ABSTRACT

The analysis in this chapter adds credence to the argument that practitioners in knowledge-based work which involves social control and the management of social problems and risks are unequally or disproportionately affected by pressures and priorities associated with 'professionalism from above', finding themselves subject to considerable management and monitoring of compliance. Feeling over-worked, bureaucratised and disempowered carries implications for their discretion and time available to mobilise the capital and empowerment of desisting and recovering individuals and their families. The theoretical and empirical contributions in the chapter helps to make sense of what is happening at the coalface, deepening understanding to reveal an emerging politics of knowledge and render more visible inequalities between professional actors in the two fields. Further efforts are warranted as a matter of urgency to better recognise and raise awareness about the various strengths of the two fields and their actors. Rehabilitation work may be difficult work, but it need not be 'dirty words' or 'dirty work'.