COVID-19 and Community Sanctions

This chapter explores the ways probation providers in England and Wales adapted to the coronavirus pandemic and considers what this meant for providers, probation staff and people on probation. It draws on research evidence and policy to consider how the pandemic shaped the way the service met official aims and objectives, and the impact on people under probation supervision and staff. As with many of the changes that occurred during the pandemic, both positive developments and tensions (some previously hidden) were exposed in ways that starkly illustrate the pressures service users and staff have been facing for many years. The chapter concludes, therefore, with some reflections on how probation providers can take some positives from the pandemic and the exceptional delivery model and consider any implications for the future.