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48 Prob. J. 2 (2001)

handle is hein.journals/probj48 and id is 1 raw text is: The last edition of Probation Journal contained a number of articles addressing the evolution and possible futures for what has become known rather loosely as 'effective practice'. Whatever conclusions can be drawn from those critical commentaries, the most positive - and potentially inspiring - is that they represent a strong desire to engage with the ideas behind What Works. A major advantage of such scrutiny is that probation staff can have more confidence in the integrity of the interventions which emerge. Critical, constructive examination of the gaps between research, policy and practice, allied to honest assessment of success and failure, is crucial to a progressive, evidence-led professional environment. It is also one of the primary aims of this Journal, and this edition continues that positive process, addressing a range of practical, theoretical and ethical issues. The difficulty of implementing approaches which appear to be effective is illustrated by the brave and fascinating account provided in Extending What Works to Standard Orders. This paper, written collaboratively by a practitioner and researchers, analyses the failure of a competently planned and designed programme intended to apply What Works principles in the largely hidden world of individual supervision. The necessity of staff commitment to and ownership of new programmes based on effective practice principles is starkly underlined by this article; it should provide those responsible for the implementation of the wider What Works strategy with considerable food for thought. The same could be said for Cognitive Behaviourism and the Holy Grail, which contributes to the evolving critique of What Works orthodoxy with an eloquent and highly critical examination of its evidence base. The need to avoid incautious generalisations and accept the messy and complex realities of work with offenders - a frequent theme in Probation Journal - is much emphasised in this paper. This message is echoed in Workers' Perceptions of Scottish Travelling People, which examines professional responses to a group whose distinct culture and identity is often ignored within both criminal justice and race relations discourse. An underlying theme of this article is the difficulty which professionals seem to have even in conceiving of Travelling People as an ethnic minority, though this status is now recognised by race relations legislation. The fact that men commit most crime is perhaps one of the least exploited facts in the development of offending behaviour programmes. Men, Masculinity and Offending aims to rejuvenate discussion around this issue and argues that promoting a process of change in work with male offenders by focusing on the gendered nature of much offending behaviour is entirely consistent with What Works principles. Meanwhile, the Reflections piece Community Values and Community Justice reminds us of the importance of retaining a contextual appreciation of probation work, while urging the Probation Service to articulate and defend the values of community safely and justice. The Practice Note on Video Recorded Interviews examines the issues surrounding the use of existing recorded evidence from children subjected to - or alleging - sexual abuse in the preparation of pre-sentence reports. Finally, the Sheffield Two Hour Victim Awareness Programme describes an innovative response to the requirement to engage young offenders in victim empathy work; it heralds the extended June Special Issue, which is on the theme of Young Offenders and Youth Justice and has attracted an exciting range of high quality articles. As ever, responses to the contents of the current edition and other contributions would be very welcome. 2

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