What Works Conference 2000
| Date | 01 December 2000 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050004700410 |
| Author | Michael Teague |
| Published date | 01 December 2000 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
279
RESEARCH
& REPORTS
What
Works
Conference
2000
No
one
toiling
at
the
probation
practice
coalface
will
have missed
the
impact
of
the
effective
practice
agenda.
The
What
Works
conferences
have
become
a
crucial
component
of
that
agenda
since
their
inception
in
1991,
and
are
now
recognised
as
part
of
the
essential
linkage
between
academic
research
and
the
realities
of
probation
practice.
They
provide
a
barometer
of
the
continuing
impact
of
What
Works
at
policy
and
practitioner
levels
and,
in
a
climate
which
does
not
always
favour
the
rehabilitative
ideal,
they
foster
evaluation,
research,
and
hard
evidence of
the
Probation
Service’s
achievements.
While
acknowledging
the
accumulating
evidence
which
underpins
the
drive
towards
effectiveness,
participants
in
What
Works
2000,
the
sixth
such
conference,
were
careful
to
accept
the
provisional
nature
of
our
knowledge.
Keynote
speeches
came
from
Eithne
Wallis,
National
Director
Designate
of
the
Probation
Service;
Jane
Fumiss,
Deputy
Chief
Inspector
of
Probation;
and
Probation
Minister
Paul
Boateng.
Eithne
Wallis’
upbeat
address
focused
on
a
single
strategic
aim -
to
build
Probation’s
capacity
to
deliver
&dquo;the
What
Works
vision&dquo;.
She
argued
that
to
achieve
it,
we
have
to
holistically
embrace
What
Works.
This
would
result
in
fewer
victims
(less
harm,
pain,
damage);
safer
communities
(less
crime,
better
quality
of
life)
and
offenders
changing
(not
just
intellectually,
but
emotionally).
She
stated
that
while
What
Works
itself
was
not
novel,
the
sheer
scale
of
the
current
work
and
the
planned
&dquo;new
choreography&dquo;
were.
Veterans
of NAPO’s
1999
Annual
General
Meeting
noted
Paul
Boateng’s
more
conciliatory
mood.
Emphasising
Probation’s
law
enforcement
role,
he
told
us
he
had
&dquo;fought
like
mad
for
you
and
your
values&dquo;.
We
were
essential
contributors
to
a
cohesive,
inclusive
society.
Talking
of
the
achievements
of
&dquo;the
correctional
services&dquo;,
he
placed
What
Works
at
the
heart
of
the
Government’s
&dquo;co-ordinated
and
seamless
approach
to
criminal
justice&dquo;.
Probation
would
have
4,500
new
staff,
who
would
help
achieve
60,000
completions
of
accredited
programmes
by
2003-4.
Jane
Fumiss
revealed
that
the
Probation
Inspectorate
will
be
snappily
renamed
’Her
Majesty’s
Inspectorate
for
the
National
Probation
Service
for
England
and
Wales’
(HMINPSEW).
The
Prison
and
Probation
Inspectorates
would
not
be
combined
&dquo;at
this
stage&dquo;,
although
there
will
be
joint
inspections
with
other
criminal
justice
agencies.
She
stated
that
What
Works
would
be
secured
through
inspections,
with
more
attention
paid
both
to
individual
services
and
to
areas
of
work
where
performance
is
poor.
The
recently
published
thematic
inspection
on
race
was
held
up
as
perhaps
the
best
one
ever.
Practitioners
will
be
relieved
to
hear
that
the future
focus
will
be
on
best
practice,
rather
than
on
structure
or
process;
practice
observed
by
the
Inspectorate
is
often
much
better
than
practice
recorded
in
case
files.
There
was,
in
Fumiss’
view,
no
evidence
that
black
empowerment
programmes
are
’effective’;
that
is
to
say,
no
evidence
that
they
tackle
black
offenders’
experiences
of
racism
or
offending.
Despite
the
focus
on
British
initiatives,
there
were
some
convincing
international
contributions.
For
example,
Jerry
Dash,
American
Director
of
’Volunteers
in
Prevention,
Probation
and
Prisons,
Inc.’,
discussed
the
characteristics
of
successful
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