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Book review: The Good Prison Officer – Inside Perspectives Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-03-27 Michael O’Leary
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In conversation: An inside perspective of youth justice practice and experience Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-03-26 Andi Brierley, Kierra Myles
This reflective, dialogue between two youth justice professionals who have lived experience of being incarcerated children aims to provide an insight into their unique transition. Although living in very different parts of Britain, they discuss and reflect upon similarities in terms of strengths and challenges that come with being formerly incarcerated youth justice practitioners. Both authors share
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‘Patience, persistence and proportionality’: Probation officer's perspectives of desistance in practice Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Peter Beck, Emma McGinnis
Desistance from crime is a priority for criminal justice policy and practice yet the term carries varying definitions across research literature. Contemporary discourses promote a refocusing from desistance's representation as an individual's personal journey, to understanding desistance more akin to a social movement. Research has predominantly focused on the lived experience of those striving to
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Testing and refining an approach to identifying health and social care needs in probation Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-03-10 Coral Sirdifield, Thomas Parkhouse, Charlie Brooker, Graham Law
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
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The world's most remote community service? Partnership working and building community capacity on the British Overseas Territory Island of St Helena Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Fiona Campbell, Laura Aston
Measuring just 47 square miles and 1950 km from its nearest neighbour, St Helena is a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic with a population of approximately 4500. Working in this remote setting is one of the world's smallest probation services delivering a range of interventions including community service. In this practice note the authors explore the sustained, successful partnership
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Humberside enhanced resettlement service (HERS) evaluation report Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-02-23 John Atkinson, Elizabeth Finley, Joanne Ramsden, Wendy Sefton
The Humberside Enhanced Resettlement Service (HERS) was a psychologically informed, supported accommodation service for people on probation whose presentation is consistent with personality disorder. An evaluation, utilising semi-structured interviews, identified four themes of experience for people on probation and their probation practitioners who worked with HERS: (1) relationships; (2) practical
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Parole work in Canada: The realities of supervising “sex offenders” Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-02-05 Micheal P. Taylor, Rosemary Ricciardelli, Dale C. Spencer
Analyzing interview data ( n = 150) collected from Canadian federal parole officers (POs), we unpack potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs) concerning experiences supervising and supporting re-entry of people convicted of sex-related crimes (PCSCs). We find heterogeneity in the broad range of sex-crime behavior and potential psychological trauma that POs negotiate regarding their own
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‘I’m getting out to nothing’: A temporal analysis of dominant discourses and practices with residents convicted of child sex offences in probation Approved Premises Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-02-01 Nicola Roberts, Carla Reeves, Louise Jackson
People convicted of child sex offences are viewed as a dangerous and demonised offender group, yet little research has considered their resettlement post-residency from Approved Premises. Using data from two qualitative studies carried out 15 years apart, we explore what changes there have been in the discourses and practices with residents convicted of child sex offences. The authors found that whilst
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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 Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-01-24 Coral Sirdifield, Thomas Parkhouse, Charlie Brooker
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
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The characteristics of high-quality health and social care for people on probation: Professional and lived experience perspectives Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-01-24 Coral Sirdifield, Thomas Parkhouse, Philip Mullen
We investigated the characteristics of high-quality health and social care for people on probation and how they might be measured. Online open-ended survey responses and focus group data were analysed using thematic analysis. Providing high-quality care involves an understanding of the population's needs; tailoring practice to accommodate and meet individuals’ needs; inter-agency collaboration; and
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Should there be an app for that? Australian perspectives on the utility of a mobile app to support people in the criminal justice system Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-01-18 Helen Taylor, Lorana Bartels
Mobile technology presents opportunities within the justice system to support and promote behaviour change and the past decade has seen increased development and use of mobile applications for this purpose. This article aims to contribute to this burgeoning area by presenting the findings of research which scoped the utility of a mobile application (app) intended to support Indigenous people on bail
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‘Once a finger is pointed at you, that part of you has gone’: The completion of Horizon programme in the community and carceral citizenship for men with sexual convictions Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-01-16 Andrew Fowler, Peter Brown, Thomas Bickley
