Privatising probation: The death knell of a much-cherished public service?

The probation service has showed a remarkable facility to reinvent itself over a century of turbulent, but sustained, history. This 16th Bill McWilliams Memorial Lecture will explore the ethos underpinning that survival as the service faces its potential fragmentation, and even dismantling, given the government commitment to privatise much of its current business. If the institution of probation collapses, is there still an important place for probation skills and in what institutional forms will this be reconstructed? Can a hopeful scenario for the future be garnered from the current policy imperatives? Does it matter? And if it matters, how can a vision be created which builds on that history in concert with partners from all sectors? This lecture will reflect on these themes in a policy framework which is fluid, uncertain, and deeply challenging.