ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the values that probation should stand for. It discusses the importance and the meaning of values; introduces the idea of community justice; and raises questions of diversity and anti-discrimination. The skills of social work and probation are in many respects very similar: case management, working in partnership, the assessment and management of risk are prominent skills in both professions. A familiar explanation is racism, sexism, suggesting that the origin of discrimination is to be found in the views of practitioners and their power to give expression to their prejudicial attitudes. A premise throughout has been that probation is best seen not as a way of reducing the prison population nor as a means of enhancing public safety. The chapter concludes with the proposal that human rights may be the best way to articulate the values of probation and an attempt has been made to generate some policy- and practice-guiding principles.
