Probation Staff Research Articles

Understanding Recall 2011

The primary aim of this small project was to increase understanding of the prisoner recall process. The two specific research questions were: 1) Are the reasons for recall clearly understood (both by prisoners and those who work in the criminal justice system)?; 2) What can be done to reduce the number of prisoners recalled to prison?Forty-six prisoners (36 men and 10 women) were interviewed in two local prisons about their experience of being recalled to prison. These prisoners were serving a wide variety of sentences, from life (3), extended sentences (9), to less than 2 years (10). At the same time, a wider ‘snap-shot’ of recall was obtained by a review of 129 prisoners’ files, and context-setting interviews were held with a number of probation and NOMS staff.

1659 – The development of a case formulation training package for probation staff

Introduction A recent UK Government initiative has sought to address the management of personality disordered (PD) offenders, aiming to improve public protection by reducing reoffending whilst simultaneously improving the psychological health of offenders with PD. Case formulation (CF) is given primacy here as it enhances offender management through a psychologically informed approach and informs pathway planning through Criminal Justice System or NHS services. Probation services are given an important role in formulating cases as part of the new strategy. Objectives Develop a consensus amongst professionals as to what makes a good Case Formulation (CF). Investigate whether probation services can be taught CF skills, and to enhance these skills. Aims Develop a case formulation training package for probation staff and evaluate the training. Method The training package was informed by the results of a Delphi survey amongst professionals, and focus groups with probation staff, offenders and carers of individuals with PD. Results There was consensus that CF allows for collaboration between client and therapist, helps with complexity through organisation of case notes and has utility in treatment planning. Themes highlighted for effective CF included background, trauma, offending, risk and current lifestyle. The theoretical model gaining most support was a CBT model. The assessment of formulations was identified as challenging. The CF training package is currently being evaluated and findings will be presented at the conference, alongside outcomes of all phases of the research. Conclusions CF has the potential to enhance treatment planning. Its suitability for probation staff will be discussed.

PS36 Probation and NHS Working Together to Reduce Health Inequalities: Great Expectations or a Tale of Two Services

BackgroundOffenders within the community are considered a socially excluded population experiencing poorer health than the general population and difficulties in accessing health care. There is little research focused on Community...

The Emerging Buprenorphine Epidemic in the United States

The authors sampled for expanded drug testing of 1,061 urine specimens collected by Maryland Division of Parole and Probation staff. They found an increase in the percentage of individuals testing positive for buprenorphine and found that these specimens often contained other drugs, suggesting misuse. Subsequent interviews with 15 probationers and parolees in Baltimore, Maryland, showed wide-scale availability of buprenorphine on the street and in prisons. Medical examiners and drug testing programs should immediately initiate routine testing for buprenorphine to track a possible outbreak of buprenorphine diversion and misuse. Physician education programs should redouble their efforts to teach strategies to deter diversion and misuse of the drug.

Developing probation staff competency for working with high risk of harm offenders with personality disorder: An evaluation of the Pathways Project

Background A model of psychologically informed offender management for high risk of harm offenders with personality disorder (PD) was piloted, in which NHS psychologists worked alongside London probation staff. Aim The aim of the study was to evaluate the initiatives taken to develop probation staff's capability to work effectively with the group of offenders. Method Self-report measures assessing competency for working with PD and team climate were administered to the probation staff (N = 150) at baseline and at 1 year follow-up. At follow-up, qualitative data was also collected from a subset of Public Protection Unit staff (N = 17), evaluating their experience of the project. Results The probation staff significantly improved across a range of generic and forensic PD-related competencies. The largest improvements were found in the Public Protection Unit, which received the highest level of support. There was also a significant improvement in one facet of team climate (team vision). The qualitative findings suggested that the primary areas of skills development were in the participants' understanding of PD and their capacity to identify PD and to develop treatment and management pathways. Conclusions The results provide evidence for the effectiveness of the project model that supports its implementation on a broader scale. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Social Justice and Juvenile Offenders: Examples of Fairness, Respect, and Access in Education Settings

Youths involved in juvenile justice face unique barriers to educational and mental health services. This qualitative study illustrates social justice violations that are particularly salient for this population. Youths on probation, their mothers, and juvenile probation staff participated in interviews as part of a multisite study conducted in Texas and California. Interviews were coded using the Consensual Qualitative Research method. This study provides detailed examples of social justice components of fairness, respect, and access within school and juvenile justice settings. Implications for how schools could address these types of situations to promote fairness and decrease discrimination and stigma for youths with a criminal record who are trying to succeed in school are also discussed.

