’ introductory manifesto, that probation practitioners strive to retain and develop a commitment to the serious ambition of encouraging offender desistance. This objective is easier said than done given the context within which probation services are now delivered. Indeed, a mood of scarcely concealed desperation occasionally surfaces in the editors’ account. For the backcloth to probation work, be it the preparation of court reports, the supervision of community orders, the delivery of offender programmes or the resettlement of prisoners, is a scarred landscape of: gross and worsening social and economic inequality; increasing and deepening poverty; a housing rental market geared to ownership and inheritance of wealth rather than public utility; employment practices increasingly characterized by zero hour contracts and insecurity of tenure; and the partial collapse of major national and local authority public services whose remit includes the redress of the multiple trauma—childhood, familial, medical and military—which lies behind most serious offending.

Evaluations of Probation Specialists on Evidence-Based Probation Practices: A Qualitative Study from Turkey

ABSTRACT Purpose This research explores the views of probation specialists working with young offenders about their professional process, professional problems, and the evidence-based practice approach. Method The qualitative method was used in the research and the phenomenology pattern forms the basis of the research. The data deciphered and conceptualized with descriptive analysis by the organizing and senior researcher. Results According to data from in-depth interviews, due to the dual structure of the probation system, which includes both execution and rehabilitation, professional staff experience role conflict. Professional problems such as excessive workload, inadequate physical conditions, not separating the job descriptions of probation specialists according to their fields of expertise, job dissatisfaction, and burnout are common. In addition, there are no scientific tools to measure the effectiveness of the intervention programs and monitoring process in the probation system. Discussion There is a need for developing the effectiveness of intervention programs in the probation system and an evidence-based intervention system. At the end of the article, some suggestions on effective social work practices in the probation system are presented from the perspective of evidence-based practice.

Book review of reimagining probation practice

Book review of reimagining probation practice

Rapport building with offenders in probation supervision: The views of English probation practitioners

Rapport-based supervision in probation is linked to positive behavioural change and reduced reoffending for probation service users. However, the process of rapport building is not well documented in probation practice. This study conducted focus groups and interviews with London-based probation practitioners to understand their views of rapport when supervising service users. Thematic analysis generated five themes related to how practitioners facilitated rapport building and maintenance, as well as several barriers that exist towards building and maintaining rapport – these were conceptualised as a rapport-building process. We provide recommendations to help alleviate barriers and further facilitate the rapport-building process.

Microsystem Supports, Therapeutic Progress, and Court Reinvolvement: Implications for Juvenile Probation

Objective: Juvenile probation is the most common disposition for court-involved youth. Emerging frameworks for research-informed probation highlight the importance of intervention dosage, adolescent development, and cross-systems approaches, yet research examining these features is limited. Guided by ecological, developmental, and probation practice frameworks, we examined the relationship between microsystem supports (family, school, probation), therapeutic progress, and court reinvolvement among youths on probation. Method: Data were from a moderate-to-high risk sample of diverse youths (N = 3,678) who were administered a validated risk-and-needs assessment tool at probation entry and exit in one jurisdiction in Washington State. We used multivariate regression to examine the direct and indirect effects of family, school, and probation on measures of therapeutic change (motivation and social–emotional skills) and court reinvolvement. Results: Increasing supports across all three microsystems (family, school, and probation) were associated with positive gains in social–emotional skills and motivational processes; an increase in behavioral self-regulation was associated with reduced court reinvolvement. Behavioral self-regulation skill level at probation exit mediated the relationship between microsystem supports and reinvolvement. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of adolescent development and cross-systems collaboration for promoting positive outcomes and reduced court reinvolvement for youths on probation. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Making, unmaking, remaking: Mapping the boundaries of professional legitimacy, identity and practice in probation in England and Wales

This article maps the (shifting) boundaries of professional legitimacy, identity and practice in probation in England and Wales. Probation established itself in the 20th century as a core institution in the modernist pursuit of offender rehabilitation; however, changing political economic priorities in recent decades have prompted a new consensus that also incorporates mentalities of punitivism, managerialism and risk. With a particular emphasis on the reunification of services after the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms, the article presents a practical and moral case for how the Government’s (re)professionalisation agenda can be developed. It draws upon the sociology of the professions literature to emphasise the service’s ‘interstitiality’ as a professional jurisdiction that operates between different social spheres. The article argues that reunification provides an opportunity to remake the boundaries of professional practice in such a way that people on probation can take ownership of their desistance, while reasserting the service’s internal self-image and external legitimacy.

