Is Probation Still Possible?

This article is based on the 14th B ill M c W illiams M emorial L ecture, delivered at the I nstitute of C riminology in C ambridge on 22 J une 2011. It contrasts the present and likely future state of probation services in E ngland and W ales with their good standing and reputation in the third quarter of the 20th C entury, and considers whether there are core features of probation which can be identified in its earlier theory and practice which help to account for this. It traces the recent history of probation services in E ngland and W ales in the context of social and political changes, and questions how much a probation service which moves away from help towards punishment can still have in common with earlier visions. Finally, some future possibilities are discussed, together with the political conditions which might help or hinder them.