Probation Officers: the Next Generation David Louis Forbes

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Tavistock and Portman E-Prints Online Probation Officers: The Next Generation David Louis Forbes A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of East London in collaboration with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust for the Professional Doctorate in Social Work. May 2011 i Abstract This study is an investigation into the new world of probation. For the past two decades the Probation Service has struggled to survive in a highly ambivalent social and political climate. During this period, the training of probation officers has separated from social work training and the service has adopted a more punishment-focused, coercive and managerialist stance in its work with offenders. Using a mixed methods approach that includes semi-structured interviews and case discussions, my research focuses on a sample of recently qualified probation officers with a view to exploring their experiences and perceptions of their working lives, and to construct a picture of the occupation from a newcomer perspective. In particular, given the shift in the ideological framework of the service, I wished to learn about the professional identity of the generation of probation officers who are now entering the service through an examination of their motivation and practices. Despite pressure to eradicate the welfare-oriented ethos of the service, a significant and unexpected discovery arising from my research has been the resilience of traditional values that are brought to the service in the aspirations and habitus of newcomers. My findings are contextualised in relation to the criminal justice system, the historical development of the probation service, the status of probation as a profession and my own ‘insider’ experience. In addition, the study is underpinned by a theoretical perspective that draws on the work of the French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu. ii Declaration This thesis represents my own research and original work. It cannot be attributed to any other person or persons. Name: David Louis Forbes Award: Professional Doctorate in Social Work Date of submission of thesis: Signed: Date: iii Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Criminal Justice and Punishment 11 Introduction 11 Punishment and the Maintenance of Social Order 12 The Rise and Fall of Penal Welfarism 13 Neo-Liberalism and the Politics of Crime 16 The Emergence of the Risk Society 18 New Public Management 20 Conclusion 22 Chapter 2 The History and Development of the Probation 23 Service Introduction 23 Origins of the Service and the Missionary Spirit 24 The Emergence of Casework and Diagnostic Thinking 28 Challenges to Professional Identity 31 Law and Order and the Move Towards Centralised Control 34 The Turn to Punishment 36 Becoming a Law Enforcement Agency 39 What Works 42 Conclusion 44 Chapter 3 Professionalism and the Probation Service 45 Introduction 45 Sociological Theories of Professions 46 Professions, Bureaucracies and Managerialism 52 The Probation Service as a Profession 62 Conclusion 63 Chapter 4 Research on Probation Practice 65 Chapter 5 Theoretical Perspective: Bourdieu 70 Introduction 70 Habitus 71 Field 75 Capital 79 iv Practice 81 Conclusion 83 Chapter 6 Methodology 85 Introduction 85 Survey 86 Semi-structured Interviews 89 Case Discussions 91 Reflections on the Methods 93 Doing Insider Research 95 Data Analysis 97 Bourdieu and Reflexivity 102 The Research Findings 104 Chapter 7 The Survey Questionnaire and Findings 105 Demographic Details 105 Rated Questions 107 Approach to the Work 110 Additional Comments 112 Chapter 8 Choosing to Train as a Probation Officer 116 The Research Profile 116 Introduction 118 By Accident or Design? 119 To Work with Criminals or to be a Criminal? 124 Interest in and Curiosity About the Criminal Justice System 130 A Means to What End? 134 Professional Altruism 137 Conclusion 140 Chapter 9 The Making or Breaking of Probation Officers 143 Introduction 143 Contrasting Experiences 144 Experiences in Non-Facilitating Environments 147 Experiences in Facilitating Environments 165 Conclusion 177 v Chapter 10 Exploring Probation Practice and Identity Through Case Discussions 180 1. Sharon 181 Reflections on Sharon 191 2. Angela 195 Reflections on Angela 203 3. Dan 206 Reflections on Dan 214 4. Tom 218 Reflections on Tom 224 General Reflections on the Case Discussions 228 Chapter 11 Discussion and Recommendations 231 Introduction 231 A Question of Identity 232 Recruitment 234 Training and Professional Development 236 Management and Supervision 238 Working Environment 241 Applying Bourdieu 242 Gender 245 Recommendations for Further Research 246 Conclusion 248 References 250 Bibliography 269 Appendix Two Additional