This thesis examines the probation service in England and Wales as a site of regulation or governance. Firstly, and primarily, the thesis examines the changing approach of the probation service toward the regulation or governance of the offenders which it supervises. Specifically, it explores the contention that the dominant approach to offender governance in the probation service has shifted from one concerned primarily with rehabilitation or 'normalisation', to one which is primarily concerned with the management of risk. The secondary theme concerns the regulation or governance of the probation service itself. That is, it considers the extent to which the probation service has come to be subject to - as well as an instrument of - regulatory practices, focusing in particular on the implications of this development for the professional roles and status of those working within the service. These aspects of governance are subject to empirical investigation by means of a case study, which explores the implementation of the technology of risk/needs assessment by a number of area probation services. The main conclusion is that two relatively distinct 'modes of governance' - and, in parallel, two relatively distinct professional roles - are emerging. This 'bifurcation' of provision is based on a distinction between those offenders assessed as posing a serious risk of harm to the public, and those who are not. It is argued that, whilst these modes of governance need to be understood in the context of an emerging risk-based approach, they constitute different but complementary adaptations to the purported shift from 'old' to 'new' - or 'modern' to 'post-modern' - penal rationalities. The professional future of the probation service is discussed in the light of the developments described.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:638696 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Robinson, Gwen J. |
| Publisher | Swansea University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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