Advise, Assist and Befriend: Can Probation Supervision Support Desistance?

Probation: A Hinder or a Helper to Rehabilitation and Desistance From Crime?

“…The work of the probation officer may be enforced later, when individuals start a family, marry and increase maturity (Rex, 1999, Hunter et al, 2017. Probation, for some, can have long-term impacts, which is also corroborated by Healy (2012). That explains how some probationers may not recognise the positive effects that come from probation -some life events may just not have happened yet to add up to the probation experiences they've been through and finally leads to a desistance and rehabilitative process A controversial point identified in the studies analysed is how Healey concludes her findings, stating that probation supervision did not appear to lead to substantial long-term improvements in participants' social circumstances, for a significant proportion of participants continued to face barriers to reintegration and to be dependent on the probation officer's assistance (2012).…”

“…However, a bigger representation of participant's numbers reflects a positive aspect: according to Rex's research 88% of the probationers understood that probation officers were seeking to reduce the likelihood of their reoffending. Equally, Healy (2012) findings demonstrated that probationers attested that most of the probation officers were focused on providing assistance, even though some of them felt they were simply monitoring their activities. Half of the probationers she interviewed manifested feelings of personal loyalty towards their supervisor and remarked that their officers gave them a positive reason to stay out of trouble.…”

“…It's emphasized the importance of personal responsibility in attempting to desist when they were already motivated to change, and, on that case, probation presented a low impact, being recognized as simply one more tool to assist desistance. Rehabilitation was considered a collaborative endeavour in which participants played an active role and emphasized the importance of their own cooperation when taking advantage of the opportunities offered, mentioning that without it, probation officer's work would be in vain (Healy, 2012). This observation, nonetheless, does not address probation as a hinder in the desistance process.…”

Réimaginer la réinsertion sociale : le désistement assisté en Irlande

“…Ils sont ainsi poussés à réorienter leurs valeurs morales et à songer à l'avenir. Mes recherches ont également montré que les individus sous probation peuvent éprouver un sentiment d'agentivité dans le processus de supervision (Healy, 2012a). La majorité d'entre eux avaient vécu cette supervision comme une expérience positive et témoignaient leur gratitude envers le soutien pratique apporté en ce qui a trait à l'emploi, l'éducation et les dépendances (Healy, 2012a).…”

“…Elle se base, entre autres, sur mes propres recherches. La première est une étude prospective à devis mixte qui évaluait le désistement de 73 hommes en probation, incluant des entrevues de suivi avec 14 d'entre eux (Healy, 2012a(Healy, , 2013(Healy, , 2014(Healy, , 2016. Une autre utilisait Photovoice pour se pencher sur les expériences de 8 hommes participant à un programme de réhabilitation mis en place par les services de probation (Fitzgibbon et Healy, 2019).…”