A new direction derived from out of date samples. The Probation These external drivers are matched No user surveys, public surveys or by an internal world rich in more qualitative measures have examples of well developed been included in the increasing Service and managerialist culture. The number of indicators. The use of combination of a growth in inspection and audit as levers of managerial processes and the began to increase in the highly structured evidence-based early 1990s with national practice initiative (What Works) inspection programmes, the may be producing the 'holy grail' Efficiency and Effectiveness (E+E) Sue Wade looks at the impact for past critics of probation — the growing into the Quality and of managerialist culture on end of a social justice orientation Effectiveness (Q+E) and now the and practitioner discretion and the Performance Inspection the Probation Service. beginning of a North American Programmes (PIP). All probation style of processing offenders. services are inspected in a rolling recent annual 'strategic Changing behaviour through programme and comparative ' event for building relationships in local performance tables concentrating A senior managers in communities is replaced with on the KPIs and unit costs are probation services and their probation law enforcement and published. Most services are now equivalent Home Office officials rigid assessment / treatment involved in two or three internal produced a variety of management methodologies which are applied inspections and three or four styles and areas of concern. A across probation and prison external ones each year in addition common feature was the regimes and pay little attention to to the KPI and SMINs reporting. dominance of the language of community and diversity. The A scrutiny of the annual plans and managerialism and attention to the irony is that this new direction for annual reports of each probation mechanisms of change the UK comes at the same time as service shows that most have over management and performance a re-emergence in North American 50 objectives or . Sentencing / community justice practice and indicators which they are philosophy, the social exclusion / the reduction of interest in tagging measuring. In similar fashion to inclusion agenda, community and other impersonal offender the national ones, these concentrate justice developments and practice processing methods of supervision. on quantity outputs. quality were not much in evidence. The advent of Better Quality This may be a harsh Probation and Services (BQS) as our equivalent of Best Value, and the new National commentary, particularly as the managerialism two day event was justifiably Directorate is likely to increase the dominated by the huge structural Managerialist developments in the levels and range of required change represented by the probation service are reasonably performance information and to centralisation / nationalisation of similar to those in other public demand more and more probation services, due in April services, although the onset was a management time in data 2001. Ministerial attention to, and little later for probation. 1985 saw interpretation and implementation scepticism about, the ability of the first Home Office plan with of consequent action plans - a probation to enforce its own orders objectives and priorities but it was rather neat example of Cohen's is also a threat which has produced the late 1980s before serious iatrogenic loops (Cohen 1979). close attention to performance attention was given to outcomes The use of management tools figures and a commitment to and performance reports. can of course be essential, manage down the variations 'Management by Objectives' was particularly in providing consistent between services. 'taught' to all probation services by high quality public services at the Home Office funded consultants. most efficient cost. Just as in other "The use of management tools can 'Key Performance Indicators' public services, the probation (KPI's) and 'Supporting of course be essential, particularly in service of old was a fairly Management Information Needs' complacent unresponsive providing consistent high quality (SMIN's) were set nationally. monolithic structure which public services at the most efficient These all required extensive sometimes delivered an excellent cost. Just as in other public services,reporting mechanisms and were service, but sometimes did not, and almost entirely quantity output the probation service of old was a often didn't know when either measures. Outcome measurement happened. However the change fairly complacent unresponsive in the form of reconviction rates is towards a modern public service monolithic structure which only just available ten years later has required and sometimes delivered an excellent and is a national measurement. stewardship as well as Two measures of stakeholder managerialism. service, but sometimes did not, and satisfaction are included but using Matthew Taylor (Institute of often didn't know when either a very raw overall satisfaction rate happened."

CJITI no. 40 Summer 2000 15 Public Policy Research) in a speech stemming from the Crime and to the probation 'strategic Disorder Act strategies and the management' event at Cranfield imminent announcement of a 2000 criticised the current mechanism to introduce seamless government modernisation sentences. The former increases programme as lacking a change probation's connections to local model. "Modernisation's reliance authorities and crime prevention / on managerialism as a change community safety initiatives. The model is not sufficient. It doesn't latter requiring closer links with the look at cultural change and prison service, prison sentences individual worker / practitioner possibly becoming the raison ownership of change". Paul Bate in d'etre of the probation service. Strategies for Cultural Change Managerialism as a method of says on leadership "to control controlling or directing an things is an act of power not organisation does not predetermine leadership for 'things' have no the outcome of those two motives. Power wielders may treat competing orientations. Examples people as 'things', leaders may are of course present in not." organisations on both sides of the philosophical divide. Community justice and Managerialism's problem is that it correction can become a pretty efficient way of implementing a direction The great debate for the probation decided by others, with senior service should be the relative managers participating in the importance of community justice debates about how rather than what versus correctional orientation. and why. A truly strategic The tensions between the two discussion does need to cover the approaches are likely to increase range of philosophy, purpose, particularly with the developments culture and practice as well as change and performance management. "Managerialism's problem is that it can become a pretty efficient way of implementing a direction decided by Sue Wade is Deputy Chief others, with senior managers Probation Officer of Hampshire participating in the debates about Probation Service. how rather than what and why."

16 Cjm no. 40 Summer 2000