This occupation is found in the National Probation Service, Community Rehabilitation Companies or voluntary sector organisations in partnership with statutory organisations. Probation Officers can be based in a variety of locations, including prisons, courts, hostels or community-based offices.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to protect the public by reducing re-offending, safeguarding victims and rehabilitating service users through effective engagement, monitoring and enforcement to ensure that the sentence of the court is delivered to a high standard. This includes working with the service user and other agencies to develop realistic plans to address the needs and develop a route out of offending. Consistent risk assessment, professional curiosity and liaison with other agencies are key factors in effective management of service users.
In their daily work, Probation Officers interact with complex and challenging individuals who pose a higher level of risk to the public and victims (for example individuals who have committed offences of a sexual, violent or extremist nature) To support this work, a Probation Officer is required to develop and maintain strong relationships with a range of partners including courts, police, prisons, local authority, youth justice teams, public/mental health providers and the voluntary sectors. This enables a Probation Officer to effectively manage the risk posed by complex and challenging individuals and formulate robust assessments and identification of intensive structure interventions. A Probation Officer is required to work from a range of locations including community office bases, prisons, courts or can be co-located within multi-agency teams. A Probation Officer is also required to undertake home visits.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for providing assessments of service users to aid sentencing and delivery of the sentence, with the aim of achieving long term change and a reduction in re-offending. A Probation Officer will develop ways of working that are grounded in academic research and capable of informing comprehensive plans of intervention, with involvement of specialists and provision from other professionals according to assessed risks, needs and vulnerabilities. A Probation Officer will have a heightened awareness of responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children and adults and child protection and will support victims of sexual offences, domestic abuse, extremism and hate crime. Probation Officers work as part of a team to meet operational targets, achieve high standards of quality. A Probation Officer is involved in the planning, development and evaluation of services and special projects. A Probation Officer shares their knowledge and experience, possibly overseeing the work of others with others. Summary of Standard https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/probation-officer/ Full Standard https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/media/3424/st0648_probation-officer_l6__assessment-plan-for-publication.pdf
