Probation Practice and the New Penology: Practitioner Reflections
Contents: Introduction Late modernity, the new penality, managerialism and the culture of organisations The development of penal and correctional policy and its impact on probation practices and culture Attitudes, values and beliefs in the probation service Reflections on practice 1: the assessment of offenders Reflections on practice 2: the enforcement of community orders and post custody licences Reflections on practices 3: case management and the supervision of offenders Probation practice in the early 21st century? Probation and the new penality: conclusions and looking forward Bibliography Index.
Probation officer skills : spanish context
Probation has always been conceived as a community sanction where Probation Officers accompany the convict on the path of desistance. International literature on the effectiveness of probation indicates that the skills used by Probation Officers, in the interviews, with the convicts effect on the subsequent recidivism of the offenders. These skills are related to the use of Core Correctional Practices and the Risk Need and Responsivity model, considering them the bases of the relationship between Probation Officer and offender. The aim of the research was to examine until which extent, the Probation Officers of the Spanish context, specifically Catalan, make use of these skills. The methodology used was a qualitative technique based on the observation of interviews between Probation Officers and offenders. The results of this study indicated the presence of the skills and an adequate adaptation of them to the situation of the convict, guaranteeing good practice. Key words: probation, community sanction, probation officer, skills, interview, Core Correctional Practices, Risk Need Responsivity.
‘The worst tax form you’ve ever seen’? Probation officers’ views about OASys
Classification with regard to their risk/needs has become an increasingly significant aspect of work with offenders generally. In England and Wales, the Offender Assessment System (OASys) used by the National Probation Service has a key role to play in effective practice. OASys is the latest in a series of such assessment tools, but despite considerable care taken over its development, users’ views about its efficacy have not been explored. This article reports the results of the first national survey of Probation Officers’ views about OASys. While a variety of concerns are noted - especially the time-consuming nature of completing an OASys assessment - and such concerns need to be addressed, on the whole, users are not opposed to OASys.