Definition and Job Purpose

 

A Trainee Probation Officer is an employee of the Probation Area, appointed on a time-limited (normally two-year) contract, who is working to obtain the Diploma in Probation Studies (DipPS). The DipPS is an integrated award, made up of a degree in Community Justice and a National Vocational Qualification in Community Justice (NVQ) at Level 4. Upon successful completion of training and award of the DipPS, a Trainee Probation Officer will be eligible for appointment as a Probation Officer.

 

Main Duties and Responsibilities

 

As a person in training, the Trainee Probation Officer's principal objective is to undertake the academic work and experience in probation practice necessary to acquire, practice and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, values and competences required by the degree and the NVQ which constitute the DipPS. The Trainee Probation Officer's learning needs will determine the amount and nature of the work undertaken.

 

In the course of their training, Trainee Probation Officers will undertake work on behalf of the employing Probation Area and will therefore provide a service to Courts, penal institutions, individual Probation Area users (or persons for whom the Probation Area has a responsibility) and local communities. A Trainee Probation Officer will therefore be required at all times to work in accordance with the Probation Rules, National Standards, the Probation Board's policies and all other relevant enactments and policies.

 

In particular, in all their work, Trainee Probation Officers will ensure that service delivery reflects the Probation Area's Equality of Opportunities and Anti-Discriminatory policies and will promote, especially by contributing to risk assessment and management, the Area's over-riding responsibility to ensure the safety of Service users, staff and the public.

 

Specifically, a Trainee Probation Officer will:

 

·        Attend all required academic teaching events, as arranged by the University, the Consortium or the Probation Area

 

·        Complete the required academic assignments

 

 

·        Observe and participate in training and other learning experiences as arranged by the Consortium or the Probation Area

 

·        Undertake such work on the Probation Area's behalf as may be required by the responsible Practice Development Assessor (PDA), which may include:

 

i)         Providing the Courts with advice and information on defendants, especially through the preparation of Pre-Sentence Reports

 

ii)        Contributing to the effective supervision of offenders on community sentences or after release from a penal institution

 

iii)       Assisting prisoners before and after release to lead law-abiding lives, including contributing to sentence management

 

iv)       Helping communities to prevent crime and reduce its impact on victims

 

v)        Liaising with individuals and agencies on the Probation Area's behalf

 

vi)       Working in partnership with other agencies to help to reduce the incidence of offending

 

Supervision and Accountability

 

A Trainee Probation Officer will be formally accountable to the Probation Board and to the Chief Officer through the supervision of the designated Senior Probation Officer and Assistant Chief Officer.

 

Trainee Probation Officers may be required to work in a variety of settings and, in each setting, will be expected to contribute to the operation of the unit by attending team meetings and other such events, as well as implementing local working arrangements. In these settings, they will also be accountable to the relevant line manager for the standard of their work.

 

For the purposes of their education and training, Trainee Probation Officers will be under the supervision of a Practice Development Assessor (PDA), a Probation Officer assigned to this responsibility. The frequency of supervision will be determined by the PDA in discussion with the Trainee Probation Officer.