Probation officer

Probation officers manage offenders to protect the public, and reduce the incidence of reoffending by helping them make better life choices

As a probation officer, you'll work with offenders in courts, in the community and in custody to make communities safer and to integrate those released from prison back into the community. This involves interacting with offenders, victims, police and prison service colleagues on a regular basis.

You'll work closely with relevant statutory and voluntary agencies and will also manage approved residential premises for offenders and ex-prisoners. In addition, you'll manage and enforce the conditions of community orders, which are an alternative to a prison sentence.

The newly unified Probation Service in England and Wales is responsible for the supervision of offenders in the community after their release. The statutory body also provides the criminal courts with reports to help them in sentencing.

In Northern Ireland the probation service is the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI). In Scotland, probation is managed within the social work departments of local authorities.

Responsibilities

As a probation officer, you'll typically need to:

• manage low and medium-risk offenders, and also high-risk offenders (including dangerous and prolific offenders) once you are fully qualified
• provide pre-sentence reports for courts on people charged with an offence, helping them to decide what sentence should be passed
• protect the public by collaborating effectively with other agencies in the criminal justice system, such as the police, local authorities, courts, health services, substance misuse services, voluntary agencies and youth offending teams
• carry out risk assessments and reviews on offenders in order to protect the public from further possible offending
• manage and enforce community orders made by the courts
• work with offenders prior to their release from prison to prepare them for release on licence into the community
• motivate offenders to change their attitudes and behaviour in order to help reduce further offending
• facilitate programmes to support offenders to make positive changes and to understand the impact of their crimes
• provide specialist reports to prison governors and parole review boards that help determine whether a prisoner should be released and, if so, under what conditions
• work with prisoners sentenced to 12 months or more in custody during and after their sentence, helping them to reintegrate into the community
• conduct drugs tests and assessments at home visits
• help offenders serve community sentences to meet the courts' requirements
• support offenders to attend appointments, job interviews and court hearings
• work with victims of violent or sexual crime to ensure their well-being and to make sure that their voices are heard
• manage approved premises, which provide accommodation for people on bail or probation or offenders on parole
• attend court, sometimes to testify about written recommendations in reports
• work closely with other services to support offenders in their transition back to the community.

Salary

• When you start your training, you'll be working as a probation services officer (PSO), earning £24,228 (with planned pay rises to £25,310 in April 2024 and £26,475 in October 2024), plus £4,126 London weighting, if this applies to you.
• Once you've completed your training and qualified as a probation officer (PO), your salary will rise to £35,130, plus allowances (Band 4).
• Senior probation officers (Band 5) earn between £37,000 and £44,000.
• Approved Premises (AP) residential workers get a starting salary of £24,000, plus any unsocial hour enhancement.

You'll receive a range of Civil Service benefits, including a local government pension, generous annual leave entitlement and access to flexible working where possible. A London weighting allowance is added to salaries where applicable.

Income data from The Department of Work and Pensions. Figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

You'll work a standard, 37-hour week, although you may occasionally need to work outside of normal office hours.

Holiday entitlement for probation officers is 25-days per year, plus public holidays. Increasing to 30 days after 5 years’ service.

Part-time work and job-share opportunities are available.

What to expect

• Your usual place of work could be an office, prison, court, or community setting, for example, but you will often travel locally during the working day and may visit clients in their homes.
• You may also spend time working in approved premises (AP), which provide residential accommodation for offenders and ex-offenders.
• You may work with dangerous offenders who have committed crimes that are hard to deal with.
• The work can be emotionally draining at times, working closely with situations involving abuse, sexual assault and violence
• You'll work closely with police and agencies in your community to reduce offending.

Learn more about life as a probation officer.

If you are based in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can find further information from:

• The Scottish Government - Law, Order and Public Safety
• NI Direct - Crime, Justice and the Law

Qualifications

To qualify as a probation officer, you'll need to successfully complete probation officer training via the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP). Training lasts 15 or 21 months depending on your qualifications.

To apply for the 15-month training programme, you'll need:

• relevant experience of working with challenging behaviour
• a recognised qualification at QCF Level 5 or above (for example an honours degree, HND, foundation degree, diploma of higher education or higher apprenticeship)
• prior knowledge and understanding in at least three of the four required knowledge modules: the criminal justice system, understanding crime and criminal behaviour, penal policy and the punishment of offenders, and the rehabilitation of offenders.

