ABSTRACT
Probation workers do not have a high public profile. They do not wear uniforms and do not perform a high-visibility role that marks out to the public what they routinely do. The probation service does not have familiar and recognizable ‘talking heads’ who articulate through the media the probation perspective on criminal justice matters. Media coverage of probation work is intermittent, but media organizations do broadcast negative news when probation workers are implicated in incidents of failure in the criminal justice system. However, our research established that probation workers feel underestimated and misunderstood not only by the media, but also by family members, friends and the general public. This chapter examines probation workers’ perceptions of how they are regarded by family, friends, the wider public and politicians. The extent to which the job is regarded as ‘socially tainted’ in that it involves working with people despised by society in general, media representations of probation work and the near-universal failure of the service to manage its media image are analysed.
