Putting a face to a name: Telephone contact as part of a blended approach to probation supervision
| Author | David Coley,Jane Dominey,Jess Lawrence,Kerry Ellis Devitt |
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/02645505211050870 |
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Putting a face to a
name: Telephone
contact as part of a
blended approach to
probation supervision
Jane Dominey
University of Cambridge, UK
David Coley*, Kerry Ellis Devitt*,
and Jess Lawrence*
Kent Surrey and Sussex Community Rehabilitation Company, UK
Abstract
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 super-
visors to communicate remotely, using the telephone, rather than by meeting face-to-
face. The article explores some of the impacts and consequences of telephone contact
and examines the extent to which this approach has a part to play in future, post-pan-
demic, ways of working.
The article draws on findings from a research project examining remote supervi-
sion practice during the pandemic. Fieldwork (comprising an online survey and a
series of semi-structured interviews) was conducted between July and September
2020 in three divisions within an English community rehabilitation company. The art-
icle reinforces the importance of face-to-face work in probation practice but suggests
that there is scope to retain some use of telephone supervision as part of a future
blended practice model. Further thinking about telephone supervision might consider
*These authors worked for the KSS CRC at the time this article was written. As a result of probation
reunification in 2021, CRCs no longer exist.
Corresponding Author:
Dr Jane Dominey, University of Cambridge, Institute of Criminology, Sidgwick Avenue Cambridge,
CB3 9DA, United Kingdom.
Email: jad78@cam.ac.uk
Article The Journal of Communit
y
and Criminal Justice
Probation Journal
2021, Vol. 68(4) 394–410
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/02645505211050870
journals.sagepub.com/home/prb
these three themes identified in the research: remote working limits the sensory dimen-
sion of supervision, relationships remain at the heart of practice, and good practice
requires professional discretion.
Keywords
Covid-19, probation supervision, blended supervision, professional discretion, rela-
tionships, telephone supervision
Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed and challenged the nature of probation super-
vision. In particular, the public health emergency brought an abrupt end to the tradi-
tional routine of face-to-face appointments in offices. Service users and supervisors
found themselves communicating remotely using the telephone, or meeting on door-
steps or in the open air. This article is about the experience of telephone supervision
and is based on the perspective of practitioners. It explores some of the impacts and
consequences of telephone contact and examines the extent to which this approach
has a part to play in future, post-pandemic, ways of working.
The article draws on findings from a research project examining remote supervi-
sion practice during the pandemic. Fieldwork (comprising an online survey and a
series of semi-structured interviews) was conducted between July and September
2020 in three divisions within an English community rehabilitation company
(CRC). The article reinforces the importance of face-to-face work in probation prac-
tice; supervisors spoke about the contribution that this made to the quality of their
work. However, the article also suggests that there is scope to retain some use of tele-
phone supervision as part of a future blended practice model. Using the telephone,
for some tasks and in some situations, can aid and enrich the supervision experience
for both practitioner and service user. Further thinking about telephone supervision
might consider these three themes identified in the research: remote working limits
the sensory dimension of supervision, relationships remain at the heart of practice,
and good practice requires professional discretion.
Background
Probation supervision depends on relationships. Relational aspects of practice
emerge as a key issue whenever people are invited to talk about their experiences
of supervision. This has been the case throughout the history of probation work
(examples include Davies [1979]; Ditton and Ford [1994]; Willis [1986]). People
on both sides of the supervisory interaction identify a relationship based on trust,
rapport and respect as an indicator of quality (Dominey, 2019; Robinson et al.,
2014; Shapland et al., 2012). Arguments stressing the importance of supervisory
relationships survived moves to more managerial and bureaucratic ways of
working because, as well as making sense to practitioners, they were supported
by a growing body of evidence linking good-quality relationships to outcomes
Dominey et al. 395
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