Deliver
From the first day I set foot in a Probation Office whilst on placement from University, it was blindingly obvious to me that the vast majority of clients that would come my way needed help of some sort. I was never in any doubt that the State would be paying my wages so as to try and make amends either for various social policy failings, the effects of developmental hurdles or environmental traumas. Yes a criminal act had set the ball rolling and thus fate had delivered them to my office door, but almost without exception there was something that had gone wrong in their life that had contributed to criminal activity. Fix that and we might be on the way to reducing the likelihood of repetition.
All probation officers know that many clients present with some very familiar sounding life histories. Often the products of broken homes, many have spent periods in the care of the Local Authority. Significant numbers have suffered abuse of some sort, their education has been disrupted and developmental problems go undiagnosed. They form unhelpful friendships with criminally experienced peers and are introduced to alcohol and drugs. Failure and exclusion from school leads to unemployability, relationship breakdown, homelessness and finally prison. I still defy anyone to give me intelligent reasons why a qualified social worker practising as a probation officer is not a key part of the appropriate answer to this depressing scenario.
If this is the raw material, I think most people would agree that it might take a little more than a 'jolly good talking to', a spell of Unpaid Work or even a period in custody in order for them to see the error of their ways and stop offending. They need some basic things sorting, like a proper diagnosis for a learning disability, some counselling for past abuse, or help filling in forms. They need somewhere to live, help with literacy or some treatment for alcohol or drug dependency. They might need a doctor or dentist.
The list is long and the job remit vast. In the end though in my experience it's often only the PO who can see the whole picture and start trying to fix things. And I don't mean a bit of 'signposting'. It has to be action, like contacting the appropriate agency and arranging for a GP to be allocated. Like badgering the Local Authority or Health Authority to carry out the appropriate assessments. Like talking to housing providers in order to 'sell' your client to them. Like arguing the toss with the Benefits Agency to sort out why no money has arrived. It also means responding. Doing the home visit at a time of crisis. Visit the jail, or the hospital or hostel. Keep in touch, telephone and write letters. Advocate on their behalf and ferry them and their chattles about when felt appropriate.
I know some of this is now regarded as unnecessary or unprofessional even, but it's always worked for me. It reminds me of one of my very first clients when still a student. He was a young disaffected black guy sent away to YOI for the first time. His mother had no means of visiting so I offered to take her considerable bulk in my compact Morris Traveller and combine the excursion with a joint interview. I learnt so much about her and the families problems on the way and to this day I remain touched by the young lads genuine appreciation in return.
Basically I think the job means delivering for your client, making their life a bit more satisfactory and along the way help to understand what's gone wrong or repair past damage. In this way you help build a constructive relationship that means they just might listen more carefully when the time comes to give some words of advice or strident warnings even.
Despite all the changes over the last 30 years, I remain committed to the social work approach to probation. It was a mistake to make us famously a Law Enforcement Agency, but politicians feel it sounds good to the public and hence we have the current mantra of 'understand less and punish more'. It's rubbish of course and just see where it's got us. I believe that social work will continue to be re-discovered by more recently qualified colleagues and if necessary will be quietly undertaken subversively.
Just as a point of information, I think this concludes the occasional series 'What Does a Probation Officer Do?
Just wanted to add an aspect of the needs of offenders that I have noticed over my 22 years doing this, Jim. When I go back through my personal life, I can remember many life events that could have thrown me a curve-ball but which, though the love and support of those nearest to me, were dealt with and managed without too much trauma. For example; I was once evicted from a flat in London and could have ended up on the streets but my brother hired a van, drove up from Wales to get me and my stuff home safely. The Civil Service Welfare folk got me an address almost overnight and I was back in work the next week WITHOUT EVEN LOSING A DAYS WORK. Now, if I hadn't had those support networks, I would have ended up on the streets and losing my job would have been a distinct possibility, thereby reducing my ability to sort myself out. There have been many other incidents, small and large, in my life where I could have crashed and burned but was helped by supportive family and friends.
ReplyDeleteMany of the offenders I have worked with experience traumatic life events and, through no fault of their own, have had noone to turn to to help them get out of that situation. Could be an eviction, death of a parent, suicide of a friend, the breakdown of a relationship, the loss of a job etc. There are so many ways in which we can be 'tested' and those of us who have people to turn to who can help us don't realise how fortunate we are.
Depending on their social situation, in my experience, a Probation Officer can often be the first person an offender comes into contact with who can offer someone a way out of their situation that doesn't involve offending. Im my experience, most of them welcome the opportunity and move forward constructively. No magic cures but a helping hand can certainly be a turning point.
That takes me back - taking families in the car on prison visits (usually in a fug of roll-ups). You're right though Jim - the stuff you learned! In later years, as a prison SPO chairing post programme reviews, I was always saddened when the home PO would arrive fresh from his/her nice warm car whilst the family member would arrive bedraggled from some nightmare expedition on public transport. Talk to each other people - it's not rocket science.
ReplyDeleteI second all that ! The evidence (and common sense) says it's all in the relationship you have with the person, and you don't have that if you are signposting or managing or whatever the latest phrase is, I have often had the experience of doing something for someone ( a lift, collecting stuff, accompanying to a meeting (even once agreeing to sort out the cat if the person went down - he didn't!) which shifts the whole relationship up a gear and results in real engagement rather then the got to get through it you usually start with. And that is not made possible if you have to work to a set pattern of activity. Some of my more recent colleagues struggle with this, they want to do the relationship thing but are uncertain of themselves, and of course worried what Management will say if things go wrong. Defensible decisions anyone? Now I am getting closer to retirement too, that bothers me even less.
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