FEAR OF VIOLENCE AS AN INDICATOR OF RISK IN PROBATION WORK: Its Impact on Staff Who Work with Known Violent Offenders

In 2001, the Home Office launched the Offender Assessment System to help probation and prison staff predict whether known violent offenders will reoffend. One of the paradoxes of a system that predicts future risk of offending is its failure to appraise the fear of staff working with these offenders...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of criminology 2004-01, Vol.44 (1), p.113-126
Main Authors: O'Beirne, Maria, Denney, David, Gabe, Jonathan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Appraisal
Attitudes
Correctional Personnel
Crime victims
Criminal justice
Criminal probation
Criminals
Criminology
Employees
Fear
Fear & phobias
Fear of Crime
Freedom
law enforcement
MANAGEMENT
Offenders
Office management
Officials and employees
Parole & probation
Prison officers
Prisons
PROBATION
Probation officers
Recidivism
RISK
Risk Assessment
Safety
Sexual violence
United Kingdom
VIOLENCE
Violent crimes
Violent offenders
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Summary:In 2001, the Home Office launched the Offender Assessment System to help probation and prison staff predict whether known violent offenders will reoffend. One of the paradoxes of a system that predicts future risk of offending is its failure to appraise the fear of staff working with these offenders. In this paper we look at the ways in which fear of violence is managed by probation staff in the course of their work. We consider the impact of fear upon work practices and relationships with colleagues, management and clients. We argue that offender risk assessments need to be cognizant of the extent to which fear may act as a warning sign to management of staff vulnerability and their capacity to work with those clients in accordance with their responsibilities.
ISSN:0007-0955
1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/44.1.113