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Working within the justice system is not without its challenges. From creaking backlogs, cuts in services and complex individuals, those who play an important role in cranking the wheels of justice are often forgotten about. Most often, they happen to be those who can make the biggest difference. Probation workers are tasked with supporting offenders and helping them get their lives back on track. It’s a demanding role requiring resilience, emotional intelligence and good communication skills. And it sees those who can be tarred with a certain brush after being in the dock move on and successfully rebuild their lives. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , Andrew, who works with Trafford probation service has said that a leopard can change its spots. He began as a chef, working in restaurants in Paris. He then moved into the care sector, working with young people who suffered from self-harming and mental health issues. His career in the probation service began at 25, and he has been there ever since. “I’ve worked as a care assistant, I've worked as a one-to-one self-harm worker, I’ve worked as a support worker in mental health. I used to also work as an auxiliary nurse in psychiatric wards as well,” he said. “I've also been a residential social worker in a children's home. I did all this while I was quite young and I think that's what led me on the path to go to probation because I was working with individuals within the care system. “Working on social care, especially with the youth, they were sometimes linked more to the criminal side and I was thinking that’s a side I would like to explore a bit more. “So I went to university, did a degree in community studies, and whilst at university I applied for several jobs - as well as probation - and I got the job.” Now, Andrew works with complex individuals, those who are ‘misinterpreted and misunderstood’, he said. “If you look at the media, the media always perceive people in a certain way. And I think from my perspective, I wanted to work with these individuals with complex needs,” he explained. “Because people think a leopard can’t change its spots, well leopards can change their spots. I've worked for 22 years in probation. We work with hundreds of individuals, and I would say 90% of them have never come back. “So we do have that ability to achieve that, but it's about enabling people to make their own decisions, motivate them, identify the triggers about the offending behaviour and the risk. “Giving them the option to move forward in their life successfully, giving them the option to rehabilitate themselves, it's not about us doing it for them, because we need to empower people to make their own choices.” Andrew spends his days in meetings, with clients or in court. He said the days are fast-paced, and those wishing to work in such a job would need to build up resilience. He said: “I admit some days even though I strive on stress, I've been around for long enough that I can manage that. I think if you're a newbie coming to the job, you have to be aware. “It's not all about sitting in front of an individual. It's all about the paperwork and the policies in the background, the things we have to do, the meetings we have to attend, the phone calls we have to do, the video links, the court reports we have to write, the court payments we have to take, it's just so varied.” He said the job can be challenging, with unplanned clients, complex cases and busy workloads. Whilst the recent backlog has proved difficult, he said it’s been fluctuating over the years. Once a person is referred to the probation service, an initial assessment is completed where they collect basic information, go through the sentence of the court with them and help them understand what is expected from them. “We say that although yes, you've been sentenced and you've been punished and you're being put on a community order, this is your chance and this is your responsibility,” Andrew said. “You will get people who come in who are not that very motivated to address some of the issues or offending behaviour. You roll with resistance and you keep trying and keep trying. “It's up to them, it is like anybody - if you don't want to go on a rollercoaster, you don't want to make somebody do it, you just have to encourage them, say ‘oh it's a very good rollercoaster, it will make you very happy’. That's what you have to do, and I mean, over the years I've had some very resistant people. “You just have to keep chipping away and just say, ‘this is not here for me, this is here for you. Use it to your advantage. I'm here to support you’.” Training within the service ensures every single probation worker is prepared for every circumstance. “Working with certain individuals, you do certain individual training to work with certain individual needs. You won't work with somebody, like a sexual offender if you haven't had the training. You wouldn't be expected to work with someone you haven't been trained to work with,” he said. Whilst there have been challenging moments, Andrew’s been met with many rewarding aspects too. “To see somebody go through a sentence, come to the beginning of the sentence where there's loads of issues, and they finish a sentence where they've identified what the issues were and they've moved on to a successful life, it’s amazing,” he said. “I had a lad last year who has never worked in his life, and at the age of 32 is now working full-time and earning a good wage. You know, I still keep in contact a lot with my clients after they finish. I've even been invited to a parents evening.” He added: “I absolutely love my job. I love my managers, I love the colleagues I work with and I absolutely love working with the clients I work with and it doesn't matter how complex they are and how difficult they are to work with, that's my job, that's what's expected of my job. “Yes, you have to be resilient. Yes, it is difficult. Yes, it is overwhelming. Yes, it is emotionally draining at times and it's a job which could be quite difficult because of the complexity of working with individuals. “But it is a very, very rewarding job to see somebody from the beginning of a sentence to the end of the sentence put all those changes in is outstanding.” Thousands of probation officers in England and Wales are helping to support offenders to get their lives back on track, cut crime and keep the public safe. The Probation Service is looking for people with resilience, emotional intelligence and good organisational and communication skills. For more information about applying for a role within the Probation Service, click here .