This study presents an analysis of the experiences of 15 men convicted of sexual offences, from England and Wales, who have completed the Horizon treatment programme in the community, facilitated by The Probation Service. We found that whilst men felt initially coerced into the programme, finishing the programme was experienced as a significant loss of support. Beyond the programme, the men described
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Exploring the impact of coercion and voluntary entry on dropout rates in a therapeutic community for substance abuse rehabilitation: A survival analysis and logistic regression study Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-01-11 Noam Haviv, Gal Kaplan Harel, Michal Sternfeld, Moshe Wolff
High dropout rates challenge drug rehabilitation programs. Both therapists and academics aim to pinpoint predictors of retention, with individual motivation, both external and internal, being a key factor. This study compares the retention period for residents who joined the Hartuv residential therapeutic community as an alternative to imprisonment (i.e. due to external motivation) and residents who
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‘A lack of cultural understanding and sometimes interest’: Towards half a century of anti-racist policy, practice and strategy within probation Probation Journal Pub Date : 2024-01-09 John Wainwright, Lol Burke, Steve Collett
In 2021, HM Inspectorate of Probation published a long awaited and highly critical report – Race equality in probation: the experience of black, Asian and minority ethnic probation service users and staff. The inspection upon which it was based was conducted in the Autumn of 2020 and was therefore set against the background of the death of George Floyd in the United States, and the rise of the Black
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The role of language in probation: A creative conversation Probation Journal Pub Date : 2023-04-12 Jake Phillips, Rachel Bower
This discussion piece emerged out of a conversation about the words we use to describe people who are engaged in and by the criminal justice system. It is underpinned by our belief that language, i...
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The versatility and tightness of electronic monitoring: A comparative perspective between Spain and Belgium Probation Journal Pub Date : 2023-03-23 Jose Maria Lopez Riba
Despite the fact that the use of electronic monitoring systems has grown across Europe and within each jurisdiction, comparative research on the matter is scarce. Previous studies have highlighted ...
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Incarcerated mothers’ experience of adversity heard using participatory mixed-method research Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-12-25 Sinead O’Malley, Carmel Devaney, Michelle Millar
This article is based on mixed-method participatory research with incarcerated mothers in Ireland. It draws on this research which aimed to profile imprisoned mothers, hear their experiences of mot...
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The role of community councils in probation reform Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-12-21 Elliot Tyler
A great benefit exists in giving people on probation the ability to contribute their ideas to the process of ongoing change. The direct experiences of people on probation, and embracing ‘lived expe...
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Responding to coercive control in criminal justice domestic violence perpetrator programmes in England and Wales: Conceptual, operational, and methodological complexities Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-12-08 Nicole Renehan
Evaluations of domestic violence perpetrator programmes have not produced evidence that they are as effective at reducing male, non-violent, coercively controlling behaviours. This article proposes...
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Rapport building with offenders in probation supervision: The views of English probation practitioners Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-12-08 Zacharia Nahouli, Jay-Marie Mackenzie, Andreas Aresti, Coral Dando
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 ...
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“You have to be really careful, in this environment, of what you say and what you do”: A qualitative examination of how organizational culture shapes parole officers' work and well-being Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-10-13 Rosemary Ricciardelli, Katharina Maier, Mark Norman
Drawing on existing literature on organizational culture in correctional work, in the current article we augment scholarship on community correctional services, specifically parole work, by conside...
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Not “proper” foreign national prisoners: Irish ex-prisoner reflections on imprisonment in England and Wales Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-09-09 Paul Gavin
Irish prisoners are one of the oldest minority groups and one of the most represented foreign national groups in the prison system, yet little is known about their experiences of imprisonment in En...
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Criminalisation, criminal records and rehabilitation: From supervision to citizenship? Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-08-26 Andrew Henley
Scholars of criminal justice have long described contact with the penal system as involving different forms of ‘pain’. Paradigmatically, Sykes (1958) outlined the ‘pains of imprisonment’ whereby the incarcerated experience deprivations of liberty, autonomy, security, goods and services, and heterosexual relationships. Subsequently, Crewe (2011) described 21st century imprisonment as involving pains
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The partner link worker: A vital but undervalued service for women who have been subjected to or at risk of domestic abuse Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-08-11 Rebecca Jayne Woolford, Molly McCarthy
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 solel...
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The reflective practitioner in transition. Probation work during reintegration of probation services in England and Wales Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-08-09 Anne Burrell
This article evaluates the recent history of probation services in England and Wales. The author – currently working as a Practice Teacher Assessor in the Probation Service – considers the politici...
