ABSTRACT
Chapter 14 by Jane Dominey looks particularly at the practice of probation supervision and discusses the extent to which supervision delivered by private companies is inevitably poorer than that delivered by public sector bodies. Jane argues that probation supervision thrives in an environment where supervisor and supervisee build a change-enabling relationship, where the organisation provides a structure in which staff are supported and encouraged, and where the wider community provides the resources and opportunities necessary for recovery and desistance. She says the Probation Service has suffered the twin and entwined assaults of privatisation and austerity, and in this chapter she gives examples of ways in which the current environment for supervision is inadequate. Jane concludes that returning probation supervision to the public sector addresses some of the current problems but (unless accompanied by measures in areas like caseload management, staff training, and financial support for partner organisations in the voluntary sector) would not be sufficient to guarantee high-quality supervision.