Case Discussions 291 1. Cathy 291 Reflections on Cathy 300 2. Femi 304 Reflections on Femi 311 vi List of Figures Fig 1 Ratings Awarded to the Survey Questions 108 Fig 2 The Distribution of Scores 109 Fig. 3 Practice Methods Used by Respondents 111 Fig. 4 Number of Respondents and Range of Methods 111 vii Abbreviations ART Aggression Replacement Treatment CAFCASS Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service CCTV Closed Circuit Television CQSW Certificate of Qualification in Social Work MAPPA Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements NAPO National Association of Probation Officers NPS National Probation Service NOMS National Offender Management Service NVQ National Vocational Qualification OASYS Offender Assessment System PDA Practice Development Assessor PSO Probation Service Officer SFO Serious Further Offence SPO Senior Probation Officer TPO Trainee Probation Officer viii Acknowledgements I would like to thank Michael Rustin and Stephen Briggs for their advice, encouragement, support and patience. I am also indebted to members of the Forbes household – Shirley, Joel, Gideon and Zachary, for their love and unwavering belief in my capacity to finish this thesis, especially during periods when I doubted I could. To all those mentioned: I could not have done it without you!! ix Introduction This research project represents a highly personal endeavour. Although it focuses on the experiences of probation officers who are at the start of their careers, my choice of subject was very much influenced by the fact that, in contrast to the research participants, I am approaching retirement from the Probation Service. Thus, this project has provided me with an opportunity to look back and reflect upon my own experience, whilst thinking about what has happened to the service in the current era. In making this statement, I hope it will be recognised that this study is far from being an indulgent, nostalgia trip. Having worked for the Probation Service for more than 30 years as a front line practitioner and, more latterly, as a manager with responsibility for the professional development and training of staff, I consider myself to be a research ‘insider’ with substantial, first-hand knowledge of the organisation and its work. As a consequence, I have inevitably drawn on my subjective experience as a resource within this study. Denzin and Lincoln (1998) recognise this as a legitimate approach to research and the idea of taking into account the subjective involvement of the researcher is lent further support by Hollway and Jefferson (2000) who argue that the researcher, whatever the circumstances, can never be detached from their field of inquiry. I joined the Probation Service (or the Probation and After-Care Service as it was then known) in the early 1970s with a degree in Sociology. The subject of my degree being something which I regard as contextually significant insofar as it was a subject that seemed to naturally guide myself, and many of my contemporaries with the same degree, towards a social work related occupation. At that time, probation work seemed to be firmly located in the social work tradition and it was just one of several employment options I pursued, including as a back-up, non social work related jobs. As things turned out, probation was the first job offer I received after a depressing run of rejections without interviews. Ironically, another job offer (as a personal assistant to the director of an old people’s home) was received by post a few days later having been delayed by being delivered initially to the 1!! ! wrong address. I have often wondered what might have happened if that letter had arrived first. Having been unemployed for approximately 6 months following the completion of my degree, I was simply relieved to have finally gained employment and to have the prospect of earning something. I was not thinking of a long term career in probation, but I developed a lasting commitment to the job as a result of the experiences I encountered and the rest, as they say, is history! Nonetheless, given the circumstances surrounding my entry into the Probation Service, I tended to regard it as having come about largely by chance. I knew little about the work of the service and completing the application form for the position of Ancillary Worker (which I later learned was a newly created post designed to provide support to qualified probation officers) felt like a random decision. This was, I should add, a period of my life when I neither acknowledged nor denied the possibility of unconscious motives or, for that matter, gave them any consideration. Two separate periods of therapy later, and looking back with a reflective stance borne of my generic social work/probation qualifying

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