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The gendered weight of desistance and understanding the ‘love of a good woman’: Desistance emotional work (DEW) Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-08-09 Lauren Hall, Lyndsey Harris
Despite increasing academic focus on intimate relationships as positive influences on desistance, research has yet to examine the experience and impact of support provision for women who are intima...
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Criminal records and public sector professional education: The role of criminal background checks in admissions to social work courses in England Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-08-01 Caroline Bald, Aaron Wyllie, María Inés Martínez Herrero
Over 11 million people in England and Wales have criminal records, with men, people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and people from poorer communities being over-represented. A ga...
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Anticipated citizenship in the shadow of imprisonment Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-06-03 Abigail D. Stark
This article explores imprisoned men's anticipation of citizenship, when looking towards release from prison. Based on the subjective meaning citizenship holds for participants themselves, I explore men's expectations of their citizenship status and experience after release, considering how and whether imprisoned men expect subjectively meaningful citizenship to be realised in their post-prison lives
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A pedagogy of ‘public criminology’ as a counter to marginality? Lessons for community sanctions and measures from the Pedagogy of the Oppressed Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-06-03 Matt Tidmarsh
As a subject of study in higher education, criminology has never been more popular; and yet, criminologists occupy an increasingly marginal position within political and media spheres. This marginalisation has arguably been to the detriment of those with lived experience of the criminal justice system, an oppressed class whose number has grown exponentially after several decades of a ‘tough on crime’
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Citizenship on probation: Understanding the labour market exclusion of criminalized people in Scotland Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-06-05 Beth Weaver, Cara Jardine
The significance of employment to desistance and social integration is well established, yet 62% of those subject to a Community Payback Order in Scotland are unemployed (Scottish Government, 2022). This paper reports on the findings from a small-scale survey conducted with 29 people subject to community supervision in Scotland, to shed light on the various enablers and barriers they encounter in seeking
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Probation and the ethics of care Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-06-05 Jane Dominey, Rob Canton
Discussions of probation's values can be enriched by an appreciation of care ethics. This approach is explained with attention to its emphasis on relationships and individualisation. The implications for probation's work are explored, including its significance for the supervisory relationship, its challenges for the management of the organisation and the value of individualised approaches. Care ethics
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Hero to zero? Navigating and negotiating the harms of criminalisation as a ‘veteran offender’ Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-05-09 Hannah Wilkinson
This article offers an original insight into the experiences of former military personnel navigating life after criminalisation in a time of austerity. Drawing on case studies of in-depth narrative and visual interview data with two ‘veteran offenders’, the article draws attention to a complex ‘dance of disclosure’ around military service and criminal records. The article demonstrates how the complexity
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Race equality and probation – a view from the frontline Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-05-02 Nicola Carr
This issue of the journal includes an important piece by Mariam Rashid, a practitioner working in England. Mariam's practice note reflects on what she describes as ‘complex complicity’ as a woman of colour working in a criminal justice system that disproportionately processes people from racial and ethnic minorities. Evidence of this disproportionality has been set out in a range of research and reports
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After-care, resettlement and social inclusion: The role of probation Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-04-18 Rob Canton
The priority of public protection has moved probation away from its historical concerns with providing after-care, now emphasising risk management as well as the continuation of the sentence in the community. Yet people released from prison notoriously face many difficulties in accessing the social resources they need for desistance and meet with mistrust associated with their criminal records. This
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When ‘ideal victim’ meets ‘criminalised other’: Criminal records and the denial of victimisation Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-04-18 Lauren Bradford-Clarke, Rhiannon Davies, Andrew Henley
This article critically examines the restrictions on access to statutory compensation in Great Britain for victims of serious crime with criminal records. Drawing on original analysis of Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority transparency data it reveals the scale of the denial of victimisation as a so-called ‘collateral consequence of a criminal record’. The policy is then critiqued on the basis
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French and scottish probation during the first lockdown. In search of the heart and soul of probation Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-04-12 Martine Herzog-Evans, John Sturgeon
