NCJ Number
205370
Editor(s)
George Mair
Date Published
2004
Length
372 pages
Annotation
This book is a collection of essays from experts in the field of probation and is aimed at providing an overview and analysis of the What Works initiative within the National Probation Service of England and Wales focusing on effective offender supervision.
Abstract
In the late 1990's, the What Works initiative began in England and Wales which was the development and implementation on a national basis of an effective set of core programs of supervision for offenders. As a result of this initiative, the National Probation Service (NPS) was created to ensure that What Works could be rolled out consistently on a national basis. This book was aimed at providing a reasoned critical overview of What Works. It offers a searching analysis of the background and claims of What Works and its place within the NPS. Contributors to the book are known and respected commentators and researchers on probation. The book is divided into 15 chapters. The first chapter is an introduction offering an overview of the What Works initiative. Chapter 2 sets out the policy background to the What Works initiative and examines the context in which it has been implemented. The next three chapters (3, 4, and 5) look behind What Works. The following four chapters (6, 7, 8, and 9) examine aspects of probation work in relation to What Works. The next two chapters (10 and 11) take reintegration as their theme and identify community reintegration as a key principle in What Works. Chapter 12 discusses the views of Chief Probation Officers (CPO's) about What Works and finds a public/private dichotomy. Chapter 13 discusses the purpose of probation using both official documents and the results from two research studies. Chapter 14 presents how the principles of What Works have also been influential in Scotland. However, the approach followed in Scotland has not paralleled that taken in England and Wales. Lastly, chapter 15 examines the adaptation of What Works and the globalization of punishment, specifically focused in Aboriginal communities. The essays that make up this book suggest that the What Works initiative as it has been marketed and sold in England and Wales is not the only remedy for the ills of the probation services. The essays demonstrate that the current narrow focus on What Works is misconceived and what needs to be examined is the question of what matters. Figures, tables, and references