Supervising Offenders in the Community: A History of Probation Theory and Practice

Newly available in paperback, this book provides an authoritative and original account of the history of probation. Maurice Vanstone offers readers a new way of reading probation history and presents an original context for thinking about current policy and practice. While the study is essentially UK-focused, it also provides a comparative perspective by exploring the history of probation in the USA. The author's research has produced the only history of probation practice that does justice to the mixture of influences on the early probation service and paves the way for today's more evidence-based approach. The work is based in part upon original documents and interviews with retired and serving officers. The revised paperback edition contains a new introduction which looks at developments in both research and practice since first publication in 2004. Supervising Offenders in the Community is an essential reference source for criminologists, social workers, social historians and social policy specialists.