I'm a Probation Officer- ask me anything

[webster1987]

I feel like the role of a probation officer is often misunderstood and we don't get much exposure (good anyway!) in news/TV so...ask me anything!

It depends on lots of things, what’s his risk, what’s his engagement been like, is this the first time he’s been recalled?

Yes this is the first time he has been recalled he hasn’t had a warning and gets on really well with his probation officer. I’m not sure if it will be 28 days or longer. He isn’t high risk he left jail from a d cat

I would expect 28 days then. Has he already been returned to prison? He should have been told how long it’ll be or if not, I’d contact his probation officer as they will know.

Hi op! I'm a fellow po

@Bells3949 it'll be on his paperwork. He may also be returned to closed conditions

This only happened yesterday and he is still in the police station because it’s the weekend. Hasn’t spoke to his probation officer yet. He was told he is going to prison tomorrow but we are not sure how long for yet.

Why was he going on holiday knowing he's not allowed to leave the country unless it's approved? Also just because he was released from a D-Cat doesn't exclude him from being high risk.

I am interested in working for the probation service: what advice would you give to a prospective PSO/PO and what qualities make a good PO?

Hi @Turkeyhen. I’ve been a PSO for nearly a year now and I love it! You can’t become a PO straight off the bat, you need to do a qualification called a PQiP. You can apply to do this (although places are very limited as they had a huge intake last March/ April) straight away and you work as you learn and get paid or you can become a PSO for a while and then apply for PQiP. I would recommend doing it this way as there is A LOT to learn, it’s good to get a handle on the job before committing to the Uni side of things. We’ve already had a PQiP quit as it was too much. In the real world, there is not much difference between a PO and a PSO except the wages and PSOs handle low and medium risk cases and POs handle higher medium risk, high risk and very high risk cases. So for example, as a PSO you won’t be handling murderers, sex offenders and child protection cases but you will come into contact with them from time to time.

A good PSO/ PO is firm but fair. Your responsibility to to rehabilitate offenders AND protect the public which is a balancing act. They have good people skills and can manage their time well. They are also organised and good at record keeping/ paperwork as there is a lot. They are calm under pressure. Being a team player also makes for a much better experience for everyone (our team are amazing with each other). The job is unlike any other really unless you’ve worked for the Police or Prison Service but you will have a lot of transferable skills. You don’t need to know a lot about law, you will be taught everything you need to know and you’ll keep learning as you go but you do have to prepare yourself for your head being a bit mashes from all the knowledge (and acronyms!!) at first.

@Idratherbepaddleboarding thank you so much for taking the time to reply - that is very useful advice, and it's great to hear that you love the job. The Probation Service must be gearing up for a recruitment drive, because I started seeing ads for PO/PSO and Casework Admin roles a couple of days ago on my social media feeds, so I have registered my interest. I think I could be a good candidate - I have a background in admin and IT (so could handle the paperwork side of things and am well organised), a relatively recent social science degree, and some experience of dealing with highly challenging behaviours and crisis situations which could be useful to demonstrate calmness under pressure/resilience. The more I look into it, the more I want to go for it. Thanks again 💐

Got to say, the juicy cases and the 'fun' come if you work as a PO. I went straight in, new to criminal justice. Great job, so underpaid

Great to hear you're interested! Paddleboard has given a really good overview so I won't repeat but just here to say that the next PQiP application opens in March...😊

Possibly a whole different thread but I would also want to see the legalisation of drugs. Not a popular opinion perhaps but one that makes a lot of sense in my view!

Thank you op for all your interesting answers and insights.
Re the legalisation of drugs, how would that work? Would people be able to buy drugs from shops, like one can buy alcohol from supermarkets and off licences?
Would all drugs - heroin, cocaine, cannabis etc - be available to buy over the counter?

If you're interested in the debate, I've just finished a great book called 'Chasing the scream' by Johann Hari. It explores what we know about addiction and how legislation and addiction services operate in different parts of the world. Most interestingly I found is the explanation of how and why drugs became illegal in the first place, whilst alcohol and tobacco remain legal. Personally, I think a lot of recreational drugs are no more, perhaps even less, dangerous than alcohol. Society has just been conditioned over decades to think alcohol is the norm. I'm not saying any substance should be the norm but it's an interesting consideration as to why alcohol is so freely available when we consider the impact on behaviour.
There are models in the book described as to how drugs could and have been prescribed to people. From a health model, it needs treating. From a criminal justice model, it needs punishing and it just doesn't achieve anything but line the pockets of drug dealers and fuel the associate violence.

Thank you, that sounds interesting. Yes, alcohol can have a terrible impact on behaviour - and alcoholism affects everyone who is close to the alcoholic and an alcoholic parent pretty much ruins childhood.

