Speaking up for Probation

Abstract

Abstract: This article, based on the 2008 Bill McWilliams Memorial Lecture, outlines the concern that the voice of the Probation Service is being silenced by political expediency and needless structural change. The Service has been destabilised by New Labour's post‐1997 shift from an initial empirical policy of ‘what works’, in the context of reducing reoffending, to a later dogmatic approach, based upon penal populism and constant restructuring to provide for the introduction of the misplaced concept of contestability. The Probation Service, which has a proud century‐long record of achievement, should remain a properly resourced public service, with a champion at a senior organisational level, speaking up for probation, as well as having the voice of Napo, the trade union and professional association.