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32 Prob. J. 1 (1985)

handle is hein.journals/probj32 and id is 1 raw text is: Probation Journal Vol 32 No 1 March 1985 EDITOR'S COMMENT Extending Options This column has expressed concern previously about the use and abuse of social enquiry reports and the need for a clearer charter of defendants' rights. The cause was advanced by the resolution passed at the 1984 AGM which asked us to ensure that defendants receive a copy of their report to keep (even if it does end up stuck on the dartboard of a pub, as in one instance I know of), know the entire contents before sentence, and are informed how the report will be used thereafter. (Some reports seem to have an unhealthily long shelf- life; perhaps they should be stamped with a 'Use by' date). Having met numerous newly sentenced prisoners on reception interviews who weren't aware that they had had a report done, let alone what it contained, I'm in total support. But what about the initial consent to preparation of a report? Owen Wells' plain man's guide to reports (page 17) reassures the defendant 'If you do not want a report written about you, you may refuse to have one written'. We know that this masks the reality of backlash which refusal may incur. But how coercive towards consent should the process be? The question arises out of instances where probation officers have influenced the court's use of bail and remands in custody to facilitate report preparation. These powers are contained in the BailAct 1976 which promotes the courts wish for information and advice by permitting a condition of post-conviction bail that the defendant 'make himself available for the purpose of enabling enquiries or a report to be made to assist the court in dealing with him for the offence'. To decline to co-operate with enquiries thus leaves you open to arrest. An exception to bail is specifically allowed 'if it appears to the court that it would be impracticable to complete the inquiry or make the report without keeping the defendant in custody'. If, however, the report is to rest essentially on the information and viewpoint supplied by the defendant, then an intrinsic limitation is placed on the scope of such powers, because we cannot enforce co-operation in a process which should be seeking to maximise free participation. Thus the use of such powers is best restricted to the limited number of cases in which the defendant's mental or physical condition are in doubt, and the decision can be made with appropriate paternal- ism for even the reluctant defendant's own benefit. We have probably all become exasperated at times with defendants who do not seem anxious to talk to us, and written pejorative notes to the court less than respectful of their implicit choice. But to pursue the issue with suggestions for bail conditions or custodial remand is to undermine the foundation of free participation and partner- ship that practice demands. Consent must be more firmly established as a free choice without penalty clauses. Competition 'Clients Rights' have received a helpful boost from an NCVO Working Party Report on the theme, published in December 1984. The line-up did not include any probabion representatives, but it is worth checking out the ground rules of your Service with the Report's recommenda- tions, particularly as regards residential care in probation hostels. At the Report launch, Jeff Smith, the personable Director of Social Services for Ealing, suggested an extra principle that the statutory social services should actively encourage rival concerns which would keep us from undue complacency. These are competitive times, and 'radical' proposals abound which 1

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