Probation and Punishment

Abstract

Social work and punishment are often uncomfortable bed-fellows. In this article, the author argues that the court is fundamentally a place of justice; its first function is to assess the need for punishment then to exercise mercy. The probation officer has a crucial role to play in this process.THERE is a growing debate about the relationship between the concepts of welfare and justice, as interpreted and used within the context of the court. Ann Fisher* wonders whether the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 has…