Policies - Gender Bias - Probation Service

The Probation Service claims to be modern and responsive but even this page shows they operate to gender bias. Whilst Government policies create crime so the taxpayer has to pay the costs of not dealing with the issues effectively or based on impartial research. Sounds crazy but the poor old Council tax and taxpayer is funding the crime and then the associated costs of not dealing with effectively.

Snapshots of a Modern Probation Service
One of the keys to reducing crime is pooling everyone's expertise.
Tackling domestic violence
We started special programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence in Hampshire in 1995. Recognising that a special kind of help was needed for the families and partners who often wanted to stay with these men, we sought closer links with the police, local authorities and specialist organisations like The Hampton Trust, Women's Aid and women's support groups throughout the area. Now, we all work together on all angles of the problem and families have better support to deal with the many outcomes of domestic violence. The Home Office has applauded this holistic approach and a government paper 'Living without Fear' lists our project as one of ten that other areas would do well to follow. Our perpetrators' programme is run by probation officers. Group-work and individual sessions confront and challenge the offenders' attitudes and behaviour, develop their capacity to accept responsibility for their actions, and equip them to avoid further violent or threatening behaviour.

"This is the only course I've ever heard of that actually confronts the root of the problem and helps us all. Now, instead of being another statistic of divorce, we're working towards being a 'normal' family." A wife.

Managing the risk of crime
An increasingly successful part of our work is managing people in the community who are known to be capable of committing serious crime. This is achieved in partnership with police, social services, health authorities and other organisations. When a danger is identified we meet to share information and produce a risk management plan. The probation role includes risk prediction - identifying factors that were present when a previous crime was committed and that might be being replicated, like rejection, substance misuse and opportunity. The person in question is invited to help work out a solution, so that he knows that he is seen as a risk, his behaviour is being monitored and his actions are the key to reducing that risk.

Community Service - punishment & opportunity
Every year, local charities, churches, community organisations and schools in Hampshire benefit from some 211,000 hours of labour provided unpaid as a punishment for crime. Community Service sentences usually go to offenders who are not seen as a threat to public safety. Many have never have worked before, and being jobless is recognised as a major contributor to crime, so European funding (available to help with employment training for all offenders) enables them to put their CS time towards an NVQ - their first step on the ladder to full-time employment. The work undertaken often stems from the14 Crime and Disorder panels in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight area - requests for paths to be opened up, fences repaired, graffiti removed and improvements made to reduce crime and the fear of crime, often in the offenders' own neighbourhoods. The National Probation Service - Hampshire was chosen by the Government to be a "Pathfinder" for Community Service - to identify best practice for the benefit of services throughout England and Wales.
"It 's taught me a lot. Now I think it's worth getting a job." A CS worker.

For more details look at their website:
http://probation.hants.gov.uk/