NCJ Number
230925
Date Published
2010
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This chapter reviews and critiques the history of the structure and philosophy of the probation service in the United Kingdom.
Abstract
The chapter concludes that in its early years the British probation service was more flexible and innovative than the current probation service, being driven by the desire to develop better and more effective ways to supervise offenders. In recent years, however, this drive has been suppressed by the British Government's tendency to centralize and control the work of the probation service in the interest of standardizing measurable practices and outcomes. The chapter argues for a return to the more creative, flexible approach to the development of probation supervision and services, not because it was more effective (there is no evidence that it was), but rather because it provides an atmosphere in which new approaches can be attempted, accompanied by rigorous evaluation and readiness to change when the evidence warrants it. The beginning of the 1980s seems to have been a pivotal moment in the shaping of probation's style and management structure. The probation service began changing from an adaptable organization characterized by personal involvement, achievement orientation, continual adjustment, shared group tasks, and lateral and vertical communications to a mechanistic or bureaucratic system. The probation service has become characterized by ascribed roles, rules, rational efficiency, rigid hierarchical structure, and mainly vertical communications. In order to change this current form of probation work, a new management and practice model must be adopted in which criticism of policy and practice is encouraged and autonomy and creative initiative are key measures of performance. 7 notes and 94 references