Book Reviews : The Work of the Probation and After-Care Officer Phyllida Parsloe Routledge and Kegan Paul 15s. (Paper 7s. 6d.)
| Date | 01 March 1968 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455056801400111 |
| Published date | 01 March 1968 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
24
Chapter
5,
on
The
Period
of
After-Care,
is
something
of
a
hotch-potch-social
attitudes,
pressure
of
numbers,
distinctions
between
voluntary
and
compulsory
after-care,
between
long-term
and
short-term
offenders,
long-term
and
short-term
help,
the
effects
of
heavy
sentences
on
offenders’
attitudes
and
fantasies,
hostels,
the
use
of
sanctions,
the
roles
of
auxiliaries
and
so
on.
All
of
this
material
is
relevant
but
somehow
disconnected.
This
section
is
lacking
in
structure,
repeating
to
some
extent
rather
than
drawing
together
material
presented
earlier
in
the
book.
The
final
two
chapters
on
young
offenders
and
female
offenders
give
the
impression
of
having
been
tacked
on
for
good
value,
as
it
were.
They
do
not
contribute
a
great
deal
to
the
general
discussion
or
convince
one
that
the
after-care
of
these
types
of
offenders
poses
substantially
different
problems.
Their
main
value
lies
perhaps
in
completing
the
description
of
the
various
institutional
contexts
from
which
offenders
come.
In
this
connection,
the
accounts
of
the
approved
school,
borstal
and
detention
centre
systems
have
a
certain
peevishness,
a
jaundiced
quality
which
is
almost
out
of
keeping
with
the
more
benevolent,
tolerant
tone
of
the
rest
of
the
book.
An
excellent
thoughtful
account
of
the
Rugby
scheme
for
voluntary
helpers
in
after-care
deserves
special
mention.
*
*
*
I
concluded
in
the
end
that
I
~found
Casework
in
After-Care
both
satisfying
and
irritating
because
its
virtues
and
defects
are
all
of
a
piece.
It
is
tiring
because
it
is
over-meticulous
and
over-loaded.
It
would
have
been
more
readable
had
it
been
less
perfectionist
in
its
striving
for
thoroughness
and
completeness.
This
has
odd
results.
The
section
on
work
with
families,
for
example,
is
prefaced
by
a
beautiful
’little
potted
essay
on
unconscious
factors
in
childhood
and
adolescence
as
determinants
of
marital
choice.
Similar
little
gems
sparkle
in
almost
every
chapter.
If
only
someone
had had
the
heart
to
chip
them
all
out
and
use
them
somewhere
else
the
result
would
have
been
a
more
readable
book
as
well
as
a
book
which
ought
to
be
read.
R.
L.
MORRISON
The
Work
of
the
Probation
and
After-Care
Officer
Phyllida
Parsloe
Routledge
and
Kegan
Paul
15s.
(Paper
7s.
6d.)
Part
of
the
new
Library
of
.Social
Work
series
for
students,
this
book
starts
with
a
survey
of
our
work,
past,
present
and
future.
It
becomes
apparent
that
Miss
Parsloe
is
an
advocate
of
one
unifies
social
service.
&dquo;Those
doing
work
(with
offenders)
need
the
support
that
comes
trom .being
part
of
a
social
work
depart-
meant&dquo;
so
that
clients
should
not
be
seen
as
a
&dquo;race
apart&dquo;.
She
omits
to
’mention
the
other
view
that
our
clients’
interests
can
best
be
served
by
our
staying
out
thereby
directing
attention
to
their
needs.
The
chapters
on
working
methods
could
apply
to
all
social
workers
and
contain
many
stimulating
topics,
includ-
ing
groups.
The
section
on
After-care
shows
understanding
of
the
~reorientation
and
conflicts
that
officers
undergo
in
taking
on
this
kind
of
work.
She
con-
cludes
with
comprehensive
reading
lists
and
bibliography.
It
is
in
the
chapter
on
&dquo;Authority
and
the
Probation
Officer&dquo;
that
Miss
Parsloe
becomes
confused
(don’t
we
all?)..After
commenting
that
authority
is
the
central
characteristic
off
the
probation
oicer’s
work,
she
rather
surprisingly
states
that
&dquo;probation
officers
have
less
authority
than,
for
instance,
child
care
officers&dquo;.
The
first
two
examples
of
authority,
namely
the
authority
of
experience
in
one’s
setting,
and
that
of
controlling
material
resources
apply
tao
any
social
work
field.
It
is
later,
in
italking
about
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