In March 2020 in response to the global pandemic, countries across Europe ordered businesses and offices to close and their citizens to stay at home. This paper is part of a wider investigation, which explores what happened to probation services in France and in Scotland during this time of national emergency. Qualitative interviews with 29 French and 27 Scottish probation staff took place during the
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Probation and COVID-19: Lessons learned to improve health-related practice Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-04-12 Coral Sirdfield, Helen Nichols, Philip Mullen
Probation staff perform a health-related role involving identifying health-related drivers of offending behaviour; facilitating access to support for these, including continuity of care for people leaving prison; and advising the courts on appropriate sentencing. This study analyses data from probation staff surveys and interviews with people that were under probation supervision during the pandemic
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Complex complicity: A practice note from a woman of colour on the frontline Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-04-07 Mariam Rashid
I work as a Probation Officer; I have been doing this job for almost 15 years. I work primarily with men and have worked in major cities in England. I am a minority in England, both ethnically and religiously. I am a woman, and my family are migrants from Africa, and their grandparents were indentured labour from India. In all the ways I am different, I also often share histories of migration, of minority
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What works in promoting ‘what works’? A comment on Sanders, Jones and Briggs Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-03-16 Peter Raynor
This short article is a comment on the recent proposal of a What Works Centre for probation ( Sanders, Jones and Briggs, 2021). Any new ‘What Works’ initiative needs to be informed by the patchy and uneven history of research on the effectiveness of probation in England and Wales. Problems have included, at various times, failure to keep up with research in other countries; over-dependency on government
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Plus ça change? Women and the criminal justice system Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-03-09 Nicola Carr
This issue of the journal contains several articles that focus on women in the criminal justice system. These traverse a range of different geographical contexts, including Lithuania, Catalonia, the United States and England and Wales, and explore issues ranging from probation staff perspectives to women's experiences of victimisation. and stigmatization. A common theme of many of the contributions
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Book Review: Electronic Monitoring: Tagging Offenders in a Culture of Surveillance Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-03-01 Hannah Graham
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Digital justice: A rapid evidence assessment of the use of mobile technology for offender behavioural change Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-02-16 Helen Taylor, Dirk Van Rooy, Lorana Bartels
The increasing availability and use of mobile technology have allowed for innovative solutions to address a range of issues, especially in relation to health behaviour change. Such technological advances have also created opportunities within the justice context and the past decade has seen the development and use of mobile technology in the criminal justice system. Yet, little systematic research
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‘Paedophile Hunters’: Practitioner Perspectives Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Laura Frampton
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) position on Online Child Abuse Activist Groups (OCAGs), more commonly referred to as ‘paedophile hunters’, is that their motivation should be questioned since there is no positive advantage to policing. The problematic nature and inaccuracy of the term ‘paedophile hunter’ will be explored within this article, but the term is widely used in practice. Such activism
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Reducing the use of imprisonment. Lessons from Probation Day Centres in England and Wales: 1970–2000 Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Maurice Vanstone, Philip Priestley
Day Reporting Centres as an alternative to prison have become a feature of the Criminal Justice Systems of most States in America. In contrast, Day Centres have virtually disappeared from the curricula of Probation services in England and Wales. In this paper we look back on the short history of day centre provision in this country and examine what can be learned from its different forms and assess
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Improving healthcare in adult probation services: Learning from Youth Offending Teams Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Charlie Brooker, Beth Collinson, Coral Sirdifield
This article reviews the development of the healthcare provision in youth offending teams (YOTs), and the implications of this for improving provision for adults supervised by probation. The Crime and Disorder Act (1998) made healthcare funding a statutory requirement in YOTs, and healthcare presence in most YOTs was significantly boosted by the collaborative commissioning initiative. There is no parallel
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Probation officers working with women offenders in the community: Evidence from Catalonia Probation Journal Pub Date : 2022-02-02 Cristina Vasilescu
The purpose of this article is to analyse the experiences of probation officers who supervise women in the community in Catalonia. To this end, qualitative research involving 15 semi-structured interviews with probation officers in Barcelona and Girona was carried out. The results show that professionals agree that there are important gender differences in relation to: (a) personal and penal characteristics
