I am currently Head of Probation for a Probation Delivery Unit. In my role I oversee the strategic direction of the delivery of probation services for my area which incorporates 2500 people on probation. I also lead on wider strategic pieces of work directly involved in setting direction for criminal justice services nationally and regionally.  

I work with partners and stakeholders across the criminal justice sector including police, treatment providers, social care, housing, education and training, local authorities, third sector and charities to ensure services and strategy are aligned and deliver the best outcomes for victims, people on probation and the general public.

We balance support with the need to keep people safe. We believe everyone deserves a second chance and we work with people on probation to help them to achieve this.

I attended the University of Birmingham to undertake a masters in social work. During my first placement I worked in a young persons’ hostel where many of the young people had become involved in the criminal justice system and started to see the correlation between adverse child experience and how this could lead to someone offending. My second placement was in a youth justice office which gave me direct experience of working with young people as part of their Order. When I qualified I was offered posts in both social work and probation. As I was interested in learning further about how to address offending, I chose probation.

My career has been really varied and I was in a unique position as I was part of the last cohort of officers to be admitted with just a social worker qualification rather than the Professional Qualification in Probation. During my time in the service I have worked as an officer, a practice developer working with people training to be probation officers, a senior probation officer overseeing a team and a deputy head of probation looking after a region.  I then joined the newly formed Community Rehabilitation Services on promotion as a Head of Area which gave me further opportunities to work within the private sector and gain new skills in a range of roles.

Following the reunification of the service into a national single service I took up my current post. My work is varied and interesting, there  are always openings  to get involved wider projects and try new roles and  develop skills. The Probation Service is part of the civil service so there are also opportunities within this bigger organisation

The most important thing I gained from my time at Birmingham was the opportunity to meet and mix with a wide range of people from varying  backgrounds and experiences which allowed for a sharing of different perspectives. This was critical when learning about social work and how to approach situations with sensitivity and understanding. I also gained confidence in my own decision making especially when assessing risk. I valued the time and space it gave me to reflect on my learning and development and it instilled in me a desire to continue learning throughout my life.