These traditional goals of probation are the provision of appropriate help for offenders, the statutory supervision of offenders, the diversion of appropriate offenders from custodial sentences, and the reduction of crime. These aims need radical reconceptualization in view of the collapse of confidence in treatment, however. Help would be substituted for treatment and would be defined by the client. In contrast to the coercion imposed by the compulsory treatment model, surveillance would place responsibility on the client but would not punish the client for making wrong choices. Further diversion of offenders from custodial sentences would be possible, based on a complete reconceptualization of practice in social inquiry work. Crime reduction through crime prevention would be undertaken only in communities desiring the involvement of the probation service in this area. A total of 134 reference notes are supplied.