The Clients

As more 'sifting and sorting' letters continue to try and divide a whole profession, here's two contributions from yesterday that serve to remind us what it's all about:-

The true legacy of 100+ years of Probation is not found in corporate achievement but in the tens of thousands of stories of men and women with whom we have worked who have tried to change. Most have failed again and again, each relapse contributing to the learning that was required to secure the change. Then, one day, the stars are aligned and the Probation Officer/PSO was there, ready to do what was required to support the individual, to give them the best possible chance to make the changes necessary to stop the destructive cycles of behaviour that had blighted their lives. 

The successes for Probation are not found in corporate reports, annual business plans or performance statistics, they are found in recovering alcoholics, in former addicts, drug free at last after 11 failed attempts, in the tears of a man who has admitted his abusive childhood for the first time and started on a road that will help him to recovery, in the child protected from offences that will never take place because a diligent PO acted decisively. 

These tens or even hundreds of thousands of stories will remain untold because they absolutely should remain untold. They are not the business of PR people and journalists, nor even for politicians to wave around at the Dispatch Box. They are for those involved and those alone. 

But we know. Every CEO/ACO/SPO/PO/PSO and admin worker in every Probation office in the country knows. 

The strength of Probation is not that it always succeeds but that it always tries. Until Politicians realise that, they will never be able to recognise it's value and will never be comfortable with advocating for the abstract. Concrete thinkers need concrete outcomes where there may be none.

I am not at all religious but, to my mind, Probation is and always has been, first and foremost, an act of faith. Everyone knows punitive sentencing is futile in terms of changing behaviour. Someone realised this, 100 years ago, and thought 'let's try something else'. It worked, more often than not because, more often than not, that act of faith is rewarded by effort and investment on the part of the offenders.

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We are all sounding rather weary....I agree entirely with Rob Palmer -'tis true we have never sought the limelight, content to go on our way, assisting, befriending, protecting without fuss and without public recognition. As a profession, we have always been rather understated, the complete opposite of most I have met in this line of work. Probation staff - who are larger than life, hugely funny, immensley brilliant show offs, and similarly, hugely enigmatic, brilliant, funny and complex clients...

I know not if I am to be a CRC or NPS, but whatever I am, and wherever they send me, I will take myself, as I always have, with the same commitment and desire to encourage and support people to change. To be frank, if I thought I would have to compromise on that, I'd be looking for another job.