ABSTRACT
In reviewing the book as a whole, a number of important themes arise that provide a way forward for sociological practice for social workers and probation officers.
Interrogate the commonplace
Be prepared to ask questions and refuse to accept ‘as read’ the concepts, ideas and perspectives that are part of everyday knowledge and practice wisdom. The family, crime, community, etc. are not the same for all time and in all places. Meanings change, and are created by the very discourses that name and classify the notions they describe (Foucault 1972). Moreover, the ‘knowledge’ on which concepts are based is itself open to question, as we have discovered in our examination of official statistics about crime. Until we have begun to deconstruct the concepts we are using, we will not understand the complexities and contradictions that are likely to affect our practice. We will also fail to appreciate the vested interests that seek to forefront specific kinds of meanings, definitions and evidence.
