Jamal Hylton was awarded Highly Commended in the 2025 Mike Guilfoyle Essay Prize.
This essay explores the concept of professionalism in probation, drawing on my experiences as a Probation Officer and Senior Probation Officer, as well as seminal works, to highlight its core attributes and practical application.
The Origins of Professionalism
Professionalism in probation cannot be explored without referencing the phrase “advise, assist, and befriend”. This principle has been integral to the Probation Service since its establishment and was codified in the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907. This set out the responsibilities of probation officers in working with individuals under supervision, reflecting a commitment to rehabilitation through supportive relationships aimed at facilitating positive change. This emphasised a holistic approach to addressing offending behaviour, recognising the personal and social factors that contribute to offending behaviour, ensuring that interventions and supervisory approaches are not solely punitive but also rehabilitative.
Commitment to Desistance
As a Probation Officer I have found that changing behaviour is rarely linear, that setbacks occur, and motivation fluctuates. The focus is to keep the individual moving forward on their journey, reinforcing the collaborative nature of probation supervision and support. A cornerstone of professionalism in probation is fostering desistance, the process by which individuals cease offending. This requires a person-centred approach, acknowledging the complexities of behavioural change and the unique journeys of those under supervision.
In this context, professionalism involves working with individuals to maintain progress, identifying their needs, strengths, aspirations, and opportunities, and using these to foster change. The supervisory relationship is built on the belief in every individual has the potential to change, desist from offending and achieve their goals, also described by Weaver and Weaver. Practitioners therefore balance empathy and non-judgmental support with accountability, offering guidance and access to resources while ensuring individuals take responsibility for their progress. This encapsulates the nuanced nature of professionalism in probation, aligning with the ethos of ‘advise, assist, and befriend’.
Interventions, Supervision, and Practitioner Development
Probation practice is underpinned by a range of techniques, including motivational interviewing, relationship building, counselling, and therapeutic approaches. The presence of skilled and experienced practitioners is invaluable, and within supervisory settings enables the delivery of targeted interventions based on need and risk assessments. Research into effective practice highlights the importance of programmes and structured interventions, which rely on knowledge and expertise for successful implementation, as outlined by Chapman and Hough.
In drawing attention to the importance of supervisory practices, I’ve shared examples of experiences working in supervisory settings, exploring what can be achieved in supporting individuals in reducing reoffending. The Skills for Effective Engagement Development (SEED) training and SEED model concluded that effective supervisory practices require balancing risk management, individual needs, and engagement strategies, alongside building open, trusting, and consistent professional relationships. Professionalism is also demonstrated when practitioners adapt their approaches, taking cultural and social contexts into account. This fosters communication and enables the acceptance of support, such as access to housing, employment, addiction and mental health services.
Equally, professionalism requires reflective practice, self-awareness, and ongoing learning. As probation evolves, practitioners must stay informed about emerging research and practices. Critics of the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms, including the late Paul Senior and even myself, argued that those changes jeopardised evidence-based practices and hindered professional development. Therefore, maintaining professionalism means preserving skills and innovation, and serves as a reminder of the need to preserve the integrity of probation practice, training and development.
Values, Ethics, and Multi-Agency Collaboration
Ethical practice is central to professionalism in probation. The transformative potential of probation work necessitates ethical decision-making that is transparent, accountable, and informed by legal and policy frameworks. Practitioners navigate a delicate balance in assessing past behaviour as a predictor of future behaviour, therefore enabling decisions to reduce reoffending and protect victims, while also recognising current behaviour and future potential.
Collaboration is another key component of professionalism and probation practitioners work effectively within multi-agency partnerships, drawing on the expertise of police, mental health, housing, and addiction support services, as outlined by the late Mike Guilfoyle. This holistic approach ensures individuals receive comprehensive support, and successful joint initiatives strengthen probation’s capacity to support individuals. These partnerships reinforce the notion that the “assist” component extends beyond individual roles or locations, requiring the ability to work effectively within the broader justice system and the wider community, as outlined in the Process evaluation of the Newham Y2A Hub and by myself writing on probation and community supervision.
Resilience and Emotional Intelligence
Probation practitioners are trained to address complex, sometimes deeply entrenched issues, equipping clients with genuine opportunities to reintegrate into society. This work can be challenging, requiring resilience and emotional intelligence to manage caseloads, exposure to trauma, and public scrutiny, as an inspection of the Probation Service suggests. Professionalism demands the ability to maintain composure, self-awareness, and empathy in the face of these pressures. Working with individuals who have experienced trauma, marginalisation, and adversity takes an emotional toll, emphasising the importance of self-care, peer support, and an organisational culture that prioritises staff well-being. Practitioners also navigate the tension between professional detachment and meaningful engagement, ensuring they remain effective while safeguarding their own wellbeing.
The Future of Probation
The enduring principles of “advise, assist, and befriend” remain at the heart of professionalism in probation, underscoring the importance of supportive relationships, skilled interventions, and ethical practice. Professionalism in this field is multifaceted, requiring a blend of technical expertise, collaboration, resilience, and a commitment to fostering desistance and positive change. Probation practitioners must balance empathy with accountability, flexibility with consistency, and personal well-being with professional responsibility. In doing so, they contribute not only to individual rehabilitation but also to broader goals of justice and community safety.
Looking ahead, the Probation Service must continue to evolve while staying true to its core ethos. Maintaining professionalism means advocating for evidence-based reforms, investing in practitioner development, and ensuring adequate resources to support both individuals under supervision and those who supervise them. By upholding these principles, the Probation Service can adapt to changing demands while remaining a force for rehabilitation and social justice.
Author’s note: This essay is dedicated to the memory of Alison Thornton, a Probation Officer of outstanding professionalism
The Mike Guilfoyle Essay Prize is annual competition, co-hosted by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies and Napo, that honours the legacy of Mike Guilfoyle. Mike was a dedicated probation officer and active Napo member, and this competition aims to encourage reflections on all that is valuable and important in probation.
This year’s essay question was What does professionalism mean in probation?
