Methods of Effective Practice
Offenders must be held responsible for their behaviour and criminality must be met by an appropriate and effective sanction. Our business is to provide excellent assessment reports to courts and supervise offenders in such a way as to ensure the maximum reduction in risk of re-offending and of causing harm. We use a range of methods to assess the level of risk of re-offending posed by an offender. Further details can be found in our guidelines on Assessing the Risk of Re-offending available from our publications section.
Where those on probation supervision of any type do not keep to the conditions of their supervision, this is addressed directly with them. If they persist in not co-operating, they may be returned to court or to custody. Further details on these procedures are available from our Probation Work and Research page.
Our work is based on principles of practice that have been proven by research to reduce offending. These include:
- Evidence-based practice;
- Methods supported by research;
- Encouraging personal and social responsibility
- Cognitive behavioural interventions;
- Engage with offenders in positive contracts;
- Involve families, communities and other systems;
- Commitment to learning and development;
- Evaluation for improved practice; and
- The contribution to offender change made directly by professional staff themselves.
As well as direct work with offenders to change anti-social attitudes and offending behaviour, the Probation Service helps offenders to address other issues that are often linked to offending:
- Substance abuse issues;
- Mental health difficulties;
- Relationship problems;
- Accommodation needs;
- Education, training and employment deficits; and
- Basic social skills.
All of these can have a bearing on an individual’s ability to turn their life around for the better and away from crime. Our Links page provides access to a range of websites that publish material demonstrating the effectiveness of probation work.
