"Ethnographic studies of probation are still rare and here Matt Tidmarsh brings together observation and interview findings to offer many deep insights into practice. An accomplished theoretical analysis, drawing especially on Foucault, is interwoven with and brought to life by engaging case studies, vivid quotations from probation staff and acute perceptions of interactions with service users. There are well-judged reflections on the architecture and layout of one particular office and the effect these arrangements have on probation practice and its meanings, both to staff and service users. This is an instructive and rewarding account of modern probation practice and is especially timely while plans are again being made for probation's future."
Rob Canton, De Montfort University, Leicester
"This book, based on original ethnographic research of probation in practice, represents an important contribution to literature on what has been a too-often overlooked area of the criminal justice system. The depiction of the challenges of probation practice in the context of significant turmoil following the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms are powerfully conveyed in this study. This is a must-read book for scholars of probation, criminal justice practice and those interested in how professions are shaped by and respond to government policy."
Nicola Carr, University of Nottingham and Editor Probation Journal
"The book is an indispensable resource for policy makers and senior managers who are now driving Probation Service towards yet another reform. Researchers, students and practitioners will also get an important insight into the interplay between change and resisting change. To conclude, I would say that the book is a must-have resource for those who want to better understand the probation world at the beginning of the 21st Century."
Ioan Durnescu, University of Bucharest and Co-Editor European Journal of Probation
"Ethnographic studies of probation are still rare and here Matt Tidmarsh brings together observation and interview findings to offer many deep insights into practice. An accomplished theoretical analysis, drawing especially on Foucault, is interwoven with and brought to life by engaging case studies, vivid quotations from probation staff and acute perceptions of interactions with service users. There are well-judged reflections on the architecture and layout of one particular office and the effect these arrangements have on probation practice and its meanings, both to staff and service users. This is an instructive and rewarding account of modern probation practice and is especially timely while plans are again being made for probation's future."
Rob Canton, De Montfort University, Leicester
"This book, based on original ethnographic research of probation in practice, represents an important contribution to literature on what has been a too-often overlooked area of the criminal justice system. The depiction of the challenges of probation practice in the context of significant turmoil following the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms are powerfully conveyed in this study. This is a must-read book for scholars of probation, criminal justice practice and those interested in how professions are shaped by and respond to government policy."
Nicola Carr, University of Nottingham and Editor of Probation Journal
"The book is an indispensable resource for policy makers and senior managers who are now driving Probation Service towards yet another reform. Researchers, students and practitioners will also get an important insight into the interplay between change and resisting change. To conclude, I would say that the book is a must-have resource for those who want to better understand the probation world at the beginning of the 21st Century."
Ioan Durnescu, University of Bucharest and Co-Editor of European Journal of Probation