The Baby Elmo Program: Improving teen father–child interactions within juvenile justice facilities

The aim of the Baby Elmo Program is to establish a low-cost, sustainable parenting and structured visitation program for non-custodial incarcerated teen parents. The program is taught and supervised by probation staff in juvenile detention facilities and unlike traditional programs, this intervention is not based on increasing the teen's abstract parenting knowledge, but rather in building a relationship between the teen and his child. The sessions target the interactional quality of the relationship by introducing relationship, communication, and socio-emotional enhancing techniques. Because the intervention is conducted in the context of parent–child visits, it fosters hands-on learning and increases the opportunity for contact between these young parents and their children, a benefit in itself. Twenty father–infant dyads, with infants ranging in age from 6 to 36 months, participated in the present preliminary evaluation of the program. Individual growth curve analyses showed significant gains in five of six measures of emotional responsiveness with the age of infant as a significant covariate. These results indicate improvements in positive high quality interactions and communication during sessions between infants and their incarcerated parents and this increase in the interactional quality of the relationship increases the likelihood that the incarcerated teen and child will form and maintain a positive relationship with one another.

Enhancing staff capabilities to work more effectively with personality disorder

This study examined whether supporting offender managers (OMs) to adopt a psychologically informed approach to offender management could enhance their capabilities to understand and work more effectively with high risk offenders with personality disorder (PD). The hypothesis was that if OMs and Approved Premises staff were more effective in managing these clients in the community it would lead to fewer recalls back to prison.In the first year evaluation of the intervention there was a significant reduction in recalls back to prison made by offender managers (OMs) targeted by the intervention (PPU OMs: N=10) when compared to the same period the previous year (i.e. 59 versus 29 cases – 49 per cent reduction). In contrast, there was a non-significant increase in recalls over the same period for offenders managed by probation staff not targeted by Impact (non-Public Protection Unit OMs: N=63) when compared to the same period the previous year (109 versus 134 – 23 per cent increase).

Promoting Human Dignity: An evaluation of a programme for racially motivated offenders

This article gives an account of an evaluation of a programme for racially motivated offenders designed and run by probation staff in Merseyside. Originally a response to the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act, the programme was adapted in response to changed patterns of migration and racist hostility. A groupwork version of the programme was started in 2008, and this became a particular focus of the evaluation. Offenders who participated in both individual and group versions generally reported positive learning experiences, and appreciated the style and knowledge of the facilitators. The article argues that the content and delivery of the programme are in line with what research suggests should be helpful practice with this group of offenders, and that the programme is a positive example of skilled, creative practice.

Probation and offender manager training: An argument for an integrated approach

De Montfort University (DMU) was commissioned by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) to carry out skills profile research to inform the proposed new probation training framework and curriculum. This article will outline the findings of this research and discuss the future of probation training. It will argue that the future training arrangements for probation staff need to take account of the fact that complex offender-focused work is now being carried out by various grades of staff and that the issue of role boundaries should be central to the debate about competency and qualifications. Whilst training resources can no longer be disproportionately targeted at the probation officer grade, to the detriment of other grades, the importance of higher education in enabling the development of critical and reflective skills as well as knowledge for all staff is emphasized.

Does the NOMS Risk Assessment Bubble Need to Burst for Prisoners Who May be Innocent to Make Progress?

Abstract: This article considers, critically, a new course for prison and probation staff who work with indeterminate sentenced prisoners (ISPs) that has been devised by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), which allows, for the first time, the possibility that some prisoners maintaining innocence may be innocent. However, whilst on its face this looks like a significant step, a closer analysis shows that the rationale and operations of the NOMS system of risk assessment for prisoners maintaining innocence remains trapped in a bubble which deters meaningful assistance to prisoners who may be innocent. As such, prisoners maintaining innocence continue to be faced with the ‘parole deal’, a situation whereby they claim that they must choose to admit their guilt for crimes that they say that they did not commit in order to make progress through the prison system and obtain their release.

