A practitioner's response to Tidmarsh and Uche's article: ‘A Professional Register for Probation Practitioners in England and Wales: Opportunities and Challenges’

Abstract

Tidmarsh and Uche detail three broad opportunities for professional registration (i.e. increasing confidence in probation, professional identity and values, and enhancing continuous professional development frameworks) and three challenges for professional registration (i.e. organisational readiness, unnecessary bureaucracy, and an imbalance of scrutiny). This practitioner response analyses how the imposition of the probation professional register, and its accompanying policy framework, bring risks to the organisational culture of the probation service that ought to be considered. Furthermore, there are wider needs that the service must overcome to maximise the effectiveness of the register and for staff to buy-in. Despite these risks and needs, there are also many strengths associated with professional registration. Although the Probation Professional Registration Policy Framework has now been implemented, it is still in its infancy. This discussion comes at a time when the organisation itself is still establishing internal structures to support the rollout and so encouraging staff to buy-in to the new policy framework is essential.