Tell me about it

The main role of probation officers (criminal justice social workers in Scotland) is to supervise offenders in the community, addressing offending behaviour and ensuring that offenders comply with court orders. They work closely with agencies such as the police, prison service and social services, assessing and managing risk to meet the aims of:

• Protecting the public
• Reducing re-offending
• Supervising the proper punishment of offenders in the community
• Ensuring offenders’ awareness of the effects of crime on the victims of crime and the public
• Rehabilitating offenders

Much of your time as a probation officer would be spent carrying out intensive work aimed at changing offenders’ behaviour and tackling the reasons why they offend. You would also work with partner organisations to deal with the practical problems offenders face regarding employment, housing, debt, benefits and drug and alcohol abuse.

There are four main types of community sentence:

• Community rehabilitation orders (probation orders in Scotland), which require offenders to report regularly to a probation officer for close supervision
• Community punishment orders (community service orders in Scotland), which require offenders to do from 40 to 240 hours of unpaid work on community projects as an alternative to a custodial sentence
• Community punishment and rehabilitation orders, which involve elements of both unpaid work and probation supervision
• Drug treatment and testing orders

In addition to this work, you would spend some time in court, providing advice and information on defendants, especially by preparing pre-sentence reports, which give the courts additional guidance as to the most appropriate way of dealing with an offender.

Entry level

In England and Wales, you need a Diploma in Probation Studies (DipPS) to qualify as a probation officer. To obtain this, you would normally be employed as a trainee by an individual probation service and would follow a two-year integrated course that combines an NVQ Level 4 in Community Justice with a degree in Community Justice (Probation Studies). The minimum age to become a probation officer is 22, so you must be at least 20 to start on the DipPS. The Diploma is based on a mixture of academic teaching and assessed work-based practice.

The normal entry requirements for candidates under 21 are two A level and three GCSE passes (A-C), although candidates over 25 may be accepted without formal qualifications. Because of the intense competition for trainee places, some experience of working with people in difficulties is essential.

In Scotland, the minimum qualification for social work (including criminal justice social worker) has been raised this year to a four-year honours degree course, replacing the old Diploma in Social Work. There is also a two-year postgraduate qualification.

Making the grade

While there may be variations from one area to another in England and Wales, your training is likely to include about three days a week working under supervision, with two days studying areas such as social science and criminology, criminal behaviour and mental illness.

In Scotland, universities and social work agencies jointly provide social work training, with many programmes offering the opportunity to specialise in a particular area. A full list of relevant degree course providers is available from the SSSC website mentioned below.

Personal qualities

Working with offenders means that you could sometimes be dealing with clients who are distressed, withdrawn, aggressive or violent. You would need the ability to manage stressful situations, to work and communicate with a range of people, to be patient and objective, and to gain the trust and confidence of offenders.

A good standard of written communication would be important in researching and writing reports and letters, together with the ability to speak convincingly in court.

Looking ahead

Once you are through the initial obstacle of intense competition for a trainee post, you should find that promotion prospects are good and your career progression can be rapid. It should be said, however, that promotion in probation work often means moving up to management level rather than working with people, so some probation officers prefer to maintain their client contact by remaining at the ‘experienced practitioner’ level.

For the purposes of selection and recruitment in England and Wales, the probation areas have been divided into nine separate consortia areas. You can find details of these at the National Probation Service website below.

Alternative suggestions

If probation work appeals, you might also consider training as a police officer, prison officer, psychologist, social worker, teacher or youth worker.

Take-home pay

Salaries for trainee probation officers in England and Wales are on a range from £13,455 minimum (subject to annual review), together with additional Inner or Outer London Allowance payments as appropriate.

Salaries for the main grade probation officers are on a range from £19,443 – £26,226 (subject to annual review), depending on age and experience. There is a separate pay spine covering more senior probation officer grades.

In Scotland, social workers in criminal justice work usually start on a salary of approximately £18,000, although some local authorities may offer more.

Effects

A working week is typically between 37 and 40 hours, but these hours can be irregular and you could well have some opportunity to organise your own preferred working patterns. Within this freedom from the 9 to 5 routine, you may have to work with colleagues on a rota basis, arranging night-time and weekend cover as necessary.

If you are ambitious, you might have to move around the country as you pursue promotion to higher-level positions.

Sources of information

National Probation Service (England and Wales): www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk

National Association of Probation Officers: www.napo.org.uk

Scottish Social Services Council : www.sssc.uk.com

Community Justice National Training Organisation (CJNTO): www. www.cjnto.org.uk

Probation Board for Northern Ireland: www.pbni.org.uk

CRCI: V