NCJ Number
101614
Date Published
1986
Length
81 pages
Annotation
This booklet presents an analysis of the local response by 56 areas to the Home Office's 'Statement of National Objectives and Priorities for the Probation Service in England and Wales' (SNOP).
Abstract
With respect to SNOP's emphasis on the use of alternatives to incarceration, local probation services expressed concern incarceration, local probation services expressed concern that this will require adoption of more coercive supervision methods and that high-need but low-risk offenders will be ignored. Many of the local responses ignored SNOP's call for increased efficiency and effectiveness through technological improvements. Major concerns with this initiative focused on the costs of information system implementation in a service-intensive environment with little room for budget manipulations and the special training required. Areas in general emphasized the importance of maintaining voluntary through-care and prison-based probation officers. Many services expressed agreement with SNOP's proposed expansion of civil services (mediation, reparation, and prevention), but most felt that priority must be given to work with offenders, given the limited resources available. Finally, while SNOP did not specifically address professional values, many areas emphasized the importance of the social work ethic in the service. A copy of SNOP is appended.