Exploring positive working relationships in light of the aims of probation, using a collaborative approach

This article begins to consider the factors that promote the formation of a positive working relationships (PWR) between practitioner and probationer. The results from a pilot study are used to review the importance of “assist, advice and befriend” and “confront, challenge and change” within current practitioneroffender relationships. Through collaborative design, five probationers completed visual narratives to explore significant PWR’s with criminal justice professionals and 36 probation staff completed a questionnaire to examine their beliefs around PWR’s with probationers. The results highlight the benefit of demonstrating a genuine belief in probationers’ capacity to change and are discussed in light of the literature.