Research note: Developing ethnographic research on probation

Journal article


Teague, Michael 2007. Research note: Developing ethnographic research on probation. British Journal of Community Justice.
AuthorsTeague, Michael
Abstract

Huge cultural changes are underway in probation. At the heart of those changes lie the frontline practitioners who have the daily task of working with offenders. Yet, amidst the plethora of research on probation practice, much of it officially sponsored, the life experiences and motivations of practitioners seem on occasion to be virtually invisible. Some research has been carried out on practitioners’ experience of specific areas (for example, OASys), but very little broad ethnographic research has been undertaken on UK probation practitioners. While much of our academic and criminological knowledge about probation is filtered through officially funded research on particular types of intervention, little is known of probation’s occupational culture. It is argued that ethnographic research with practitioners would substantially enhance our understanding of that occupational culture and help develop our understanding of probation.

Huge cultural changes are underway in probation. At the heart of those changes lie the
frontline practitioners who have the daily task of working with offenders. Yet, amidst the
plethora of research on probation practice, much of it officially sponsored, the life
experiences and motivations of practitioners seem on occasion to be virtually invisible.
Some research has been carried out on practitioners’ experience of specific areas (for
example, OASys), but very little broad ethnographic research has been undertaken on UK probation practitioners. While much of our academic and criminological knowledge about
probation is filtered through officially funded research on particular types of intervention,
little is known of probation’s occupational culture. It is argued that ethnographic research
with practitioners would substantially enhance our understanding of that occupational
culture and help develop our understanding of probation.

Keywordsprobation; occupational cultures; ethnography
Year2007
JournalBritish Journal of Community Justice
PublisherDe Montfort University and Sheffield Hallam University
Web address (URL)http://hdl.handle.net/10545/608621
hdl:10545/608621
Publication dates2007
Publication process dates
Deposited08 May 2016, 16:06
ContributorsTeesside University
File
File Access Level
Open
Permalink -

https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/95548/research-note-developing-ethnographic-research-on-probation

Download files

  • 43
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 0
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Written evidence from Dr Michael Teague, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Derby.
Teague, Michael 2018. Written evidence from Dr Michael Teague, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Derby. Houses of Parliament.
Mass incarceration: the juggernaut of American penal expansionism
Teague, Michael 2016. Mass incarceration: the juggernaut of American penal expansionism. Prison Service Journal.
In response to the Prisons and Courts Reform Bill
Teague, Michael 2016. In response to the Prisons and Courts Reform Bill. Custodial Review.
The US incarceration machine
Teague, Michael 2012. The US incarceration machine. The Justice Gap.
Probation in America: armed, private and unaffordable?
Teague, Michael 2011. Probation in America: armed, private and unaffordable? Probation Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264550511421518
Barack Obama: changing American criminal justice?
Teague, Michael 2009. Barack Obama: changing American criminal justice? Criminal Justice Matters. https://doi.org/10.1080/09627250903385131
Probation in England: a culture in a state of flux
Teague, Michael 2015. Probation in England: a culture in a state of flux. American Society of Criminology.
Key influences: Hilary Walker and Bill Beaumont
Teague, Michael 2008. Key influences: Hilary Walker and Bill Beaumont. in: Senior, Paul (ed.) Shaw and Sons.
Memories of working in Brixton
Teague, Michael 2008. Memories of working in Brixton. in: Senior, Paul (ed.) Shaw and Sons.
America: The great prison nation
Teague, Michael 2008. America: The great prison nation. Prison Service Journal.
Privatising criminal justice: a step too far?
Teague, Michael 2012. Privatising criminal justice: a step too far? The Criminal Justice Alliance.
The dismantling of probation: Who will profit?
Teague, Michael 2013. The dismantling of probation: Who will profit? New Left Project.
Recidivism
Teague, Michael 2014. Recidivism. in: Taylor, Paul, Corteen, Karen and Morley, Sharon (ed.) Policy Press.
Probation occupational cultures for the future
Burke, Lol, Teague, Michael, Ward, David and Worrall, Anne 2016. Probation occupational cultures for the future. British Journal of Community Justice.
Profiting from the Poor: Offender-funded probation in the USA
Teague, Michael 2016. Profiting from the Poor: Offender-funded probation in the USA. British Journal of Community Justice.
Neoliberalism, prisons and probation in the USA and England and Wales
Teague, Michael 2012. Neoliberalism, prisons and probation in the USA and England and Wales. in: Whitehead, Philip and Crawshaw, Paul (ed.) Anthem Press.
Probation, people and profits: the impact of neoliberalism
Teague, Michael 2016. Probation, people and profits: the impact of neoliberalism. British Journal of Community Justice.
Rehabilitation, punishment and profit: The dismantling of public-sector probation
Teague, Michael 2013. Rehabilitation, punishment and profit: The dismantling of public-sector probation. British Society of Criminology Newsletter.