ABSTRACT
The last chapter considered the emergence of NOMS and the changes in governance, organisation and accountability that have taken place in probation in the past ten years. In this chapter, we move to consider what these developments have entailed for the experience of staff working in the contemporary probation service. The proliferation of criminal justice policy, the development of targetbased performance management, practice guidance – and often instruction – have required areas/trusts to set up mechanisms to ensure that their policies are being put into effect. This has led to a tighter management of practice within the organisation itself, with consequences that include changes in staff’s understanding of their own work, of the boundaries of their discretion and of their relationship with their managers. These developments have been taking place too at a time of radical organisational change. The chapter begins with a discussion of the discretion, accountability and supervision of staff, moving on to consider the changing size and nature of the workforce and roles within it, before looking at training.