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Co-creating rehabilitation: Findings from a pilot and implications for wider public service reform Probation Journal Pub Date : 2021-12-28 Susan Baines, Chris Fox, Jordan Harrison, Andrew Smith, Caroline Marsh
As part of a large pan-European project on co-creating public services we supported the design of a programme in England that attempted to operationalise research on desistance, through a model of co-created, strengths-based working. We then evaluated its implementation and impact. The programme was implemented in a Community Rehabilitation Company. It was delivered in the context of rapid organisational
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Women’s pains of punishment: Experiences of female offenders serving community sentences in Lithuania Probation Journal Pub Date : 2021-12-28 Simonas Nikartas, Artūras Tereškinas
Using the concept of ‘pains of punishment’, the article analyses the experiences of Lithuanian women serving community sentences. Our study demonstrates that women experience the universal pains of punishment associated with stigmatisation, shame, and the inconveniences caused by punishment, as well as constraints and anxieties about impending imprisonment. Furthermore, the complex context of their
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States of exception? Criminal justice systems and the COVID response Probation Journal Pub Date : 2021-11-29
This Special Issue of the journal explores the ways in which different countries adapted probation services in response to the public health restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue contains contributions from several jurisdictions including Austria, the Netherlands, England and Wales and Scotland. A notable feature is the way probation services, like in many other areas
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Putting a face to a name: Telephone contact as part of a blended approach to probation supervision Probation Journal Pub Date : 2021-11-10 Jane Dominey, David Coley, Kerry Ellis Devitt, Jess Lawrence
This article is about the experience of telephone supervision from the perspective of practitioners. It is set in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which changed and challenged the nature of probation supervision and required service users and supervisors to communicate remotely, using the telephone, rather than by meeting face-to-face. The article explores some of the impacts and consequences
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The stories of eight women managed by a community rehabilitation company during the Covid-19 pandemic Probation Journal Pub Date : 2021-11-03 Rebecca Woolford
This study explores the stories of eight women supervised by probation during the first national lockdown in the United Kingdom in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Probation quickly implemented an exceptional delivery model to protect the health and safety of staff and service users. Covid-19 has highlighted societal disparities across the world, it can be suggested that this has hugely impacted
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How probation officers understand and work with people on community supervision sentences to enhance compliance Probation Journal Pub Date : 2021-10-28 Emily M Norman, Lara Wilson, Nicola J Starkey, Devon LL Polaschek
This study aimed to explore, describe, and interpret New Zealand probation officers’ insights into supervisees’ non-compliance with community sentences. Seventeen probation officers participated in two focus groups. Probation officers viewed problems with cognitive skills as a key barrier to sentence compliance. They reported that these problems underpinned other factors linked to compliance, such
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‘Lockdown's changed everything’: Mothering adult children in prison in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic Probation Journal Pub Date : 2021-10-28 Kelly Lockwood
The COVID-19 pandemic occurred at a time when families of prisoners were gaining visibility in both academia and policy. Research exploring the experiences of families of prison residents has tended to focus on intimate partners and children, despite parents of those in prison being more likely than partners or children to maintain contact. The small body of work focusing on parents has identified
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Pervasive punishment in a pandemic Probation Journal Pub Date : 2021-10-28 Ryan Casey, Fergus McNeill, Betsy Barkas, Neil Cornish, Caitlin Gormley, Marguerite Schinkel
In this paper, we draw on data from a recent study of how Covid-19 and related restrictions impacted on vulnerable and/or marginalised populations in Scotland (Armstrong and Pickering, 2020), including justice-affected people (i.e. people in prison and under supervision, their families and those that work with them; see Gormley et al., 2020). Focusing here mainly on interviews with people released
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Probationary Services in a Pandemic. Results from an empirical study in Austria Probation Journal Pub Date : 2021-10-26 Monika Stempkowski, Christian Grafl
In March 2020 the first lockdown due to COVID-19 was imposed in Austria, forcing NEUSTART, the organisation providing probationary services, to adapt the way of interacting with their clients. An online survey was conducted examining how these changes affected the everyday work of the probation officers. Results indicated that they managed to stay in contact with their clients, although difficulties
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‘I don't like this job in my front room’: Practising probation in the COVID-19 pandemic Probation Journal Pub Date : 2021-10-26 Jake Phillips, Chalen Westaby, Sam Ainslie, Andrew Fowler
The Exceptional Delivery Model for probation practice in England and Wales meant that probation practitioners predominantly worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, engaging and supervising service-users remotely. This article explores the impact of the Exceptional Delivery Model on staff and their practice. We begin by considering how probation practice changed because of the implementation