When information is gathered from an offender for the production of a case file it is vital that the information is recorded both accurately and appropriately. This is a requirement set out in the National Standards (2000), which states that ‘full and accurate records must be kept, and on computer where available.’ Electronic files kept on an offender include their case information sheet, their contact sheet and the OASys forms. Having undergone training in the above fields I am able to record information in a concise and effective manner. The training also taught me about the existing procedures and guidelines in place, which determine when each block of information needs to be recorded. National standards require a supervision plan to be completed within 15 working days of the order being imposed.

There are also procedures and guidelines in place for data protection and confidentiality. The code of practice….

  ‘establishes procedures and safeguards to promote

    the safe maintenance of good practice and

    compliance with the data protection act 1998 and

    Section 115 of the crime and disorder act.’

Having read the guidelines I acknowledge the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of the client. The data protection act is vast, but essentially it contains eight principles, which state that all data must be…..

1. Processed fairly and lawfully
2. Obtained and used only for specified and lawful purposes.
3. Adequate, relevant and not excessive
4. Accurate, and where necessary kept up to date
5. Kept for no longer than necessary
6. Processed in accordance with the individuals rights
7. Kept secure
8. Transferred only to countries that offer adequate data protection

When bearing such principles in mind, the case of BB his records showed that he had the HIV illness and so I decided to read the probation policy on dealing with HIV within the service. The dilemma I had at the time was whether I should discuss any issues I may have had with my work colleagues, or whether it would be unprofessional and breaking confidentiality to do so. Discussing the issue with my line manager and reviewing the policy informed me that I could discuss issues with colleagues, but in a professional manner. Fundamentally what this example highlights is that data protection and confidentiality are key aspects of probation work, and as an officer I will continually question myself on such issues, and seek to resolve such questioning in the manner highlighted above. One must also bear in mind that as my traineeship progresses there will be cases that involve child protection issues. I have looked into such possibilities and discovered that the Children’s Act 1989 will be the vital piece of legislation to underpin any actions I take as a probation officer. I have also discovered how to utilise other agencies that deal with child protection, including the social services and the Child Protection Agency.

I have also seen how other agencies operate with the issue of data protection. In the case of AA he telephoned the office to say that he was in hospital and that he could not make his appointment. I decided to verify his absence by telephoning the hospital. However the call yielded no information as the hospital stated that it could not convey information over the telephone. I had to fax them proof of who I was and what I wanted to know, and they telephoned to confirm that AC was in hospital. Furthermore, regardless of who I was they could not give me any more information such as the nature of his injuries or a possible date when he would be discharged. Ultimately agencies all have data protection policies, and as a probation officer we not only have to know our own policies, but have an idea as to how other agencies policies operate.

Issues of data protection are not confined to practical events and documentation; they are also major issues in the IT system (electronic data) which is heavily relied upon by the modern day probation service. As trainees we are trained to use these systems effectively and correctly in terms of procedures and guidelines.

Within the IT systems we need to utilize are a number of programmes in order to gather information and create electronic files on each offender. Microsoft word contains all the relevant forms and information on an offender, including the OASys forms, contact sheets (CS) and case information sheets (CIS). Good probation practice ensures there is an electronic version of past OASys forms and so a lot of information can be gathered from these forms in order to create new OASys files on an offender.

A key ability within word is to complete records promptly, concisely and accurately. The assessment of such a skill is apparent within the filling out of supervision plans, case information sheets and contact sheets. Contact sheets should be filled out as frequently as contact is made either with, or on behalf of a specific offender, a requirement of national standards. Case Information sheets need to be completed as soon as a case is allocated to an officer, and supervision plans need to be completed within fifteen working days of an order being imposed. Accuracy of these artifacts is also highly important and so the process of gathering information must yield information that is informative, accurate and concise.

Word is an essential tool for any probation officer, but the computer system offers other tools which can also be used to gather and create further information on individuals.

There is an email system in place which I have used to communicate with fellow probation officers and outside agencies. An example of this was a case I hold on CC, whereby she re-offended whilst on a 9 month CRO order. She appeared in a local Magistrate’s court and I received an email from a court officer asking me to produce a report on CC’s progress on her current CRO. I wrote the report and emailed it back to her and she was subsequently able to report back CC’s progress to the Magistrates. On this occasion I felt that CC should be kept on her order as I thought it would be inappropriate to give her a different type of sentence so soon into her current CRO. The result was that her CRO was extended to twelve months and I feel my progress report contributed to that outcome.

