Probation Records

Now it would not be fair unless I started this piece by being completely up front and saying that I come from a time when record-keeping within the probation service was, well, problematic. There was a long tradition of being well behind with part 'C' entries, (record of all contacts) with an enormous push necessary when an inspection was due. At such a time you had to hope that you had a brilliant memory, decipherable diary entries and some friends amongst the clericals. Of course it fell to them to listen to endless rambling audio recordings, make sense of them and transcribe them into print via a good old-fashioned typewriter. If you were really lucky, and to get you out of a tight spot, a friendly clerical would take dictation from you in shorthand so as to have some evidence in front of the Inspector in time.

According to folklore, there were officers who just didn't do records. There were stories of files mysteriously disappearing, only to be found years later either under carpets or behind filing cabinets. It was even rumoured there was an officer who kept all his records in the boot of his car, for fear of them being required by management for some reason. Another was known as Mr Memory Man due to his legendary ability for near-perfect recall of events months before. All or none of this might have been true, but it has to be said the system was not brilliant and doing the work always seemed to get in the way of record-keeping.

As time passed and in order to save money, we were encouraged to hand write records and for a period things seemed to improve. The problem as always was if you started to get behind the situation just got worse because you couldn't always judge how big a gap to leave in order to be filled in later. Then there was always the small matter of trying to remember what happened and when, several months down the line. In all honesty there was a degree of creative writing, albeit informed from clues from your diary. This is not something I'm particularly proud of, but the practice was endemic and as I said, the system was still not that much better than when I started.  

But then we entered the computer age. Initially the office was equipped with linked word processors and a modem attachment to Head Office. Someone invented a 'word' document form that passed as a running part 'C' and suddenly for the first time we had a workable system for recording events easily and quickly, if you could get to a terminal that is. Information was now available to anyone, anywhere on the system and the old card indexes began to fall into disuse.

Such a simple system couldn't last of course and eventually we were saddled with CRAMS. It could be worse I suppose, but at least it allows entries to be made out of sequence, thus saving us from returning to the nightmare of the original paper system when everything had to be recorded in sequence. The only problem I have with it now is the urge to continually correct other peoples spelling, lack of punctuation and try to resist the urge to re-write 'text message' style entries. But I guess that's an age thing. I wonder if the impending new Delius system will encourage better entries? Somehow I doubt it.