Reviews : Probation, Prison and Parole : a true story of the work of a probation officer J R Mott Temple House Books, 1992; pp 147; £6.95 pbk
| Author | Adrian Wilson |
| Published date | 01 March 1993 |
| Date | 01 March 1993 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/026455059304000110 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
33
Social
Work
and
Housing
Gill
Stewart
and
John
Stewart
Macmillan/BASW,
1992; pp
188; £9.50
pbk
A
welcome
book
in a
very
neglected
area
of
social
work.
It
aims
to
piece
together
surveys
and
policy
analysis
with
the
use
of
case
histories
sug-
gesting
areas
of
good
practise
and
demonstrating
some
of
the
limitations
in
this
area
of
work.
The
book
does
this
by
examining
a
number
of
different
types
of
housing
problems.
This
method
works
well
with
three
chapters
on
’relationship
breakdown’,
’homeless
families’
and
’difficult
estates’.
These
three
chapters
all
offered
insights
and
analysis
that
would
be
of
interest
to
probation
workers.
The
chapter
on
’moving
to
in-
dependence’
I
found
more
disappoin-
ting.
The
analysis
of
policy
was
too
shallow
with
no
examination
of
the
problems
of
homelessness
for
young
black
and
young
lesbian
and
gay
peo-
ple.
The
reality
for
many
young
peo-
ple
in
London
that
hostels
are
their
only
way
of
getting
into
permanent
ac-
commodation
was
not
mentioned
and
assumptions
about
the
standard
of
hostels
seemed
outdated.
The
book’s
analysis
of
probation
work
in
this
area
was
not
fully
developed.
It
does
not
contain
any
case
histories
of
probation
practice
and
of-
fered
a
homily
on
not
getting
involv-
°
ed
in
inter-charity
politics.
The
book
touches
in
a
few
lines
on
the
dilemmas
of
housing
work
in
the
Service,
men-
tioning
its
downgrading
to
PSA
grades
and
the
pressures
of
’punishment
in
the
community’.
The
opportunity
to
ex-
amine
the
debate
between
an
offending
behaviour
and
a
welfare
rights/hous-
ing/welfare
approach
was
not
taken.
Practise
issues
such
as
social
work
with
homeless
people
in
approved
bail
and
Probation
hostels,
working
with
homeless
drug
and
alcohol
misusers
are
not
mentioned.
Overall
a
book
that
is
easy
to
read
with
a
helpful
resource
section
but
possibly
a
disappointment
to
Probation
Service
feadcrs.
Len
Cheston
SPO,
ILPS
Borough
High
Street
Probation,
Prison
and
Parole :
a
true
story
of
the
work
of
a
probation
officer
J
R
Mott
Temple
House
Books,
1992;
pp
147;
£6.95
pbk
Tucked
in
between
the
weighty
newly
published
tomes
dealing
with
the
Criminal Justice
Act
comes
this
idiosyn-
cratically
anecdotal
true
story
of
a
working
probation
officer
in
the
1960s
and
’70s,
whose
care
for
the
offender,
and
dedication
to
the
job
was
unques-
tioned
throughout
many
years
of
ser-
vice.
I
visit
a
prisoner
who
had
Dick
Mott
as
a
supervisor,
and
who
recalls
’what
a
gentleman
he
was...
better
than
you
youngsters
today!’
From
the
story
of
the
judge
asleep
in
court
to
the
Home
Office
Inspector
telling
Dick
that
his
methods
of
gain-
ing
successful
completion
of
licences
should
be
studied,
this
book
is
full
of
humourous
stories
and
lessons
to
be
learnt
from
life
that
could
make
the
reader
smile
with
recognition,
or
shed
a
tear
in
sympathy.
On
the
first
read
I
must
admit
that
I
cringed
at
some
of
the
methods
us-
ed,
relating
them
to
current
practice,
and
questioned
some
of
the
views
ex-
pressed
in
terms
of
equal
oppor-
tunities.
However,
the
second
time
through
I
saw
it
more
in
its
historical
light
as
a
fascinating
insight
into
the
Service
in
those
innocent
years
before
resource
management
and
minimum
standards
became
our
watchwords.
This
is
not
an
academic
work -
it
is
the
story
of
one
working
life,
and
should
be
read
as
such.
Concluding
with
a
mention
of
the
foreword,
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