In Part 1, The Story of Probation in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, chapters 1 through 4 focus on the development, structure, staffing and operation of probation in England and Wales. Chapter 5 outlines the very different probation structures and practice in Scotland and how welfare practices may not have been eclipsed, but reinscribed and relegitimated. Chapter 6 focuses on probation practice in Northern Ireland. In Part 2, Probation Services: Impact, Prospects and Potential in Everyday Life, chapters 7 through 14 revolve around probation practice. The focus is on probation practice in light of research evidence, and how practice will likely be affected by the proposed structural changes related to the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). In Part 3, What Works in Probation, what is meant by effectiveness and what is known about it is examined in chapters 15 through 20. The discussion involves paying attention to values, victims, the interests of the public at large, and the different voices of probation staff and the offenders with whom they work. For those working in probation, studying the subject as part of a wider criminology or criminal justice course or training for it, this is an essential text. It takes full account of the many changes that the Probation Service has undergone over the last few years, and is currently undergoing as probation becomes, in England and Wales, part of the broader NOMS. The contributors to the book are leading academics and practitioners in the field, drawing upon the best expertise available. The book addresses a range of key current issues such as ways of responding to the diversity of offenders and creating effective links with other criminal justice agencies. References, glossary and index