ABSTRACT
The purposes of probation supervision, as outlined in National Standards, are: ‘securing the rehabilitation of the offender; protecting the public from harm from the offender’ and ‘preventing the offender from committing further offences’. Data collected from the probationers during the course of this investigation suggested that the third of these, the ‘deterrence model’, was spurious. A shared understanding of the obstacles probationers faced is, arguably, essential for a productive working relationship between officer and probationer. Officers and probationers were asked, in relation to each obstacle identified, how they expected to overcome it. Officers’ responses to drug-related obstacles suggested a reliance on referrals. The solutions proposed by officers to alcohol-related obstacles, whilst again showing a willingness to refer, suggested that discussions with the probationer were the preferred technique for intervening with alcohol problems. The analysis of officers’ and probationers’ beliefs has suggested some important differences in opinions.
