ABSTRACT
Responses from both officers and probationers suggested that no specific probation interventions were associated with successful obstacle resolution. The extent to which officers and probationers ‘worked together’ was explored and was also found not to be associated with resolving obstacles. The figure suggests that social contexts – measured at the start of the probation order and towards the end – were an influence on obstacle resolutions. Around a half the probationers and almost three quarters of the officers reported offending trajectories which suggested that the probationer was desisting from offending. A detailed investigation of the experiences of those pessimists who showed signs of desisting confirmed that changes in family and employment circumstances were key factors in accounting for their desistance. The question of whether probation ‘works’ or not cannot be answered without first addressing what is meant by both ‘works’ and ‘probation’.