Aggression replacement training with adult male offenders within community settings: a reconviction analysis

This study presents the findings of an evaluation of the Aggression Replacement Training programme as regards the reconviction of male violent offenders within the English and Welsh Probation Service. This study employed a quasi-experimental design which utilised one-to-one matching on key criminogenic variables between an experimental group and a comparison group. The experimental group comprised convicted violent offenders who had been allocated to the programme by probation staff, while the comparison group was sampled from a larger pool of individuals who had been convicted of a violent offence and had subsequently received a community sentence but were not allocated to the programme. Outcome data were analysed using both the ‘intention to treat’ and ‘treatment received’ methodologies. The latter methodology allowed comparison of the naturally occurring groups of completers and non-completers with their matched comparisons and each other. The phi effect size correlations indicated a 13.3% decrease in reconviction in the experimental group as compared to the matched comparison group. Additionally, programme non-completers were more likely to be reconvicted than their matched comparisons and programme completers. These findings are discussed in the light of the extant literature, and different interpretations are considered.

(In)Visible Barriers: The Experience of Asian Employees in the Probation Service

Abstract: This article is based on a small piece of research, which was prompted by the National Association of Asian Probation Staff (NAAPS). They wanted to investigate the experience of Asian employees in the probation service in England and Wales and consider wider issues of attitudes toward Asians from staff. The research was conducted jointly with the University of Central England in Birmingham (now Birmingham City University), with a focus on recruitment, retention and progression within the probation service. Key findings include a lack of confidence amongst Asian staff with regard to how management addresses diversity issues; a perception of change in attitudes towards Asian staff directly related to the events of 9/11; a lack of understanding from other black and minority ethnic (BME) and white staff regarding Asian culture, and concern about promotion chances and job security. There has been little research on the culture of the probation service, specifically with regard to how management implements policy and how much attention is paid to diversity issues. This research highlights the need for further exploration of these issues, on a wider scale, especially in light of more recent events impacting on attitudes towards Asians, particularly from the south and east of Asia, namely, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and China.

Continuing professional development: Lessons from a European Union twinning project

In April 2006 four UK prison and probation staff visited Bulgaria as part of the EU twinning project ‘Strengthening the penitentiary system of Bulgaria’. This paper outlines the context of the project, the project itself and the lessons the psychologists in the UK team learnt from the project.

Implementing “Corrections of Place” Ideas

Restorative justice has recently become popular among practitioners, but there have been few rigorous evaluations of programs. For approximately 5 years, Ventura County, California, probation staff and other local organizations worked together on the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP), a juvenile probation program designed to implement Clear’s “corrections of place” (COP) ideas. The program is evaluated using a randomized experimental design and the results of surveys with youth clients, staff, and the youths’ caregivers regarding the effectiveness of the SOCP in reaching COP-related goals are reported. Results reflect that there were few differences between SOCP clients and routine probationers’ perceptions of their experiences. SOCP staff members were significantly more likely to believe they were reaching COP goals than were routine probation officers. Caregivers believed the SOCP was more helpful than routine probation.

Some reflections on risk assessment, parole and recall

A few high-profile murders by released prisoners, subject to parole and life licences, have drawn governmental and public attention to the process of the parole board decision to release an offender and the quality of supervision under licence by probation areas. Reports by the Chief Inspector of Probation indicate that, in some parts of the parole process, too little attention is paid by prison and probation staff and parole board members to issues of risk of harm, static risk, instrumental violence, conditions of release and the thoroughgoing end-to-end management of prisoners. This article discusses these issues and examines some of the changes in parole responsibilities since the Criminal Justice Act 2003. In particular, it looks at the impact of recalls to custody following a breach of licence requirements and extended sentence recalls.

