NCJ Number
187555
Date Published
1999
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This chapter discusses how the British Probation Service has moved from a position of ignoring the issue of domestic violence to assuming a much more active stance toward working not only with the perpetrators of such violence but also with victims/survivors and those agencies that work with them.
Abstract
The publication of the 1989 Law Commission paper, "Domestic Violence and Occupation of the Family Home," followed by Home Office Circular 60/90, encouraged Probation Services to recognize that domestic violence could no longer be ignored as a significant issue in the supervision of probationers. Various criticisms of the Probation Service's handling of domestic violence cases that involved probationers, along with official recommendations, led the Association of Chief Officers of Probation to compose a position paper on how probation agencies should respond to domestic violence. In this statement, training in the politics of gender was viewed as essential and recommended to all services. The statement also recommended that each of the Probation Services in England and Wales develop a specific policy on domestic violence. The position statement also highlighted the need to focus on probation employment issues and the likelihood that some women probation employees would themselves be the victims/survivors of domestic violence. The Home Office has done much to encourage and more recently require Probation Services to work in partnership with others; this is particularly relevant in the field of domestic violence, considering probation agencies' pivotal role in supervising offenders and working with their partners. 6 references