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Much of the pressure experienced by the Probation Service in England and Wales and criticism made of its performance results from structural flaws in the criminal justice system. This has led to a penal policy characterised by inconsistency and lack of direction, subject to the vagaries of conviction politics, pragmatic expedients and desperate damage limitation exercises. It is difficult to detect a thread of consistent, planned penal strategy in which the Service can make a rational contribution, argues Roger Shaw of the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge.

The ability to help people effectively remains the major challenge for the Probation Service, whilst at the same time responding constructively and confidently to the problems of a punitive criminal justice system. To do this, it is vital that the Service retains essential social work values whilst enhancing its status as a learning organisation, as opposed to a bureaucracy. This paper aims to describe the waves of change that the Service has faced and examines their implications for skills, training, values and objectives.

Abstract: This paper presents the findings of a survey about awareness of and attitudes towards the probation service in the Netherlands. The results show that, even in a period of increased repressiveness in which attention tends to be focussed on the victim, there is still a stable basis for probation work among the public. Although awareness of the existence of the probation service has increased since a similar study was carried out in 1966, its specific tasks need to be explained more fully. Publicity might also increase the assumed benefit and effect of probation work. Special efforts to reach groups like youngsters and members of ethnic minorities are recommended in the conclusion.

Throughout the last decade Belgium's criminal justice sector — and its probation service in particular — has undergone a period of rapid change generated by public criticism, political pressure and calls for reform. This qualitative study highlights how structural changes have influenced probation practice by focusing on how probation officers themselves have perceived these recent organizational changes. These preliminary findings draw on a qualitative study of probation officers working in the House of Justice in Brussels and are compared with developments in England and Wales.

There is convincing evidence that structuring decision making leads to better decisions. Comparing structured and unstructured professional decisions on a wide variety of topics in medicine, psychology or social welfare, it was found that structured decisions were as good as and often better than unstructured decisions. This can be explained by the fact that professionals, like anyone else, make errors of judgement. In different professional settings decision support tools have therefore been developed and implemented. As far as probation is concerned, tools for risk assessment are currently used in many countries. Assessment of the risks of recidivism and criminogenic needs thus have become structured, yet decisions on interventions are still to a large extent a matter of professional judgement. This is problematic, since this decision is fundamental in the probation process, and can have a large impact on the effectiveness of probation and on the life of the offender. Dutch probation practice shows that the quality of intervention planning indeed leaves something to be desired. Structuring the decision process for intervention planning, without replacing the professional, may improve the quality of probation work. It would seem to be a logical next step in the development of assessment tools.

Peter Gregory, Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Hull, reports research undertaken on behalf of Lincolnshire Probation Service on clients' experiences, knowledge and suggestions for improved facilities, suggesting that unemployment is not given sufficient priority by probation staff.