Like most aspects of human endeavour, the PSR has gone through some significant changes over the years. It has always been regarded as a key skill of a probation officer because it forms a significant part of the information courts consider at the very moment that sentence is determined. I've already stated that it has been one of the most enjoyable parts of the job, but recent comments by the Chairman of the Magistrates Association and indeed a couple of commentators to this blog, tend to confirm my suspicion that the quality has deteriorated over the last couple of years. The shocking indictment that probation management must take account of seems to be 'yes we nearly always get a PSR, but hardly ever any information'.
Now when I started out, Social Enquiry Reports were written in a very different style and in today's climate of political correctness would be shocking to many people. For a start they were written on virtually all cases, including not guilty pleas, so you can imagine the offence analysis part of the report was a little sketchy to say the least. This was the tail end of the period when reports might well have contained mention of child-rearing methods and other similar social work theories, but most alarmingly when considered today, there was discussion of housing conditions and standards. Yes, I did indeed used to say things like 'johnny comes from a well known criminal family, most of whom have been supervised by this Service. The house is typical of the area with average standards of hygiene and cleanliness. The garden is not particularly well kept.' I'm not particularly proud of this aspect of my early career, but it was typical of the time.
I think most would agree that reports improved enormously when they became Pre Sentence Reports and each officer was left to develop their own individualistic report writing style, eventually within four basic headings. In my view a good report has to tell a story, give a coherent explanation of a persons background and the reasons and circumstances surrounding the commission of offences. Having explained the individuals current situation and any problems, it should flow easily towards a possible way forward that will address punishment and any issues that will support a cessation of offending. Ideally the reader should arrive at the conclusion with no great surprises and feeling that the recommendation is eminently sensible.
In my view the best reports are those that paint a rounded picture of the individual and one that should not resemble the somewhat partisan one given either by the prosecution or defence. I always try and tell it 'as it is' and give a fair description with some colour and feeling. In my view the probation officer must come to a decision as to what they feel is the best way forward and go for it. Of course the sentencers may not agree, but I feel the officers role is to use their professional judgement, not just go through the motions and list the options. In my experience, turning up at court can make all the difference and indicates that the officer really stands by their recommendation. Over the years I've found that on balance this approach has earned me more favourable than negative comments from sentencers.
Unfortunately, all the above has had to be achieved in spite of continual attempts to impose an increasingly rigid and constrained report which in my view has now resulted in a sterile, almost meaningless document full of formulaic computer-generated, politically correct phrases devoid of any sense of colour, feeling or passion. It started with having to address aggravating and mitigating factors and then eventually moved onto risk analysis and meaningless OASys graphs and charts. Working recently as a Court Duty Officer, I could barely bring myself to read most of the days offerings, they were so utterly boring, repetitive and formulaic. Unfortunately I had to when they were regularly the subject of criticism and I was left to try and explain what the officer meant. So, regrettably I think that when the last old-style PO bows out, we really have seen the end of the PSR being a meaningful aid to sentencing, and with it's passing we will have lost one of the most valuable aspects of the job.
I will end on a couple of anecdotes. When I was a CDO I was enormously surprised one day to find an old format PSR written in 'freestyle' by an SPO from out of town. It was such a wonderfully refreshing read that I rang him before the Bench came in. He was full of apologies saying that the computer system had crashed and the poor PO was so stressed, on impulse he just decided to knock out an old-style report instead. Everyone, Bench included, could only marvel at what reports used to look like and remind themselves as to what has been lost. Finally, a retired colleague of mine recently decided to earn some cash writing freelance reports for another town. Being somewhat of the same persuasion as myself and not having a career to worry about, he engineered his reports in the old-style, much to the annoyance of local management. Eventually he was summoned before the local District Judge and asked 'Mr Smith, why can't all your colleagues write reports like this?'
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