Probation Officer?

Question

Does anyone working as a probation officer have an opinion on the job? Do you like it, whats the pay like, promotion prospects, how hard is the training etc....
Also is it a dangerous job at all, ive done quite a bit of research into the job but still cant get a clear idea of this aspect, do you ever feel intimidated by offenders, or have you been attacked? Im not an overly quiet person and i can be very confident when i know what im talking about, but i wouldnt say im v foceful or assertive either, quite a girly girl really and too sure if id be the right material for dealing with offenders if they were v intimidating?
I have a degree in psychology, and know you take a diploma and nvq at level 4 as part of the training, but also how hard is it to get accepted? And do you have a job at the end of the training or do you then have to look for advertised vacancies for qualified probation officers and apply for them?
Sorry know thats alot of qus.....

I live in the UK

Answer 1

I am not aprobation office but worked for several years in a probation office as admin working closely with officers and spoket omany about becomming an officer so I hope the following helps.
The pay is about £17,000 while training and about £25,000 when qualified. The training is pretty hard going but you will be fully supported by the training team and other colleagues in the the office. But the training is really hard to get into, you have to write load sof essays and there are loads of interviews and presentations to do just to get into training. There is fierce competition for the training, last year for the south east there were 870 applicants for 7 seven places!
The job isn't that dangerous, most the people are pretty well behaved because they know you can send them back to prison or take them back to court for misbehaving. Having said that, I have known incidents but in all the time i worked for probation (3.5 years) only one violent incident occured.
The offenders can be intimidating but the security is really hot and you always have a camera on you whilst interviewing offenders so if anything happens people come rushing in and the police are called. You also have a panic alaram which you use even if you feel really uncomfortable.
Psychology is a really good basis for going into probation apparantley. On the whole, you will have a job at the end of your training. You are attached to an office while training and that is generally the office you will stay at.
One word of warning though, I got out because i felt that the probation was becoming much more about targets and figures than about rehabilitating the offender and making society a better place. Also, the government has found a loop hole to push through privatisation through quickly and will be starting from this year!

Answer 2

Working with probation officers in the US is a regular thing with my own profession.

The probation officers must provide reports for the court so that the court has a clear and concise idea of what the "client" is all about.

Probation duties go beyond just writing reports though. There are follow-ups to include periodic visits to insure the probationer is in compliance with the rules of probation. On occasion when a probationer fails to comply, the probation officer is required to arrest the individual for probation violation(s).

This is the part that keeps you on your toes. Probationers are people who've broken the law. Depending upon what laws they broke often determine how dangerous they are. There's always risks involved just as there are in law enforcement.

Of the complaints I've heard from probation officers working in the field, some felt they didn't have the support they would like to have from the management level or in some cases from the courts with repeat offenders.

Most felt the wages were better than many professions similar to theirs and were satisfied with their work.

Hope this helps...best wishes!

Answer 3

In 30 years police service in the UK I never heard of an assault on a probation officer after all in reality they have completely chosen to forget their role as court officers and become the criminals friend and serve the criminal and not the society that pays their wages.