There is also a National Probation Service Electronic Mail Policy which highlights codes of practice which we, as probation officers, would adhere to. Essentially WYPB state that the use of Email is used to ‘improve operations’ without exposing the NPS to additional security threats. This is of particular\ importance when we, as trainees, use the Internet at work. We must be aware that we cannot use the Internet to transmit sensitive, confidential information over the Internet due to the risk of it being accessed by other users.

In terms of public protection another IT system used is OGRS (Offender Group Reconviction Scale), which gives the probation officer the chance to assess the offender’s possible risk of reconviction in the future using solely actuarial information…..

It is essential to bear in mind that the OGRS score is an estimate of the probability that offenders with the given history of offending will be reconvicted within 2 years of sentence.

It is a standardized set of questions regarding the offender’s previous convictions and the ages at which they are committed. The programme then takes the relevant information into account and processes a reconviction score in the form of a percentage. After I processed information for a case, WW,  the OGRS score for a reconviction for any offence is 84%. This would indicate that WW has, on the information provided, a high probability of re-offending within the next two years. I have completed OGRS scores for all six of my cases and the sheet is put in the public protection sleeve.

Another tool that I have been trained to use is CRAMS (Case Recording And Monitoring System), which states….

The primary purpose of placing an offender on one of the CRAMS registers is to ensure that any member of staff accessing a CRAMS record is made aware at the earliest possible opportunity of any risk factors relating to that case.

I have accessed the system on a number of occasions in the aim to familiarize myself with its construction and usage. It is used, as stated above, largely to identify any factors of risk that a said offender may bring with them and as trainees that is particularly important to us.

The IAPS (Interim Accredited Programmes Software) is a further programme which I have been trained to use. This is a database used to refer individuals to programmes that are attached to an order. In the case of CC I had to fill out a referral form and add him to the database for the DID’s programme, and in the case of WW I had to follow the same procedure but put him on the ETS database instead.

As mentioned throughout this KLO the IT systems used by ourselves within a probation setting are vitally important in the day to day workings of the service and the need to be competent and knowledgeable of the system are a must for correct, concise probation practice. IT training is a major part of probation training but practical work also takes a pivotal role in helping the trainee to gain the necessary experience required for the post.

During my initial training I had the opportunity to shadow a colleague who was interviewing a sex offender, PP, and subsequently filling out the OASys forms, risk assessment forms and IAPS-which offered him access to a sex offender programme.

The offender had been previously incarcerated and was currently on an order. As this was my first opportunity of watching an interview my initial thoughts were that I was being thrown in at the deep end. Sex offenders provoke strong emotions within society, and I have grown up in an environment that at the very least sees sex offenders to be one of the lowest forms of criminals. However probation work is all about being professional and my personal feelings must be subdued to avoid bias and discrimination against the offender. During the interview I observed how my colleague conducted herself, took my own notes and afterwards recorded a reflective log. I followed this up by filling out an OASys form, risk assessment and IAPS under the watchful eye of my colleague. However the over-riding aspect to such an exercise was the issue of confidentiality, that is in having access to information on individuals such as PP.

Language and its usage also plays a key role in the supervising officer/client relationship. To use language that is both non-judgemental and anti-discriminatory is a fundamental pre-requisite for effective probation practice. One of my cases, JJ, has the HIV virus and I made presumptions as to how he contracted it. Having read a case file I observed a long history of drug use, and so presumed he had contracted the disease through drug use. This essentially is a pre-judgment, and on reflection it is inappropriate to make such presumptions, and is discriminatory to do so. This was proven in a subsequent interview, whereby I was gathering information for an OASys and he informed me that he had caught HIV through homosexual activity. This example proves that there is no room in the probation service for such judgments, yet it is only through experience that we recognise how we judge people and how we can rectify our mistakes. These judgments could ultimately lead to inaccurate information being recorded for that individual, which is not only poor practice but can have adverse consequences.

The case of JJ could also yield issues of discrimination, and so I decided to gather some information on the procedures set out by the probation service on working with individuals who have HIV. I found the strategy, which stated…..

1. The protection and the health of all employees, service users and consequently the public.

2. That no individual is denied, or receives a lesser service because s(he) is either HIV, or has a HIV related illness.

Obviously such procedures are important to follow, but of particular relevance to anti-discriminatory practice is the second point. Fundamentally JB has HIV, but despite the stigma attached to the illness, (particularly through media conceptions) language, whether it is verbal or non-verbal (i.e. body language) cannot reflect such stigmas and make an individual (JJ) feel uncomfortable and thus receive a lesser service. When I received the case I discussed its implications with my PDA, but I had no reservations in dealing with the individual. He has a serious illness, but there are procedures in place to protect others, and he is still a human being who can lead a normal life if he so chooses, and by not forgetting that fact discriminatory issues can be minimalized.

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