There are many different roles within probation. Below provides in short insight into some of the roles:

Probation Officer

As a probation officer, you’ll assess and manage the risk posed by people on probation to protect victims of crime and the general public by:

• Providing information and advice to criminal courts, other criminal justice agencies and partner organisations
• supervise people on probation who are subject to community orders and licences and during custodial sentences
• contribute to the management of risk
• work with other agencies and groups to prevent crime and meet the needs of victims and people on probation

We support people on their road to rehabilitation. You’ll work closely with all kinds of people on probation, often with complex needs, including those who’ve committed violent and sexual offences or are struggling with their mental health or substance misuse.

Probation officers work in courts, prisons and in communities. You’ll also work with victims of crime, colleagues across the criminal justice system and charities.

Courts

Preparing pre-sentence reports and giving advice in court on the risk of reoffending. This involves speaking with offenders, the police and other partner agencies.

Prisons

Helping high-risk offenders to change and reduce the likelihood of reoffending or causing significant harm. Working with prison officers and community teams to assess risks and resettle offenders.

Communities

Managing people on probation with community sentences or on licence from prison. Assessing risks and putting action plans in place, while collaborating with agencies to tackle the causes of reoffending.

What the day looks like

Day to day, you’ll handle everything from going to hostels, visiting prisons and attending courts – all to make interventions with offenders that enable them to understand their behaviour and want to change it.
You’ll be working with people on probation to help them recognise the benefit of education, skills, treatment or maybe counselling to prevent reoffending.

Community payback Roles

Community Payback gives you the power to make a positive impact on offenders’ lives as well as your community.

There are a number of roles in Community Payback. As well as a Community Payback Supervisor there are Community Payback Placement Co-ordinators and Community Payback Operations Manager.

In all roles you’ll work with a diverse mix of individuals, so it’s important that you’re empathetic, a good communicator and happy to take the lead.

It’s all about supporting offenders on their journey and making your community a better place. Whether that’s building benches or cleaning the streets, you’re there because you genuinely want to help people.

The work is varied and meaningful and comes with job security, great benefits and career progression opportunities.

Community Payback is not just an alternative to custody, it’s a way of helping to create better outcomes for people on probation and better communities. To give you an idea we have set out below what you will be doing as a Community Payback Supervisor:

As a Community Payback supervisor, you’ll be at the heart of this work, leading small teams to complete their unpaid work hours.

You’ll supervise and motivate them to complete a range of manual tasks to pay back for the harm they’ve caused. These tasks could include clearing overgrowth to make public spaces safer, restoring community facilities such as sports halls and playgrounds, planting trees or laying flowerbeds, and litter picking and graffiti removal.

You’ll support and motivate people from different backgrounds to get the most out of their time on Community Payback. You’ll be helping them to:

• make positive changes to local communities
• access training and development to learn new skills
• improve their chances of employment as they make positive changes in their own lives.

On a typical day, you’ll spend up to 7 hours supervising a group at a Community Payback unpaid work placement.

Case administrators for senior probation officers (CASPOs)

As a case administrator you’ll use your great organisational and communication skills to support your probation colleagues to reduce reoffending.

It’s a challenging and rewarding role, with great training, support and opportunities for progression.

Case administrators play an important role in the Probation Service, supporting probation staff to work with people on probation.

As a case administrator, you’ll ensure:

• all processes run efficiently
• systems are maintained properly
• probation information is collated and prepared for case files

You’ll use your strong communication skills to handle enquiries from colleagues, agencies and people on probation in a busy environment.
Case administrators are based in a wide variety of settings, including courts, prisons and dedicated probation offices, and in many areas nationwide.