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47 How. J. Crim. Just. 1 (2008)

handle is hein.journals/hjcj47 and id is 1 raw text is: The Howard Journal Vol 47 No 1. February 2008 ISSN 0265-552 7, pp. 1-17 (In)Visible Barriers: The Experience of Asian Employees in the Probation Service GURMIT HEER and SUSIE ATHERTON Gurmit Heer is Senior Lecturer in Criminal justice and Susie Atherton is Research Assistant, School of Social Science, Birmingham City University, Birmingham Abstract: This article is based on a small piece of research, which was prompted by the National Association of Asian Probation Staff (NAAPS). They wanted to investigate the experience of Asian employees in the probation service in England and Wales and consider wider issues of attitudes toward Asians from staff The research was conducted jointly with the University of Central England in Birmingham (now Birmingham City University), with a focus on recruitment, retention and progression within the probation service. Key findings include a lack of confidence amongst Asian staff with regard to how management addresses diversity issues; a perception of change in attitudes towards Asian staff directly related to the events of 9/11; a lack of understanding from other black and minority ethnic (BME) and white staff regarding Asian culture, and concern about promotion chances and job security. There has been little research on the culture of the probation service, specifically with regard to how management implements policy and how much attention is paid to diversity issues. This research highlights the need for further exploration of these issues, on a wider scale, especially in light of more recent events impacting on attitudes towards Asians, particularly from the south and east of Asia, namely, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and China. InJanuary 2004, when Her Majesty's Inspector of Probation, Rod Morgan, commented on the findings from a national staff survey, it was revealed that staff faced more discrimination from colleagues than from clients (Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) 2004). Based upon this research, the National Association of Asian Probation Staff (NAAPS) decided to examine the views of Asian staff to discover the extent of racism within the probation service. As a group which had been established since 1987, it had not undertaken such specific research seeking the views of its members and was not aware of any other research being carried out previously. The focus of studies looking at racism in the criminal justice system has, to date, been primarily concerned with the over-representation of black and minority ethnic (BME) groups in all stages, as offenders and also as victims of crime (Bowling and Phillips 2002; Commission for Racial 1 Q 2008 The Authors journal compilation © 2008 The Howard League Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ UK

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