Summary information

Study title

Probation Workers, their Occupational Cultures and Offender Management, 1960-2011

Creator

Worrall, A., Keele University, Department of Criminology
Mawby, R. C., Birmingham City University, Faculty of Law, Humanities, Development and Society

Study number / PID

7086 (UKDA)

10.5255/UKDA-SN-7086-1 (DOI)

Data access

Restricted

Series

Not available

Abstract

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.This is a qualitative data collection. This research comprised a study of the occupational cultures of probation workers which was conducted between April 2010 and November 2011. A great deal has been written about the historical and policy changes that have shaped the role of the probation worker but there has been little research on the changes to occupational cultures and the ways in which probation workers themselves view the impact of changes to their role. Similarly there is little research on the relationships between probation workers and other criminal justice agencies engaged in offender management. The research filled these gaps by identifying and exploring the characteristics of contemporary probation cultures and investigating how probation workers construct their occupational identities. The research makes a contribution not only to the study of probation work but also to the body of knowledge on the occupational cultures of criminal justice practitioners. Interviews were conducted with 60 current, former or retired probation workers. the population included a range of people including: those who joined the probation services in the 1960s and in each decade since; people who trained under different regimes; people in all grades from Probation Service Officer to Chief Officer; people with experience of working in different functions (e.g. in hostels, in prisons, community service and case work); and people with experience of working in urban and rural areas. For data storage and analysis purposes, the participants were divided into four categories, namely: 1) 10 Trainee Probation Officers (TPOs); 2) 8 former or retired probation workers (FPWs); 3) 26 current probation workers (PWs); 4) 16 chief probation officer grades (COs). Further information about the project and links to publications are available on the ESRC Probation officers, their occupational cultures and offender...
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Methodology

Data collection period

01/06/2010 - 01/03/2011

Country

England and Wales

Time dimension

Cross-sectional (one-time) study

Analysis unit

Individuals
National

Universe

Current, former and retired probation workers, in England and Wales, interviewed between June 2010 and March 2011.

Sampling procedure

Volunteer sample

Kind of data

Text
Semi-structured interview transcripts

Data collection mode

Face-to-face interview

Funding information

Grant number

RES-000-22-3979

Access

Publisher

UK Data Service

Publication year

2012

Terms of data access

The Data Collection is available to UK Data Service registered users subject to the End User Licence Agreement.

Commercial use of the data requires approval from the data owner or their nominee. The UK Data Service will contact you.

Related publications

Not available