Exploring Thailand’s Probationary Practices Since COVID-19: Changes in Strategies with Regards to Probation Supervision

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic had a critical impact on the Thai criminal justice system. The goal of this study is to explore policies and practices of Thailand’s Department of Probation as it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study surveyed probation officers in Thailand (N = 534) from March to April 2021, focusing on probation practices and case management issues prior- and post- COVID-19. Data reveals that, overall, the frequency of officer-offender contacts remained steady even though the type of contact changed after COVID-19. In-person contact was replaced by remote contact strategies, specifically telephone calls, which increased significantly following the onset of the pandemic.

The partner link worker: A vital but undervalued service for women who have been subjected to or at risk of domestic abuse

This study aims to explore the partner link worker (PLW) role in supporting women who have been subjected to or at risk of domestic abuse. Prior research in a probation setting tends to focus solely on the person on probation, failing to examine the experiences of people subjected to crime and support services on offer. The PLW role provides an essential service that has been undervalued and overlooked. The study begins to provide some evidence to counter the broader political rhetoric that people subjected to crime are central to probation practice within the criminal justice system. It draws on the findings from thirteen semi-structured interviews conducted across five Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). The findings suggest that PLWs demonstrate a professional commitment to protecting and safeguarding vulnerable women and addressing domestic abuse. However, PLWs face many challenges and obvious gaps in provisions to provide a fully inclusive and accessible service to meet the individual needs of women and their children. The recently reunified probation service offers an optimum opportunity to review, resource and regenerate the PLW service to protect and safeguard people who have been subjected to or at risk of domestic abuse.

‘A nice idea but....’: Implementing a reflective supervision model in the National Probation Service in England and Wales

ABSTRACT Despite significant research and literature relating to the role of critically reflective practice and staff supervision in ‘helping professions’, there has been less attention given to probation practice. This article addresses this gap by presenting the findings from a study that explores the implementation of a reflective model of staff supervision in the National Probation Service. Utilising a mixed-methods research design including a survey and semi-structured interviews with managers and front-line practitioners, the study sheds light on probation staff's experience of reflective supervision and manager perspectives of implementing the model. Overall, we find that probation staff are supportive of the ethos and underpinning principles of the reflective supervision model. However, our participants raised important barriers to implementation, most notably a lack of time and perceived tension between the managerial and developmental aspects of the supervisor role. We conclude by arguing that the Probation Service needs to address these barriers to enable reflective supervision to realise its potential to protect practitioner emotional well-being, support-positive outcomes for individuals subject to probation intervention and develop practitioner professionalism, empowerment, and autonomy.

Proposed Principles for Procedurally Just Probation and Parole Practices

ABSTRACT As part of a qualitative evaluation of a trial of a new model of community corrections (Triple-S: Social Supports in Supervision), we interviewed 53 probationers and parolees about their experiences with supervision. Although procedural justice was not the direct focus of the trial or its evaluation and participants were not overtly prompted, participants independently communicated the importance of procedural justice elements in shaping their interactions with their supervising officer, their perceptions of the agency, and their attitudes and behaviors relevant to their correctional order. Following a thematic analysis of these responses, we propose ten principles for procedurally just probation and parole practices. We suggest that probation and parole officers should: (1) be courteous, (2) avoid labeling, (3) explain, (4) listen, (5) hear, (6) be consistent, (7) be measured, (8) reserve judgment, (9) be invested, and (10) problem-solve. From this introductory exploratory study, we urge further research into the utility of these guiding elements. Subsequent scholarship may demonstrate how they enhance community corrections practices by improving officer decision-making and client interactions, which in turn is predicted to increase probationer and parolee engagement and subsequent compliance.