Probation Journal

Publisher:
Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication date:
2021-09-06
ISBN:
0264-5505

Issue Number

Latest documents

  • People on probation as an inclusion health group: Exploring needs, barriers and service provision in Wales

    People on probation face particular health inequalities and are categorised as an ‘inclusion health’ population group within public health policy in Wales. The health of this group is thought to be worse than the general population and a factor in whether people reoffend. This article is based on mixed-methods exploratory research which included a survey covering 34 community-based services who work with people on probation across Wales. Survey respondents indicated service availability and waiting lists, and mistrust of professionals are key barriers to accessing healthcare. The most identified health needs were mental health and substance misuse related. There is an opportunity to increase the focus on healthcare for people on probation through inclusion health approaches.

  • A ‘weight’ on the shoulders of our youth: The pains of probation on young adult men with a sexual conviction. An exploratory study

    This article is about the ‘pains of probation’ experienced by young adult men with a sexual conviction. It draws on the findings from a research study completed between July and August 2022. Seventeen participants who were subject to a probation Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order in England and Wales were interviewed about their experiences, and the impact, of community punishment on their lives. Three groups of pains were identified, which are pervasive, reaching beyond the boundaries of the Order. The strategies utilised by the young adults to manage these pains are explored, with the supervisory relationship a key factor in alleviating pains. This article argues that being subject to a probation order is experienced as painful, with the nature and type of deprivation affected by offence type and demographic variations. Despite the limitations of the exploratory study from which this article is drawn, there are implications for penal policy and future research.

  • Book review: Coercive Control and the Criminal Law
  • 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.

  • In court
  • Sentencing review – Time to change direction?
  • 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.

  • Probation as social work 1

    In England and Wales probation was regarded as social work for most of the twentieth century, but some thirty years ago the government rejected this conception. In the context of continuing deliberations about the purpose and character of probation, it is timely to revisit its relationship to social work. It is argued that a principal reason for the politically motivated repudiation of social work was its associations with care, but this rested on confusion about care and a comparable misunderstanding of the concept of control. Appreciation of social context is argued to be fundamental to the work of probation. Social capital is no less important than human capital in achieving desistance. The skills and values of social work continue to inform probation because they match up to the demands of the job. Reaffirming connections between the professions would enhance the policy and practices of both.

  • 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

    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 joined the community voluntarily. In this study, residents of the Hartuv residential therapeutic community between 2010 and 2015, were examined. The analysis of the data used both logistic regression and survival analysis. The logistic regression evaluated the predictors for completing or dropping out of the program. The survival analysis examined the retention time, measured over a 12-month follow-up period, which represents the completion of the program. Residents who entered the program as an alternative to imprisonment were significantly more likely to retain in treatment than those who arrived voluntarily. Retention in treatment is influenced by external motivation. Strengthening familial, social, and occupational relationships may increase external motivation among residents who enter the program voluntarily and therefore lack significant external motivation.

  • Should there be an app for that? Australian perspectives on the utility of a mobile app to support people in the criminal justice system

    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 or parole in the Australian Capital Territory. The project sought the views of 12 people with lived experience of the criminal justice system, as well as 23 professional stakeholders who engage with the justice system, to determine the utility of such an app.

Featured documents