ABSTRACT
The data revealed a complex picture, but one that has some identifiable themes. For this sample of practitioners, the fundamental basis of their work was the effective professional relationship, which was made up of rapport, empathy, the setting of boundaries and the maintenance of a professional distance. There was also some dissonance between National Offender Management Service (NOMS) emphasis on the professional relationship and the move to a division between offender management and intervention, to which respondents were opposed, as well as the harder line on enforcement and punishment, which were seen more as last resorts. The protection of the public was also a prime aim and this was seen as most likely to be achieved via a reduction in re-offending and, in a smaller number of more serious cases, by more law enforcement measures such as the use of recalls to prison and the management of offenders via the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) process.
