Project
The future of probation
We are working with a network of professional groups, trade unions and civil society organisations to press for an improved structure and working arrangements for the probation service.
News
State is failing young people leaving custody
Youth resettlement – final report into work in the community, the latest report from HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Prisons, has prompted calls for more support for young people released from custody. Our Director, Richard Garside is amongst those calling for the state to address it failures.
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The tantalising hope of recovery
Mike Guilfoyle remembers 'Blaine', a former client trying to overcome alcoholism whilst on probation
It was not long after the end of a supervisory experience that resonated with me for many years afterwards, that I came upon one of the most unflinchingly moving accounts of alcoholism and the...
Comment
What supervision in the community should look like
This month Mike Guilfoyle reflects on an unsual supervisory experience
It was with considerable sadness that I read of the recent passing of one of probation's most trenchant public defenders,...
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Vignettes from a probation conference
This month Mike Guilfoyle remembers a probation event at Lake Windermere
One of the more enduringly memorable events that I had the good fortune to experience during my 20 years working as a front-line probation officer, was attending an annual residential conference...
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Music, lyrics and memories in probation
In his latest reflection, Mike remembers 'Brice'
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A job well done in the community
Whilst reading Preet Bharara's thoughtful and vivid account of his time as a US federal...
Comment
Risk and rehabilitation in probation supervision
I was recently reading an important contribution to the criminological literature on the importance of rehabilitative...
News
Centre's Director in the Morning Star
Our Director, Richard Garside, commented on public probation services in Wales after Chief Inspector of Probation Dame Glenys Stacey had praised their leadership.
Comment
Ambiguous endings to a supervisory experience
Although it now seems like a distant reflection, I was minded to recall working with Paola (not her real name) whilst reading an impressively moving...
News
Call for delay to government probation plans
Our Director, Richard Garside, is one of eight signatories on a letter to the Justice Secretary, David Gauke, calling for him to 'pause and reconsider' the government's plans re-let probation contracts to private companies.
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