This important and original new book reports on a major investigation of the outcomes of probation supervision, is concerned with the key question of what works in probation, and comes at an important moment of change and development for the probation service in the UK.

Contents Foreword by Christine Knott (Chief Officer, Greater Manchester Probation Area) Introduction. Part 1 Introduction 1 Probation, social context and desistance from crime: introducing the agenda 2 Realism, criminal careers and complexity 3 The Study Part 2 Probation, motivation and social contexts 4 Defining 'success' 5 The focus of probation 6 Resolving obstacles: the role of probation supervision 7 Motivation and probation 8 Probation work: content and context 9 Motivation, changing contexts and probation supervision Part 3 Persistance and desistance 10 Desistance, change and probation supervision 11 The factors associated with offending Part 4 Conclusions 12 Probation, social context and desistance from crime: developing the agenda Index