A Short History And Some Of The Continuing Work Of The Probation Service

Firstly, A Short History of the Probation Service - reported by the Inside Time Newspaper

"....whom the courts did not think fit to imprison on account of their age, character or antecedents might be placed on probation under the supervision of these officers whose duty would be to, 'advise', 'assist' and 'befriend' them...."

Please click following link to read more: A short history of the Probation Service whose author is a former resident of one of HM's establishments.

Secondly, A Glimpse of the Continuing Work of the Probation Service - reported by the Avon and Somerset Probation Trust.

Elite teams  of Community Payback workers in and around Avon and Somerset. 

Widening footpaths and clearing rubbish. 

 Public Right of Way getting 'Paybacked' in St George, Bristol. Thus one near Air Balloon School. No slips! 

Blue sky, sunshine and the Orange of Payback hard at work in the back lanes of Avonmouth, Bristol. Happy New Year. 

Lane two getting a New Year Payback makeover in Avonmouth, Bristol. New year New challenges. Interesting times!! 

One of the little hidey holes frequented by drinkers and drug users being cleaned up. Safer Bristol for young ones.

Reformation Ln in St George, Bristol getting a Payback make over. Clearing leaves and litter before frosts arrive. 

Finally, The Changes Over Time.

It's a long time since this blogger did his Unpaid Community Work as a juvenile. The years have passed and the times have changed but I still believe that advise', 'assist' and 'befriend' are the giants of probation, on whose shoulders I now stand (see previous blog). 

In my day, when a Court ordered that I should do unpaid work for my offending with the Probation Service, I assisted my home-town's Meals on Wheels service, and I still remember well the appreciation from those people we delivered meals to, and the positive feeling that I received while undertaking community payback.

The Probation Service has a long history of service to the nation, and in my opinion the ethos of advise', 'assist' and 'befriend' still exists in lives of probation practioners despite the changes of time. Of course, all things change with time, and this is illustrated by a 1950's Probation Order of the 1950's: