About What Works

It is Probation's approach in all aspects of our work with offenders. It means using well-designed and targeted approaches and interventions that work to reduce re-offending.

What works aims to promote offenders' rehabilitation in society to lead law-abiding lives.

It means that Probation work and intervention with offenders to deal with their offending behaviour will be:

• effective because it has been shown to work well
• targeted to tackle the factors which contribute to crime and offending behaviour
• matched to the offender so that it works best for him or her
• positive to promote learning and skills which help rehabilitate offenders

In delivering ' what works' - effective assessment, supervision work and programmes dealing with offending behaviour - it is essential that offenders co-operate and engage. Probation National Standards very clearly set out:

• the attendance requirements that the Probation Service should place on the offender
• the action that probation officers should take when an offender fails to attend as instructed or behaves in an unacceptable way when attending

The Probation Service takes very seriously the enforcement of Community Orders and Licences and any extra conditions that may be attached to them by the Court or a Prison Governor/ Parole Board. Strict enforcement is necessary for effective engagement with offenders and to give offenders and the public the message that probation is not a soft option.

Click here to see leaflets that we provide to offenders about Court Orders and Probation Programmes.