Inside Privatisation: An Exploration of the Experiences of UK Probations Officers

• In Event: International CJ Policy and Practices I

Abstract

In February 2015 the UK implemented a partial privatisation of its probation services. The National Probation Service (NPS) remains in a reduced capacity and 21 new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) were created. The UK press recently reported that the first CRC’s to be audited by the Ministry of Justice failed their audits and have been given notice to improve or be renationalized. To date, the reports released by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMI Probation) have focused on service implementation and have not explored the experiences of those working in the probation field to the privatisation changes. This study looks at the privatisation of probation services from the viewpoint of the employees on the frontline: the probation officers. Interviews with probation officers in both the NPS and CRCs examine topics such as the consultation process prior to privatisation, the implementation of privatisation, and the positive and negative impact of privatisation on employees, service users and the services provided.

Author

• Angela Wilson, Simon Fraser University