ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an analysis of hostel workers' definitions of success, and delineates the factors which facilitate or impinge upon their work with offenders. Pressures on the Probation Service to improve and demonstrate effectiveness have been intense. Pressures to improve and demonstrate effectiveness have had far-reaching implications of bail and probation hostels, especially with regard to the introduction of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). At the time the research was conducted, the Home Office had set two KPIs and related targets specifically related to bail/probation hostels. These were introduced in 1994 following the publication of the rolling three year plan for the Probation Service. Hostel staff expressed considerable concerns about what they perceived as an over reliance on KPIs. One of the limitations of quantitative outcome measures such as KPIs is their failure to appreciate the practicalities of service delivery.