If you've got relevant experience and a Level 5 qualification or higher, but don't have any previous criminology education, you can apply for the 21-month training programme. You'll spend the first six months of the training completing up to four of the required knowledge modules.

There are various stages to the recruitment process, including an application form, which has a section of competency-based questions, and in person activities at an assessment centre.

Training combines applied academic learning and practical skills development in order to equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to assess and manage offenders and prepare reports. During training, you'll be employed as a probation services officer (PSO). On successful completion of the programme, you'll be awarded a Level 5 vocational qualification Diploma in Probation Practice as well as an honours degree.

For more information, see HM Prison & Probation Service's information on how to Become a probation officer.

To work as a probation officer in Scotland (where you'll be known as a criminal justice social worker), you'll need an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in social work approved by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).

In Northern Ireland, probation officers are qualified social workers employed by the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI). You'll need to have some experience working with offenders and should apply through UCAS for a degree in social work. See the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) for more information.

Skills

You'll need to have:

• a knowledge and understanding of the work of the criminal justice system and the probation service
• the ability to explain legal proceedings in a way that is easy to understand
• excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to relate to others
• the ability to persuade and influence others
• teamwork and collaboration skills
• a caring attitude
• empathy and compassion
• counselling skills
• the ability to remain calm under pressure
• case work and report-writing skills
• planning and organisational skills
• effective decision-making skills and problem-solving ability
• motivation and commitment
• resilience
• an understanding of psychology and the reasons that lead people to commit crimes
• good judgement and the ability to think on your feet
• a flexible approach and be adaptable to change
• an understanding and appreciation of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice.

Work experience

You'll need experience of working with challenging behaviour, which you can get through either paid or voluntary work in a range of settings, including:

• approved premises
• prison visiting services
• victim support services
• youth offending teams
• community payback teams
• outside of the community justice system.

The quality of the experience is more important than the quantity.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

In England and Wales, probation officers are employed by the Probation Service, which forms part of HMPPS, an executive agency, sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. The Probation Service works with every part of the criminal justice sector to support the rehabilitation of offenders, while at the same time protecting the public.

In Scotland, local authority social work departments have responsibility for probation work (known as criminal justice social work). In Northern Ireland, probation work is carried out by PBNI.

Look for vacancies at:

• Community Care Jobs - for vacancies with youth offending teams
• HMPPS - Prison and Probation Jobs
• My Job Scotland - for criminal justice social worker roles
• Probation Board for Northern Ireland
• Work with Offenders

For probation officer training opportunities, see Become a probation officer.

Specialist recruitment agencies such as Sanctuary Criminal Justice also advertise vacancies.

Professional development

Once qualified, you'll receive on-the-job support and training. In addition, you'll have access to Civil Service Learning, which provides a range of courses and resources for developing skills common to all UK civil servants.

With experience and relevant training, you'll be able to specialise in a particular area of probation work, such as working with sex offenders or working in court.

Some probation officers take advantage of secondments to spend time working for other agencies, such as in youth offending teams or prisons. You can also train to become a manager.

Career prospects

With several years' experience, you can apply for promotion to the role of senior probation officer. As a senior probation officer you would manage a team of probation officers and have overall responsibility for their performance. You'll also work closely with other agencies including the police and prison service as well as leading on risk management and meeting targets.

Promotion beyond main grade depends on your experience and ability and often involves moving to a managerial level, rather than working with offenders. Probation area managers are responsible for the probation service in a designated area and for a team of senior probation officers. They have little or no contact with offenders and are typically involved in the management of risk to the public.

There are, however, opportunities to move sideways and to specialise in different areas of probation work, such as:

• management of approved premises - providing accommodation for people on bail, people on probation who have problems such as alcoholism or drug addiction, or offenders released on licence from prison pending the end of their sentence
• prison work - working alongside prison officers and management to help prisoners return to society, often in offender management units
• approved programme units - working alongside colleagues in other professions offering interactive group work for serving offenders
• specialist case management teams - working in areas such as drug treatment and testing orders, public protection or sex offending.

Experienced probation officers can work as accredited programme tutors and practice development assessors, supervising trainees.