Why?

I suspect everyone who has become aware of the case will have been touched in some way by the extensive and on-going efforts to find missing little April Jones. More than ever, a desperately sad story like this serves as a stark reminder of some very difficult and challenging aspects of this job.

Now that someone has been charged with abduction, murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice, almost certainly a probation officer will be allocated right from the first Magistrates Court appearance. In an ideal world this person will follow the case right through trial to possible conviction and beyond in order to gain as much background information as possible, given the potential for a Life Sentence.

It tends to be forgotten that in addition to supervising offenders in the community, the probation service is involved in every case where imprisonment is greater than 12 months. More particularly probation officers are involved in every serious case, no matter how notorious or heinous the crime, and right from conviction. To put it mildly, this can be very taxing and stressful as they seek to challenge and endlessly search for the answer to the questions what, when and most importantly, why? 

I've always taken the view that it is good practice to 'pair' officers in extremely difficult cases both for mutual support and continuity in recognition of an increasingly fluid and mobile work force. In view of cutbacks, I know this policy has been largely cast aside, but in my view is a most unwise development, not just professionally, but also in terms of looking after the welfare of staff.