The probation service officer role is varied, and your area of focus might differ depending on the needs of the local probation team that you join. You will work directly with people serving a custodial or a community sentence or on licence following release from custody.
As a Probation Service Officer, you may be delivering and facilitating offender behaviour programmes that challenge and change attitudes and thinking. You could be providing interventions that assist people to tackle the causes of their offending. For example, coping skills or the substance misuse intervention.
You might also be working directly with people who are serving a Community Service Order, a Supervised Activity Order or an Enhanced Combination Order which is an alternative to a short prison sentence. In these circumstances you will be supporting people to change and oversee their progress in a community setting. You may be accompanying a service user to the benefits office or housing support, it can be a very practical role focusing on building the service users confidence and self-esteem. You could be working with community and voluntary organisations seeking to find placements for service users so that they can give back to local communities.
You may also be responsible for gathering information to help inform court reports and assessment and attending court and providing information to Judges.
Ultimately, you’ll be part of a team of people who tackle the causes of crime and rehabilitate people into the community safely.