There are few jobs where the impact of getting something wrong is greater than working as a probation officer — after all, their advice to court could have the power to send a person to prison or keep them free to offend again.
A high-pressured role indeed then, however probation officer Kelly Grice, who highlighted this enormous pressure and responsibility of the role, also pointed out how rare this situation is.
She told Guardian reporter Leo Benedictus, that it is much more likely you'll get to experience first-hand what happens when you do your job right — you're more likely see the impact and meaningful contribution you have made to an offender's life.
To hold such a weighty responsibility, you first must train on-the-job in the role of probation services officer (PSO), while studying for a degree in community justice alongside a vocational qualification.
If you are up for the challenge, we've assembled a panel of experts to share their insight about working and training as a probation officer — join them on 15 September at 1pm.
Our panel:
Paula Cairney is head of probation training for National Offender Management Service Learning & Development.
Gemma Frostwick started to work for the probation service in 2004 following her English Studies degree. Gemma initially worked to assist offenders who had literacy and numeracy needs, and those who needed additional support in obtaining employment. She is now fully trained as a probation officer in Hartlepool.
Mark Ostling worked as a probation officer for 10 years in London and the south-east. Mark was staff development officer in the HR team in Surrey Probation and he has worked as a freelance trainer for the probation and prison services, as well as other public sector bodies. He is currently a freelance tutor, and his work includes teaching on Kaplan Open Learning's criminal justice programme.
Paula Hamilton is a senior lecturer in Criminology and Community Justice at Sheffield Hallam University. Paula worked as a probation officer in Manchester before starting her teaching career. Her teaching and research interests lie primarily in the areas of the criminal justice process, penology, and criminal justice policy.
We've also be joined by the following probation officers at the indicated times during the discussion:
Susan Kelly trained in 2003 and is currently managing and assessing higher risk offenders alongside staff development responsibilities. (1pm—2pm)
Kelly Jones qualified as a probation officer in 2005. Kelly currently holds a caseload mainly consisting of high risk of harm individuals, which involves multi-agency work alongside prisons, police, social services, mental health and housing. (2pm—3pm)
Eme Musgrove worked for five years in customer service before training as a probation officer. (2pm—3pm)
Rob Heslop works with sex offenders, offenders with life sentences, those serving public protection sentences and substance abuse offenders. Before his first criminal justice role in 2002, Rob worked with adults with learning disabilities and previously studied a degree in social policy. (2pm—3pm)
Charlotte Lomas has been qualified for nearly 18 months and is based in a substance misuse team in Hammersmith and Fulham. (3pm—4pm)
Clare Field began as a trainee probation officer in Leeds in 2005 and has been working as a qualified probation officer for nearly three years. Clare is particularly interested in high risk resettlement cases. (3pm—4pm)
