Role: Probation Service Officer
Company: The Probation Board For Northern Ireland
Track Record:
What does your job entail?
The Probation Board for Northern Ireland makes local communities safer by challenging and changing offenders’ behaviour.
I deliver programmes within PBNI which entails working with offenders in a group work setting who have been placed under statutory supervision by the courts or who are on release from prison under licence.
I deliver a range of programmes that specifically address violence (both impulsive and planned), substance misuse, domestic abuse and a variety of thinking skills. These programmes last between six weeks and nine months per programme.
I also deliver individual one to one work as part of my role. Other responsibilities include: advising on suitability and preparing people for programmes; identifying and assessing risk issues prior to programme commencement; completing detailed post-programme reports on each group member and meeting with the offender and their probation officer to share details about progress made and further work required to follow up the programme.
Is it 9-5?
My job has flexible hours and some evening work. I am required to travel and work unsocial hours to facilitate the needs of people with employment and child care issues. I am currently delivering an evening programme in Armagh and also a one to one programme in Downpatrick.
Outline your career to date?
I started my career with the Probation Service in Coventry in 2002 as a temporary administrative assistant/receptionist.
Observing the work of probation staff in working with people to address their offending behaviour inspired me to move into facilitating groupwork programmes on a full-time basis in 2003.
I completed my training and continued to work in Probation in England until 2010 when I moved to PBNI as a Probation Service officer.
Tell us about your qualifications/training
I have a BA honours degree in Irish history and politics (University of Liverpool), and a BA honours degree in community and criminal justice (De Montfort University).
What qualities are required for your job — personal and professional?
My work delivering programmes requires me to exercise excellent communication skills.
I am required to employ motivational techniques to help support offenders through the programme and encourage them to believe in their ability to change.
I utilise assertiveness skills to deal with challenging or unacceptable behaviour and I need to be able to think on my feet to deal with issues that arise in group sessions.
What are the biggest challenges and rewards of your work?
I enjoy supporting people to develop their skills and enhance their motivation to change. I also appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the reduction of offending behaviour as well as the impact on victims.
Watching people start on a programme nervous, reticent and sometimes obstructive and seeing their sometimes startling development into people who are motivated and willing to discuss and address their issues in a real and constructive way is particularly rewarding.
Sustaining the energy required to motivate and support people can be a challenge; however, it’s one that I relish and after 10 years of working with offenders, I am grateful that my work continues to stimulate and interest me. Each day is different, each group is different and each client comes with different needs and issues.
Close teamwork with colleagues, involving exploring and developing new ways of helping people want to change and break out of their offending past, is both a challenge and a reward.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I enjoy playing badminton (poorly!). I am an avid cinema-goer. I enjoy trips to Donegal where my father owns a house. Recently, I have re-commenced playing the violin!
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself
I recently became engaged on a trip to Westport, County Mayo, and am planning to marry later this year.
Who has inspired you most in your life?
I am inspired by those people I work with each day, and I am particularly motivated by the people who have successfully moved away from offending and turned their lives around.