Probation Journal, Ahead of Print.
Undercover: Can Probation keep us safe? – the Panorama programme which was shown on BBC television in May 2024 employed an undercover journalist to investigate the quality of supervision provided within an approved premises. Over the past three decades, public debates that often follow apparent failures to protect the public from individuals under probation supervision do not necessarily illuminate the complexities of public protection but, it is argued, the particular approach adopted by the Panorama programme was counter-productive to the wider public understanding of the work of the probation service. The approach, content and ideological positioning of Can Probation keep us safe? obscured rather than enlightened the debate about probation’s role in rehabilitation and the assessment and management of risk in protecting the public.