What knowledge and skills are needed by Practitioners in the Probation Service to work with offenders who present a high risk of harm? Illustrate your answer with reference to case Material as well as theory and research.

Running head : Skills Needed by Practitioner in the Probation Service

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Skills Needed by Practitioners in the Probation Service to Work with Offenders who present a high risk of harm

Introduction

Probation may be defined as a service unit that deals with the carrying out of punishments that may be efficient and cost-effective , cheap and non-custodial for a criminal offender . The crimes committed by these offenders however may not fit for the required imposition of custodial options that are more expensive and of

higher level . Probation can also be viewed as a sentencing disposition in which it mostly deals with offenders who are specifically selected and the costs that apply to suspension when the offender is under close individual monitoring while being given individual guidance (Vanstone , 2004

. 32-35 . Due to the limited rights issued to offenders available in the probation service it is able to acquire a high status . It is also a system which may be public or private that plays the role of administering certain services that should be delivered hence considering as a subsystem of the wider criminal system . Probation also incorporates quite a number of operational activities that includes supervisory services as well as investigatory services . Therefore , probation deals with socio-pedagogic position which consists of assistance and supervision services which also applies a `no free ' system to criminal offenders who have been identified according to their personality as regards crime , form of crime as well as their receptiveness

This is in relation to a specific system which should be able to provide the criminal offender a second chance of changing the way they perceive life in the society and also enable them to occupy a position of posing any risk of violating the existing accepted social norms of the society (Mair , 2004

. 57-64 . As a custodian of alternative measure , probation should spell out clearly defined regulation rules and acts , the right criteria that will be applied in the identification of individuals to be placed under probation based on the nature of the crime committed , their age and other exclusionary criteria that include responsibilities and concomitant rights of the probationer

The probation officers or practitioners on the other hand have mainly been associated with the responsibility of reforming , remolding restructuring and remaking the offenders ' lives so that they can become honest , law-abiding and good citizens . This process of transforming offenders takes place under various programs , rules and regulations that are available at various probation service centers available in different countries . All these aimed at benefiting both the criminal offenders and the society at large and it is also aimed at reducing the number of crimes that are often committed in these communities Therefore , these probation practitioners play the vital role of bringing peace and harmony in the community as well as to the lives of the criminal offenders hence leading to a stable and peaceful working and living environment among the people of a country (Winstone Pokes , 2005 br

. 19-24

The...