Remembering Paul Senior

At a time when we once again find ourselves embroiled in a struggle to keep the probation ethos alive, the profession is without a high profile champion. In the summer we lost Paul Senior and I notice the Probation Institute have dedicated the latest issue of Probation Quarterly to his memory:-

I first met Paul when he was chairing Napo Probation Practice Committee circa 1980: articulate, confident and knowledgeable with strong left wing politics.

I don’t think I fully understood Paul’s passion for Probation and everything that it stands for until the then higher education social work qualification, the Diploma in Social Work, was challenged as the requirement for appointment as a Probation Officer. In 1994 the Conservative Government through Michael Howard and Baroness Blatch threatened simultaneously to remove the qualification requirement for appointment as a probation officer from both social work and higher education and to replace it with a statement of work based competence. The ensuing struggle between Conservative ministers, Napo and the Association of Chief Officers of Probation was resolved by incoming Labour Government in 1997 promising to retain the qualification in higher education but not in social work. As Home Secretary, Jack Straw agreed to introduce the Diploma in Probation Studies. By this time Paul had become the first ever Professor of Probation Studies at Sheffield Hallam University. He was asked to develop the qualification and worked tirelessly to create a specific Vocational Qualification embedded into a Degree. 

Without Paul’s achievement in enabling the translation of social work theory and practice into probation theory and practice the ethos of probation would have been completely overridden by enforcement and control twenty years ago. Paul went on to lead at Sheffield Hallam one of the three funded Probation Programmes now known as PQIP and to develop the Hallam Centre for Community Justice. Paul shared the huge disappointment of Transforming Rehabilitation. He continued his robust defence of compassionate, empowering approaches to rehabilitation. Although struggling with illness, in 2015 Paul took over as Chair of the Probation Institute which he led with passion to become a stronger, clearer voice for professional recognition, research and post qualification learning. Paul was a brave warrior and champion for Probation. We miss him hugely and it is our responsibility to walk in his footsteps. 

Helen Schofield - Acting CEO, Probation Institute 

Although our paths had crossed throughout our probation and academic careers, I only got to know Paul well when I interviewed him in 2011 for the research project I was undertaking with Rob Mawby on the occupational cultures and identities of probation workers. His passion for probation work shone through and he was also very supportive of our research and its subsequent publication. Although I am technically breaching research ethics by identifying an interviewee, I’m sure Paul would have been happy for me to disseminate his response to my question about the value of home visits in probation, which demonstrates both his gently self-mocking character and his empathy with offenders and their communities: 

And then, probably after lunch, because I can remember the days we used to have lunch and we’d go and have a beer sometimes, I would set off to my patch. I’d have a few appointments, but I’d also just drive around and I’d see some of the lads on the street and stop and have a chat. And I’d spend most afternoons on my own, without complicated telephone systems, booking in to see if I was still alive and, you know, no one would know where I was really. I’d just go and have cups of tea and talk to people and occasionally have some difficult times. I ran little groups at the school sometimes and we had a report centre out there, so one afternoon a week, I would be there and people would come in. 

But Paul was emphatically not someone who hankered after the “golden age” of probation. His commitment to the Probation Institute was one of the many ways he demonstrated, throughout his life, his desire to be at the forefront of discussion about the future of probation work.
Anne Worrall - Editor, Probation Quarterly

“I first met Paul during my doctoral studies when he recorded an interview with me for a video to go on the community justice portal – he was immediately supportive and enthusiastic about my research on probation. I then moved to SHU and worked more closely with him through the British Journal of Community Justice – again, his support for early career researchers was really something that stood out for me. I’ll never forget the days we spent at the Heaves Hotel discussing probation in preparation for writing the special issue of the Journal which was published in 2016 – his drive and ability to get us working together and, even more impressively, sticking to deadlines was something to behold! The world of probation is undoubtedly poorer without him.” 

Jake Phillips

“I knew Paul for over 15 years as a fellow practitioner who had become an academic and who continued to fight ardently for the probation profession. Paul always was generous in his encouragement of others, and his contributions to maintaining high standards and quality in probation practice are well known. He published numerous articles and books/chapters to promote these standards and challenged government policies which undermined probation officer autonomy and skill. He will be sadly missed particularly in this climate where people of principle are increasingly rare. The last time I saw Paul reinforced my high estimation of him and I had great respect for his bravery, particularly at the last Portal lecture which he kindly chaired despite being very unwell. He had so much pride in enabling communication between academics, policy makers and practitioners.” 

Wendy Fitzgibbon

“He was a friend to many people and his legacy is huge. The world of probation is much diminished with his passing. He was a great doer and I remember the weekend in the Lakes where he guided us to produce much thoughtful discussion and eventually the edition of the British Journal of Community Justice. A truly great and strong, brave person.” 

Anthony Goodman

“Paul was a giant of the probation world for so long and his wisdom and insight will be very much missed. I entered higher education from probation to teach on the DiPS in 2001 at Newport. At that time we ran the programme on behalf of Sheffield Hallam and Paul was very kind to me, encouraging and supportive and did a great deal to ease my way into the academic world. I will always be very grateful for this.” 

John Deering

“A few years ago, Paul was a guest speaker at our yearly conference (when we were Humberside Probation Trust), Paul’s slot was just before lunch – he was simply captivating. It was the first, and only time that no one actually wanted to finish for lunch – I could have listened to him all day – he is one of only a handful of people I would have liked to invite to a dinner party.” 

Sue Beulah

“At all stages of my probation career – as practitioner, teacher and researcher – I have admired the determined and practical way that Paul championed the profession, its practice, its expertise and its values. I was fortunate to work alongside him on two projects: as part of the editorial board of the British Journal of Community Justice and in the development of the Probation Institute. On a personal level, the more I came to know Paul the more I appreciated his kindness and wisdom. I felt very privileged to be part of the group that met, at Paul’s invitation, for two days at the start of 2016 to talk about probation. The challenge now, in a world without Paul, is to ensure that conversations about the ‘essence of probation’ continue loudly and clearly.” 

Jane Dominey

“Paul Senior played a central role in the delivery of the new Diploma in Probation Studies in 1999. This followed a successful campaign, in which I was centrally involved, to resist the then Home Secretary, Michael Howard’s, decision to end the requirement that probation officers hold a recognised professional qualification. The campaign was successful because of the united front presented by the Central Probation Council, the Association of Chief Officers of Probation and the National Association of Probation Officers. In this campaign, we were greatly assisted by the support of leading academics, notable amongst whom was Paul. When Jack Straw became Home Secretary after the election of the New Labour Government in 1997, he accepted the need to establish a new professional qualification for probation officers. 

Almost a decade later, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Probation Service, Paul had the idea of 365 members, former members and friends of the Service recalling a memory of their time in Probation and a new reminiscence appearing daily on what Paul called the Community Justice Portal. I was a contributor, but like others, doubted that Paul could find 365 people willing to participate. However, he did and later, 100 of those memories were compiled into a book entitled ‘Moments in Probation’, which, for me, is a fitting legacy for Paul”. 

Mike Worthington