1. Near fatal accident on motorcycle. Broken femur, broken clavicle, hearing loss and Head injury, TBI. brain swelling induced coma, injury the swelling was to the point that they were going to transfer to KU, for head injury
2. Plea SIS Probation officer number 1 great to work with understood my brain injury and was encouraging and helpful with recovery. communicated with my parents due to my TBI I would forget things so they would keep my schedule for me and drive me to probation meetings, and I lived with them also. this officer went on maternity. I was with her for over a year she even moved me out to 2 month meeting stating I was in the wrong place im minimal risk.
3. I went to Visited probation office to see regular officer for check in. Was informed by the front desk that she was on maternity leave, and they front desk gave me the number to a different officer that was new to the job, he texted her right then in the car. so she knew we were there.
4. I received a call from the probation office. This was officer such I answered the phone, and they asked for wwwww, I was beginning to say he is asleep but before that they thought I was wwwwww and accused me of not showing up for my probation visit the day before. Without knowing the facts instantly accusing. Since I was the one that drove him there, I knew that was false and they did not keep good communication records. I explained that I was there and that they gave number, and he texted her. The person on the other end of the phone asked around the room and then said to be there the 3rd Ok
5. on the visit officer newby came to the room and called on wwww. I was getting up to go with him but was told I could not go back there. So I sat back down. Roughly 30 minutes later wwwww came out and was nervous and almost in tears. I asked what was wrong and he told me they were calling him stupid and that he was lying about his injuries and his rediscover appointment that day and just were talking loud at him and threatening to send him back to prison, he said Ive never been in prison, why are you treating me like this?

he asked for me and according to him would not let me in to explain that I can assist with any information they need to know, I have the records. At that time I was thinking we have never been treated so badly or unprofessional as we were treated that day. I went home and he called his therapist,, and explained what had happened and she sent a letter explaining that he is under her care and he was not lying about anything. I sent her letter to newby officer with an email explaining what I thought of the meeting and how unprofessional it was, and I see why they did not want a witness in the room. I was looking for our state congressman My wife used to work with to see who I could file a complaint with. I was looking online to file a civil complaint about the ethics they did not use since he had a TBI disability. now since I expressed my opinion of how unethical they were they are making him pay by violating him on every little thing, they reached out to another court and told them lies about his restitution not being paid, and they told us they had nothing to do with the other county, is it normal to share that information about a client to another county, or is this an attempt to sabotage him? is this normal for officers to call their clients stupid due to their brain injury and short memory? or can I file a complaint with someone?

Thanks for the thread it's been really interesting! I'm curious about how safe you feel at work and how much of the time are you lone working as opposed to joint working? Tyia

I'm sorry that's been your experience, sounds very difficult. I think from your post that you may be in the US? If so, I can't comment afraid as I am in England. From a basic view of how interaction with 'clients' work, this sounds wrong from any perspective, regardless of what country you are in. I would suggest complaining to that officer's senior in the first instance?

Probably 99% of the time I feel safe. Before I started I thought it would be much more but very quickly realise that they are all just people and very rarely do people present as 'scary/intimidating'. We hold individual caseloads so most of our work is one-to-one with offenders, but we also work in partnership with a lot of agencies (social services, drug services, police etc) so will often have joint visits/meetings etc. home visits we should only go as a two

Why does my dear young autistic brain-damaged nephew get discharged from prisin on licence and put in a probation hostel with thugs and drug pushers who beat him up? Do you consider that suitable environment for him?

Why does my dear young autistic brain-damaged nephew get discharged from prisin on licence and put in a probation hostel with thugs and drug pushers who beat him up? Do you consider that suitable environment for him?

I obviously can't comment on an individual case as don't have any details. What I can say though is that probation hostels are reserved purely for those assessed as the highest risk of harm to the public. Spaces in this hostels are a scarce resource and he wouldn't be there unless he is high risk for violence or sexual offending. The fact he has autism and brain damage obviously means some vulnerabilities for him but this has to be balanced against the risk of harm he poses to others. Your nephew is a resident of one of these hostels, perhaps view the other residents as real people too, with their own difficulties and vulnerabilities, rather than just 'thugs and drug pushers'....

Do you think people who commit CSA can ever be trusted around children? I know someone who committed CSA crimes and is doing some sort of long term programme. People around them believe they can be trusted around children but I don't.

In short, no. The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. Whilst treatment programmes are designed to give someone the tools to make better choices/desist from offending, you can't ignore the fact they have done it before. You can't change someone's sexual interest and it's a risk not worth taking in my opinion, for the sake of any child they have unsupervised contact with.

Interesting that OP and others on the thread did not answer the question on race, even though it was asked twice. I worry for ethnically diverse people in the prison system as they are disproportionately overrepresented and face a system that usually works against them. I am not condoning their crimes but the system really lacks an equitable approach.

They are thugs and drug pushers in the hostels - that is not in doubt. The fact that they might have become so because of their own vulnerabilities is neither here nor there - it does not alter who they have become and the threat they pose to my relative.

What is the point of sending him out to a situation where he will instantly get beaten up? How might this rehabilitate him into the community?

A lifetime of our services not addressing his problems has got him to this situation. And it not for want of trying to access these services. His whole family is being put at risk, as they are seen as cash cows by those making threats.

What does the probation service do in this situation? So far, his support from probation has consisted of the occasional appointments during the 2 brief periods out of prison. He can't even work out how to get to the probation office because of his cognitive disabilities!

Where are the probation officers in the prison helping people to plan their release in a constructive and personal way, and provide continuity? They are not there quite simply because they do not exist in sufficient numbers to do a proper job. Once again successive governments think you can protect individuals and society on the cheap - you can't. Intervention should start from day one of life with help for all young families and targeted support where a child has vulnerabilities. I live in hopes .........