Doing Probation Work

'Prison officer and police culture have been relatively well researched, but Worrall and Mawby‘s book begins to make good our limited understanding of the practice cultures of probation. Based on interviews with probation staff and applying insights from the sociology of organisations, the book discusses probation’s professional culture, influences upon it and the way in which it shapes practice. It particularly illuminates the implications for inter-agency work. This is not only a major study of probation, but stands as an important case study of the evolution and development of an occupational culture.'

Rob Canton, Head of Research in Community and Criminal Justice atDe Montfort University, UK.

'This book offers a highly original, empirical study of a subject that has been neglected for far too long. Mawby and Worrall are to be congratulated for beginning to open up the world of probation officers’ occupational culture, showing their working lives and the meanings they attach to what they do.'

George Mair, Professor of Criminal Justice and Head of Research in the Law School, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.

'This is a hugely welcome addition to the published works on the Probation Service, offering some critical insights into the everyday role, functions and challenges of probation, but also setting out prospects for the future in a changing context of criminal justice delivery. This book fills a gap in the literature; it is cutting-edge work which deserves wide readership.'

Loraine Gelsthorpe, Professor in Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Cambridge, UK.

'First of all, it is important to clarify that this book focuses on "probation workers and their occupational cultures" (page 1). It engages with issues covered in the range of recent publications relating to probation but offers a distinctive approach: it draws on the authors’ research into this criminological area, conducted via qualitative interviews, and then applies an in-depth, impressive level of analysis, drawing on sociological and organisational theories. This may sound somewhat daunting but it is testament to the quality of the writing and the integration of this analytical framework that this book is hard to put down!'

Dr Jill Annison, Plymouth University, UK.

'This book is an enjoyable read, and ought to be read by anyone with even a passing interest in either probation work or occupational cultures (in criminal justice and beyond). Anyone with any experience of working in the probation service in the last 50 years will no doubt recognise themselves and their colleagues within its pages, and it is very much to the authors’ credit that they manage so skilfully to bring the ‘invisible trade’ (Pithouse 1998) of probation work to life.'

Gwen Robinson, Howard Journal.

'...a wonderfully inspiring and ultimately, optimistic book about the National Probation Service of England and Wales. But, you may ask, why should anyone outside England and Wales read it? Our National Probation Service is a unique institution with a long and striking tradition embedded in the political history of penality in the UK. Quite so. Yet...Doing Probation Work is as much about occupational sociology as it is about crime and to that extent the book makes a serious contribution to the study of professions, managerialism and the maintenance of professional identity in face of technological and ideological change and political denigration. Moreover, and most importantly, it also makes a significant contribution to the study of qualitative sociological methods.If I were still teaching in Universities, I would make this required reading for anyone undertaking a case study involving empirical investigation.'

Pat Carlen, University of Kent at Canterbury, British Journal of Criminology.

'It is an absorbing read […]When I saw the names of the authors of this book I expected it to be insightful, thought provoking and shrewdly analytical. I was not disappointed […] this excellent book provides the fullest account of contemporary probation practice currently available.'

Maurice Vanstone, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books, Rutgers University, 2013.

Prison officer and police culture have been relatively well researched, but Worrall and Mawby‘s book begins to make good our limited understanding of the practice cultures of probation. Based on interviews with probation staff and applying insights from the sociology of organisations, the book discusses probation’s professional culture, influences upon it and the way in which it shapes practice. It particularly illuminates the implications for inter-agency work. This is not only a major study of probation, but stands as an important case study of the evolution and development of an occupational culture.

Rob Canton, Head of Research in Community and Criminal Justice atDe Montfort University, UK.

This book offers a highly original, empirical study of a subject that has been neglected for far too long. Mawby and Worrall are to be congratulated for beginning to open up the world of probation officers’ occupational culture, showing their working lives and the meanings they attach to what they do.

George Mair, Professor of Criminal Justice and Head of Research in the Law School, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.

This is a hugely welcome addition to the published works on the Probation Service, offering some critical insights into the everyday role, functions and challenges of probation, but also setting out prospects for the future in a changing context of criminal justice delivery. This book fills a gap in the literature; it is cutting-edge work which deserves wide readership.

Loraine Gelsthorpe, Professor in Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Cambridge, UK.

This study is a timely consideration of the role of the probation work kas the world of probation undergoes its most radical reformation since its inception just over 100 years ago... it offers insightful reflections into probation's occupational culture over the years and would provide thought-provoking observations for academics, probation workers and wider criminal justice professionals.

Kelly Richards, Prison Service Journal