Organization of the Probation Service in a Large City

• NCJ Number: 70770
• Journal: Revue penitentiaire et de droit penal Issue: 4 Dated: (October/December 1979) Pages: 585-608
• Author(s): M Day
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 24 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: French
• Country: France
• Note: Report presented at a week's workshop on probation organized by the French corrections administration at Vaucresson, France

Annotation

The structure and development of the probation system in England and Wales and the community-oriented probation services in Birmingham (West Midlands) are described.

Abstract

The British probation service consists of 56 autonomous offices serving the needs of local courts but responsible to the Minister of the Interior. A probation committee made up of representatives from the judicial system and the community administers probation services and draws up the budget. The probation services have been preserved as an entity separate from other social services. Problems confronting the service include preservation of an identity for probation workers appropriate to their sphere of activity and separate from the identity of ordinary social workers, adequate training for specific professional obligations, and conflicts between probation officers' responsibilities and actions taken by other agencies. Even though probation services have often been criticized in the wake of growing crime rates and violence, a number of innovative community-treatment modalities provided by the Criminal Justice Act of 1972 have evolved to replace institutionalization. A further advantage of such programs is their relatively low expense, an important point in times of limited funds. A particular problem of probation services in large metropolitan areas like West Midlands is lack of coordination among the many social agencies involved in probation work. Friction between administrative staff and probation officers is especially pronounced. Communication on the formal level is assured by bimonthly meetings of the county management group on policy; general meetings with officers may also be called. Other communication measures are a monthly bulletin and meetings of a mixed advisory committee with staff and local committee members. Probation activities are monitored through inspections by the Minister of the Interior's probation department. The West Midlands probation service runs five living-in groups, arranges other living quarters for ex-convicts, and collaborates with private organizations in administering living groups and finding jobs. Volunteers add an important dimension to probation activities. Adequate services can be provided only if probation office facilities are accessible to the public and if agents are properly trained and able to work in teams. --in French.