Consumers without teeth: can probation service “clients” have a say in the service they receive?

Abstract

Explores recent changes where, like other public sector organizations, the probation service did not escape the managerial revolution. The service has become increasingly focused in its objectives on policies determined by the Home Office, policies which have tended to measure numerical data rather than quality of performance and effectiveness. Alongside the overwhelming need to demonstrate that something is being done (although not necessarily effectively), has come the adoption of a consumer perspective reflecting the wider charter movement. Yet to what extent can a consumer who is subject to a restrictive court order determine the level and quality of “service” he or she is to receive? Argues that the probation service needs to move away from simple, numerical indicators of what has happened to ones which incorporate effectiveness. Suggests that the involvement of the consumer perspective will considerably enhance this process.

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