Feminist criminology and probation practice: The implications for teaching DipSW probation courses

This paper considers the impact of Feminist Criminology upon the teaching of DipSW Probation Streams. Paper 30 (CCETSW, 1991) and an increasing body of Feminist criminological research and literature makes it imperative that gender is incorporated as a central feature of Probation training if the perpetuation of discrimination against women in Criminal Justice is to be avoided. Both the content of courses and the processes by which they are delivered needs to be addressed. The Probation Service has a key role in the assessment process pre-court, in the court arena, and in supervising women offenders in the community. The training of future officers could positively contribute to practice change in these areas, and this paper explores what courses should deliver in order to aid this process. In addition to content and process recommendations, the paper recognises the wider gender inequalities institutionalised both within Probation and the Criminal Justice system. This is the context within which students are taught, and within which existing oppressions are learned. The limits of this constraint upon achieving DipSW programme change are acknowledged and partly resolved.