The article reviewed the historical background to the structural affinities between work and penalty. It also examined the nature of the modern probation service, in particular the extensive network of guidelines, contracts, monitoring, and inspection which regulate not only offenders but also the probation officers' working practices. The article focused on how the activities of probation officers had been actively steered to reflect and implement new directions in the administration of modern penalty. National Standards are part of a wider development that devolves to the probation officer, increasing responsibility for punishment beyond the prison. However, away from the confines of the custodial environment, control is uncertain and the terms of engagement between officer and offender are open to individual interpretation. Because of this, National Standards must reassure the State: these protocols are devised to control, regulate, monitor, and assess offenders and the officers and agencies responsible for them. In summary, the probation service has changed from an agency that will "advise, assist, and befriend" to one that is expected to "confront, control, and monitor." Notes, references