Supervision Skills for Probation Practitioners

The use of evidence-based practice in the attempt to improve probation’s impact on
reoffending became a mainstream policy following the ‘Underdown report’ produced by HM
Inspectorate of Probation in 1998. Initial efforts were largely based on cognitive-behavioural
group programmes. However, most people supervised by probation officers experience
supervision as one-to-one contacts most or all of the time, and some of those who
participate in programmes also need preparation, support and follow-up on an individual
basis. The identification of practitioners’ skills in individual supervision as an important
component in effective practice came late to England and Wales in comparison with work
done in other countries. This ‘Academic Insight’ offers a brief summary of key findings from
research on probation staff’s practice skills (known in North American research as Core
Correctional Practices) and considers some of the practical implications. In the well-known
Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) framework for effective practice, research on skills
contributes to understanding responsivity, which has until recently received less research
attention than risks and needs.