Effective Probation Practice [Paperback]

Drawing on the authors' experience of research and practice in probation, the book provides a positive and realistic view of the contribution the probation service can make to the criminal justice system. It covers court work, face-to-face work with offenders, wider work in the community, and probation organisation and management. It is informed both by research on 'what works' and by a commitment to anti-discriminatory practice.

Acknowledgements.- Introduction.- Probation in Penal-Policy:Welfare, Justice or Crime Reduction?.- An Offender-Centred Strategy.- Influencing Sentences:Just Deserts and System.- Strategies Consistency and Quality in Pre-Sentence Reports.- 'Some Things Do Work': The New Evidence.- Developing and Evaluating a Programme to Reduce Offending Community.- Responses to Crime: What Role for Probation?.- Conclusion: Management and the Pursuit of Effectiveness.

Author Peter Raynor: Peter Raynor is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Swansea University in Wales, UK. A former probation officer and social work educator, he has been carrying out and publishing research on effective practice in probation services since the 1970s. His previous books include Social Work, Justice and Control (1985); Probation as an Alternative to Custody (1988); Effective Probation Practice (with Smith and Vanstone, Macmillan, 1994); Understanding Community Penalties (with Vanstone, 2002); Race and Probation (with Lewis, Smith and Wardak, 2005); Developments in Social Work with Offenders (with Gill McIvor, Jessica Kingsley 2007); Rehabilitation,