ABSTRACT
The notion of a professional relationship has been at the core of probation work and there is some evidence that it is important in successful supervision. The potential and continued impact of NOMS upon the probation service's values and culture is difficult to assess. Cheliotis and Lipsky discuss more 'everyday' forms of resistance, the former criticises the new penality as simply moulding practitioners into conformity with risk management, either by the prevailing discourse and culture, or by power inherent in hierarchical organisations. The main political parties now aimed to outbid each other such that: Populist punitiveness had now arrived in Britain, in the sense that perceived public acceptability was now a central criterion for assessing the value of a penal policy. In a study in the United States, Lynch looking at parole practitioners in California, found examples of practitioners subverting official policy, based upon their own judgements and professional preferences.
