SIRs: Following the Code
| DOI | 10.1177/026455058803500320 |
| Author | Phil Moore |
| Published date | 01 September 1988 |
| Date | 01 September 1988 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
120
2. To
enquire
what
the
practice
of
other
police
forces
is
in
relation
to
write
offs.
As
Pete
Gill
vindicated
in
his
article,
the
practice
is
more
ex-
tensive
in
Merseyside
than
anywhere
else
but
there
are
few
areas
in
Britain
where
it
is
unheard
of.
I
would
be
pleased
to
receive
any
comments
on
this
subject
either
through
the
Journal
or
in
letters
sent
direct
to
my
office.
DAVE
DENT
Convenor,
CJ
Committee,
Merseyside
Branch,
c/o
Toxteth
Probation
Office
.
SIRs:
Following
the
Code
’The
inquiry
should
enable
the
probation
of-
ficer
to
understand
the
offender’s
social
en-
vironment
and
his/her
criminal
behaviour
in
that
context’.
Thus
spake
Jarvis
in
the
’authorized’
version,
but
Philip
Bean
in
Rehabiliation
and
Deviance
suggests
that
’recommendations
de-
pend
more
on
the
characteristics
of
the
officer
than
those
of
the
offender
and
that
reports
tend
to
mask
moral
and
evaluative
judgements
in
purportedly
’neutral’
and
’objective’
diagnostic
statements’.
So,
armed
with
sacred
scrit
and
radical
interpretation
I
was
prepared
for
my
first
practice
placement.
Though
by
no
means
standardized,
a
local
formula
was
evident
in
the
writing
of
~IRs,
with
six
basic
paragraphs -
sources
of
information;
background
information;
employment;
finances;
offences;
and
conclusion
(with
the
ad-
dition
of
’family
circumstances’
and
’education’
for
juveniles
or
those
having
recently
left
school),
all
with
a
clear
coded
message.
Sources
of
Information
You
can
believe
what
I’m
writing
because
I’ve
checked
it
out
with
the
police,
I
double-
checked
it
with
probation
files
and
I’ve
spent
an
inordinate
amount
of
time
with
this
person
because,
as
you
can
see,
I’ve
interviewed
him
three
times
before
writing
this
report
and
once
at
home
which
also
indicates
that
I’ve
had
a
shufty
at
his
home
circumstances.
I’ve
even
checked
out
his
performance
at
school
and
subsequent
work
record -
so
you
can
have
every
faith
in
the
accuracy
of
this
document
and
that
I’m
a
fair
and
decent
sort
of
chap.
Background
Information
I
want
you
to
know
that
although
this
person
has
had
a
difficult
childhood
and
it
does
have
some
bearing
on
the
current
offences,
I’m
not
going
to
let
this
be too
prominent
a
feature
as
I
am
definitely
not
a
’soft
touch’.
Employment
I
am
aware
of
the
value
that
the
court
places
on
signs
that
the
defendant
is
diligent
in
his
search
for
work
and
had
been
industrious
in
his
previous
employment -
and
don’t
forget
I’ve
checked
it
with
his
former
employers.
Finances
His
dole
money
is
insufficient
to
pay off
a
substantial
fine,
so
please
note
this
when
reading
the
concluding
paragraph.
Of fences
I’ve
used
the
basic
account
given
to
me
by
the
police
as
I
feel
the
account
given
to
me
by
the
defendant
has
been
embellished
to
show
himself
in
the
best
possible
light.
It
also
reduces
the
chance
of
my
being
left
with
egg
on
my
face.
(It’s
just
as
well
that
I
checked ,
there
are
three
TICs
he
didn’t
tell
me
about.)
In
addition,
please
note
that
I
have
been
a
conscientious
pro-
bation
officer
by
spending
my
time
intervew-
ing
the
aggrieved.
Conclusion
As
I
hinted
earlier,
he
hasn’t
the
readies
to
pay
a
fine;
CSO
will
move
him
too
far
up
the
tariff
and he
only
has
two
previous,
one
of
theft
(£3~}
and
one
TWOC.
We’ll
save
the
4(b)
order
for
the
next
time.
How
about
a
one
year
pro-
bation
order
which
means
you
can
show
him
how
seriously
you
view
the
offence
by
giving
him
a
two
year
probation
order?
There
were,
of
course,
variations
on
this
theme
but
the
sub-text
of
reports
became
quite
evident.
PHIL
MOORE
CQSW
Trainee,
Lancaster
To continue reading
Request your trial