Personal Account
| Published date | 01 September 1989 |
| Author | Paul Green |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455058903600313 |
| Date | 01 September 1989 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
134
PERSONAL
ACCOUNT
A
long
seven
months
for
C8T098
Most
probation
officers,
I
imagine,
rare-
ly
give
a
thought
to
disciplinary
codes
and
procedures.
With
the
Home
Office
Inspectorate
reportedly
going
round
asking
~I~Qs
why
they’ve
not
disciplin-
ed
enough
staff
recently,
such
issues
seem
to
be
becoming
more
and
more
pressing.
My
ignorance
of
the
subject
was
as
profound
as
anyone
else’s
until
I had
to
learn
a
good
deal
in
a
hurry.
From
July
1988
to
February
1989
I
was
suspended
from
duty,
accused
by
the
DHSS
(as
it
then
was)
of
colluding
in
benefit
fraud
by
residents
at
the
hostel
where
I
worked.
There
is a
place
else-
where
for
a
detailed
legal
account.
This
article
is
on
a
more
personal
level,
about
the
experience
of
suspension
and
the
conclusions
to
be
drawn
from
it.
An
immediate
difficulty
was
lack
of
reliable
information.
I
returned
from
holiday
to
find
I
had
been
suspended
behind
my
back,
with
no
clear
idea
of
what
I
was
supposed
to
have
done
wrong.
I
was
barred
from
contacting
my
team,
and
both
CPO
and
line
ACPO
refused
to
meet
me.
Despite,
or
perhaps
rather
because
of,
the
block
on
official
communication,
office
gossip
quickly
mceed
away.
For
example,
I
soon
found
out
via
the
grapevine
that
my
expenses
and
leave
entitlement
were
being
thoroughly
checked.
I
wouldn’t
have
minded
if
they’d
asked.
I
Being
cut
off
from
my
team
and
from
official
channels
of
communica-
tion
created
a
strong
sense
of
powerlessness
and
of
being
deskilled.
Clients
must
often
feel
that
way.
In
fact,
to
the
solicitors
instructed
by
NAPO
I
was
a
client,
reference
number
and
all
~---
hence
the
title
of
this
piece.
That
has
taught
me
something
of
how
clients
should
be
treated,
and
I
have
developed
strong
views
on
solicitors
who
don’t
return
’phone
calls.
Befejtvememt
In
four
days
I
went
through
a
series
of
experiences
oddly
like
the
classic
stages
of
bereavement.
Initial
numb-
ness
and
disbelief
changed
to
a
searching
restlessness,
followed
by
a
very
emotional
few
hours.
After
that
I
managed
to
reintegrate
myself
fairly
well.
The
effect
on
my
family
was
another
and
darker
matter.
The
initial
month
of
suspension
coincided
with
the
school
holidays,
and
as
a
family
we
made
the
most
of
it.
With
the
start
of
the
autumn
term,
I
suddenly
had
a
great
deal
of
free
time.
I
spent
several
weeks
on
a
variety
of
jobs
around
the
house
and
garden,
to
the
point
that
the
local
building
sup-
plies
started
giving
me
trade
discount.
When
I
was
suspended,
we
were
on
the
point
of
starting
a
major
series
of
home
improvements.
Ought
we
to
go
ahead,
with
my
job
under
threat?
1~e
did
go
ahead
and
borrowed
&10,000.
A
bonus
was
that
the
builders
kept
me
busy
for
several
weeks.
Suspension
dragged
on
into
the
autumn,
with
the
NAPO
solicitor
vain-
ly
attempting
to
ascertain
precisely
why
I
had
been
suspended
and
what
I
was
supposed
to
have
done.
Gradually
but
decisively
I
came
to
the
conclusion
that
I
no
longer
wanted
to
work
in
management.
In
October
I
wrote
to
Head
Office,
not
very
politely,
indicat-
ing
an
intention
to
revert
to
main
grade
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