The History of Probation: Politics, Power and Cultural Change 1876-2005

Probation has a long-standing tradition of recruiting practitioners who believe in the capacity of human beings for transformation. As befits a relatively benevolent criminal justice agency which has traditionally focused on changing rather than containing people, probation staff have tended to be strongly motivated to work with their chosen client group (offenders) in order to facilitate their reintegration into society. As we approach the hundredth anniversary of the legislative creation of the probation service, two authors who can draw on immense probation practice experience have produced a broad-ranging historical account of the development of probation in England and Wales. As Whitehead and Statham ably demonstrate in this rigorously researched history, contemporary probation is a radically different institution from the model fashioned by the early pioneers of rehabilitation in the community. This is, above all, a timely book. Probation intervention with offenders now occupies centre stage in the criminal justice process. The effectiveness and quality of that intervention have been subjected to a remorseless level of public, political and media scrutiny unprecedented in probation's history. Some of this criticism may be misplaced. The daily probation caseload of 200,000+ clients includes 13,000 offenders who present a high or very high risk of re-offending. Last year, 0.6 per cent of these were charged or convicted of a further serious offence; this is a relatively low figure, given all the circumstances. At the same time, the probation service has been experiencing a period of intense structural, organizational and cultural change. The authors explore how probation's professional ethos has undergone upheaval as the service has embarked on a process of radical transformation from what was, in essence, an organization engaged in social work intervention with offenders to an agency whose key imperative is law enforcement. This shift away from a social work value base is paralleled by a further shift in values, transferring at least part of probation provision out of the public sector and towards private provision. A unique and internationally renowned culture which had emphasized rehabilitation as its primary aim is being transformed.

A comparison between the Intercept Oral Fluid Collection Device® and urinalysis among Baltimore City probationers

Few studies compared oral fluid (OF) analysis to laboratory urinalysis (UA) in real-world criminal justice environments, and no studies had collected survey data, from either specimen providers or specimen collectors, about the overall OF collection experience. In the most comprehensive toxicological comparison study conducted to date, urine and OF specimens were collected from a sample of 223 adult probationers in Baltimore City, Maryland, between March and May 2004. In addition, probationers and probation staff were surveyed about the OF collection experience. With confirmed UA as the reference standard, the Intercept Oral Specimen Collection Device® (Intercept) was 100 percent sensitive and 99 percent specific for benzodiazepines, 92 percent sensitive and 96 percent specific for cocaine, 77 percent sensitive and 96 percent specific for opiates, 39 percent sensitive and 98 percent specific for marijuana, and 75 percent sensitive and 91 percent specific for the detection of at least one drug. Seventy-two percent of the probationers and 88 percent of the probation staff rated the Intercept experience better than the collection of urine specimens. Implications for criminal justice policy and research are discussed.

What can we learn from Serious Incident Reports?

This article discusses an examination of 90 Serious Incident Reports (SIRs) generated in the London Probation Area between January 2002 and July 2003. The results showed that offenders assessed as high risk generated a disproportionately high number of SIRs, but equally serious incidents occurred across all risk bands. Consequently, while probation staff were proficient in identifying those most likely to inflict harm, the analysis demonstrates the limitations of risk prediction, and the need for considerable skill and knowledge among staff who work with offenders of all risk bands. Another significant finding was that whereas past violent behaviour was a powerful predictor of future violence, relatively few of those accused of a sexual offence had previous sexual convictions.

Indigenous people, language and criminal justice: the experience of first language Welsh speakers in wales

This article examines the commitment of the criminal justice system (CJS) for England and Wales to respond to the needs of the largest territorially bound linguistic minority group in the UK – Welsh speakers in Wales. The article contextualizes the experience of the Welsh speakers historically, making links with the experience of other indigenous national linguistic minorities worldwide. The importance of language choice is discussed and the reality of linguistic choice within the CJS in Wales is explored in a small scale study with probation staff. Their responses to a brief questionnaire indicate that language choice is not a reality for the majority of Welsh speakers in Wales. The judicial and rehabilitative consequences of this lack of choice are explored. It is argued that a focus on non‐discrimination in policy and practice at the international and national level, the vagueness of linguistic rights legislation and the centralization of the CJS in the UK leads to the oppression of Welsh speakers offenders in the criminal justice system in Wales. This article proposes that a passive approach to language choice for indigenous linguistic minorities like the Welsh is unacceptable and that a proactive commitment to linguistically sensitive practice should be adopted on the basis of social justice, equal opportunities and to effectively engage with offenders to protect the public. Nine principles for effective criminal justice practice with Welsh speakers in Wales are proposed which it is argued, have wider applicability with indigenous/substate national linguistic communities worldwide.