Probation Identities in Transition: a case study in one CRC

Gwen Robinson, University of SheffieldLol Burke, Liverpool John Moores University

Matthew Millings, Liverpool John Moores University

European Society of Criminology Working Group on CSMSchool of Law, University of Sheffield, 1-2 June 2015

Contents

• Introducing Transforming Rehabilitation• The research: a case study of TR in one CRC• Main findings from phases 1-2 (March-

October 2014)• Forthcoming paper in British Journal of

Criminology (online 19 May 2015)

‘Transforming Rehabilitation’

• A policy/strategy with several strands, including:

• Splitting ‘probation services’ via a logic of risk

• Former Probation Trusts dissolved• New National Probation Service

(to supervise high risk offenders)• 21 new Community Rehabilitation

Companies (CRCs) (to supervise medium and low risk offenders)

The architect of TR: Chris Grayling, Justice Secretary (Sept 2012-May 2015)

Interface

Post-TR system of probation services

National Probation Service (NPS)

Courts

EM providers Community Rehabilitation

Companies (CRCs)

PUBLIC SECTOR

PRIVATE SECTOR

Slide with background picture

• Notes to this slide explain how• Use sparingly, with no or few words• Make sure text is legible on background

The research

• In-depth ethnographic case study of one CRC• Focus on experience of CRC staff at all levels• Process perspective: evolution over time• Longitudinal component: mixed ‘tracker’ sample• Methods: observation; interviews; document analysis• Research team: insiders and outsiders• Independently funded by ESRC

Contextualising the study

• Other studies of ‘worker migration’ from public to private sector employment in:– criminal justice services (e.g. policing: White 2014; prisons:

Ludlow 2014)– other public services (e.g. NHS: Waring & Bishop 2011)

• Studies of organisational identities and role transitions (e.g. Beech 2011)

• Studies of probation occupational identities/cultures (e.g. Mawby & Worrall 2013; Robinson et al 2014)

TR timelineJanuary 2013 Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) consultation published by MoJ May 2013 TR strategy published by MoJ September 2013 ‘Target Operating Model’ published by MoJ August-November 2013 Decisions made about numbers and types of posts in NPS and CRCsNovember 2013 Bids to purchase CRCs submitted to MoJ November 2013-January 2014

Staff notified of allocation to NPS or CRC; appeals process

March 2014 Research commences in one CRC Phase 1 of researchMarch 2014 Probation Institute established31 May 2014 Probation Trusts dissolved1 June 2014 CRCs and NPS commence operations Phase 2 of research29 October 2014 MoJ publishes information about ‘preferred bidders’ for the 21 CRCs

November 2014-January 2015

Preferred bidders commence discussions with CRC senior management

Phase 3 of research

1 February 2015 New CRC owners commence operation/introduced to CRC staff Phase 4 of research

1 May 2015 Implementation of Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014June 2015 Research fieldwork completed Phase 5 of research

Main findings

• Contracting out of probation services a unique case:– creation of new organisational structures– ‘interstructural’ state of CRCs – liminal status– future ownership unknown (private? third sector? staff

mutual?)– protracted period of uncertainty

• An active and ongoing process of ‘identity (re)construction’ – CRC and staff members– 5 key themes

Separation and loss

• move to CRC a painful/emotional process• the old Trust as a ‘family’• an unwanted divorce (from colleagues; from public

sector)• grieving process• losses of colleagues and of valuable human capital –

to NPS; voluntary redundancies• severing of relationships with service users• (projected) loss of (former) local (brand) identity

Liminality and insecurity

• precarious employment (Standing 2011)- “I feel less safe. I feel like the rug could be pulled out from under me at any time” (PO)

• CRC staff as ‘liminars’ – in a “holding tank” - between socially constructed identities (Beech 2011)

• mixed reactions – from anxious/fearful to excited/energised

Status anxiety

• CRC as “new kid on the block”• fears about ‘social invisibility’ of CRC (Turner 1967) -

“what’s CRC? It doesn’t say anything” (PO) • stigma or ‘taint’ of (quasi-) private ownership –

‘second class probation’• deskilling via removal of roles (e.g. report writing)• possible ‘role redundancy’ for (qualified) probation

officers• (informal) preservation of ‘probation’ label

Loyalty and trust• attachments, loyalties and trust did not transfer

unproblematically from the Trust to the CRC • senior managers as self-appointed ‘guardians’ of public

service ethos/’probation values’ – promotion of continuity

• …but hard for them to preserve ‘trustworthy identities’• loyalties of staff to:

– service users/’doing the work’– colleagues/teams– …but not to the CRC – “In terms of CRC, I’m not sure because I don’t know

who the owners will be” (PSO)

Liberation and innovation

• TR and the rhetoric of ‘innovation’• some optimism around liberation from cumbersome

systems, National Standards, ‘high risk’, etc.• some examples of ‘experimentation’:– creation of some new roles– middle managers re-branded as ‘leaders’

• however, new ‘freedoms’ were limited in the liminal space, and scary for some

Conclusion• “We are all on a personal journey in a situation not of

our choosing” (Senior Manager)• 1 year on, those journeys are still ongoing• Our study revealed an active and ongoing process of

‘identity (re)construction’ - CRC and staff members• Importance of local brand/identity – typical or not?• Next phase: reactions to new ownership and a new

‘regional’ identity

ReferencesBeech, N. (2011) ‘Liminality and the practices of identity reconstruction’, Human Relations, 64, 2: 285-302.

Ludlow, A. (2014) ‘Transforming Rehabilitation: What lessons might be learned from prison privatisation?’, European Journal of Probation, 6, 1: 67-81.

Mawby, R.C. & Worrall, A. (2013) Doing Probation Work: Identity in a criminal justice occupation. Abingdon: Routledge.

Robinson, G., Priede, C., Farrall, S., Shapland, J. & McNeill, F. (2014) ‘Understanding “quality” in probation practice: Frontline perspectives in England & Wales’, Criminology and Criminal Justice, 14, 2: 123-142.

Standing, G. (2011) The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. London: Bloomsbury.

Turner, V. (1967) The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Rituals, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Waring, J. & Bishop, S. (2011) ‘Healthcare identities at the crossroads of service modernisation: The transfer of NHS clinicians to the independent sector?’, Sociology of Health and Illness, 33, 5: 661-76.

White, A. (2014) ‘Post-crisis policing and public-private partnerships: The case of Lincolnshire Police and G4S’, British Journal of Criminology, 54: 1002-1022.