Life as a Probation Officer
Changing people's lives
Estella Enos (pictured) has been a probation officer since 2004
and now works with some of our most prolific offenders. She
explains the qualities needed to do the job and the rewards of
helping to change people’s lives.
"My role is to help rehabilitate offenders and I do that by providing
support. That might be helping them come off drugs or improve their
thinking skills, or by helping them with family issues or finding
accommodation. The aim is to reduce the triggers to their offending.
"The other side to probation is enforcement so we can protect the public. We look at the risks offenders present and consider whether we need to put things in place to reduce those risks. It’s a balancing act between help and enforcement," she said.
Estella works with Integrated Offender Management which is a multi-agency approach to managing prolific and priority offenders, including women, military veterans and gang members.
"I have a caseload of around 40 offenders, fewer than most probation officers because IOM offenders need more intensive work. They might need to be seen three times a week, not always by me, but maybe by a drugs worker or the police. I might also have to do a home visit. With IOM different agencies pool their efforts," she said.
Estella believes you need a lot of patience to work in probation, you need to be flexible and have understanding.
"The point of my role is to rehabilitate offenders in the community, and through custody into the community. I do that by visiting them during their prison sentence, supporting them if they have family issues or accommodation problems and providing help such as drug treatment.
"We get to know offenders very well, we talk to their families, get them on courses, they ring us when they need support.
"For me the rewards are seeing change. That might be someone staying off drugs, finding a job or just being able to stay in the community with some stability. Change can take a long time and probation work challenges you every day," said Estella.
If you like to be challenged and believe people can change, a career in probation could be for you.