What Matters in Probation

The What Works initiative has been one of the most important recent developments in probation and is a key aspect of current probation practice -- all the more so since the creation of the National Probation Service (UK) in 2001. The initiative involved the development and implementation on a national basis of a demonstrably 'effective' set of core programmes of supervision of offenders, most of them dependent on a cognitive behavioural approach. Much has been invested in these new accredited programmes – both in terms of the numbers of offenders planned to complete them, and their anticipated impact on offending. Yet there has been little scholarly or professional discussion of the nature and risks of this dominant new paradigm, or any close examination of the evidence on which the What Works initiative is based. This book addresses this need, providing a critical overview of What Works and a wider set of perspectives on a project which is vital for the future of the National Probation Service. Its concern is not just with What Works but what matters, and has the following objectives: to assess critically the claims of the What Works initiative to examine the foundations on which What Works is based to demonstrate the limitations of the What Works initiative as currently conceived to begin the process of constructing an alternative vision for the National Probation Service.