ABSTRACT
Chapter 13 by John Deering looks at questions of legitimacy of probation practice which he considers have been called into question by changes to probation imposed by central government in recent decades. These changes have aimed to change probation aims and practices and thereby, also its values. In brief this involves a fundamental shift from probation being a rehabilitative agency to one that concentrates more on law enforcement and reducing re-offending. In John’s view the values of most probation practitioners remain largely rehabilitative and this apparent mismatch may have called into question the commitment of practitioners to the (revised) values of the service. This in turn, could have reduced the legitimacy of probation practice and purposes in the eyes of many of its practitioners.
