15 - Probation History Flashcards
History of probation is global…
The history of probation is a global one, rooted in Protestant Christian concerns about the negative impact of excess alcohol use
1785
‘John Augustus, the “Father of Probation,” is recognized as the first true probation officer. Augustus was born in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1785
1829
By 1829, John Augustus was a permanent resident of Boston and the owner of a successful boot-making business. It was undoubtedly his membership in the Washington Total Abstinence Society that led him to the Boston courts. Washingtonians abstained from alcohol themselves and were convinced that abusers of alcohol could be rehabilitated through understanding, kindness, and sustained moral suasion, rather than through conviction and jail sentences.
1841
In 1841, John Augustus attended police court to bail out a “common drunkard,” the first probationer. The offender was ordered to appear in court three weeks later for sentencing. He returned to court a sober man, accompanied by Augustus. To the astonishment of all in attendance, his appearance and demeanour had dramatically changed’
In England…
In England, the Probation can be traced to Frederick Rainer, a printer from Hertfordshire, who wrote to the Church of England Temperance Society, concerns about lack of support for those attending Court. Rainer donated 5 Shillings (25p), as a contribution towards a practical solution to drunkards being returned to Court. CETS appointed 2 missionaries to Southwark Magistrates’ Court, which forms the foundation of London Police Courts Mission (Vanstone, 2004)
1876
Church of England Temperance Society appoint 2 missionaries
1880
CETS has 8 missionaries - residential work
1886
Probation of First Time Offenders Act
1907
Probation Of Offenders Act
1960’s/70’s
Rapid expansion - Social work ethos
1980’s
Martinson & ‘Nothing Works’
1991
Criminal Justice Act - ‘Centre Stage’
1995
PO Qualifying Training abolished
Mid 1990’s
In the mid-1990s the emphasis on research data to support probation practice in the UK was most pronounced in the ‘What Work’s’ effective practice initiative, and the key document was Chapman and Hough’s (1998) EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE. Chapman and Hough’s main argument was that the probation service has a responsibility to protect the public and gain their support and confidence.
Early 1990’s
The Prison estate was opened up to private provision in the early 1990s, but a more consolidated and organised Probation union alongside the limitations of New labour’s neoliberalism meant community rehabilitation was exempted from such moves.
No such barriers exist for the Conservative Party, who initially came into power declaring the coming of the ‘Big Society’, which never really did very much even less so for the Probation service, with its historical roots in the Voluntary & Community Sector.
