Chief Officer's Welcome

This is the website of the Probation Service in Cumbria. Welcome, and I hope you find what you are looking for. In its earlier years the Probation Service was little known but in recent times much more information has appeared in the media. Not all of this is entirely accurate so this website seeks to give you reliable information about what we do. Our range of activities may be wider than you thought covering work with victims of crime, work in prisons, and the provision of unpaid work as well as the traditional role of supervising offenders “on probation.”

What we do is challenging and demanding for offenders. Especially during the early part of their supervision they will need to give up considerable amounts of time and, for some, turn up to perform days of work for the community. At the same time probation staff will challenge them about what led to offending and what they can do to prevent a repeat offence. Of course not all are ready to listen, but for those who are there are effective interventions that can help change attitudes, develop skills, and improve social inclusion.

For dangerous offenders the emphasis is on control and supervision. Almost all offenders are released from prison at some point and we do important work with our colleagues in the Police Service and with other partners to ensure this happens with the minimum risk to the public.

If you are interested in a job with us you will find details on the site and if you have a suggestion where we might get offenders to do their unpaid work for the community you can submit it to us.

Please browse through our site and use the interesting links that exist to other information.

Annette Hennessy

Chief Officer

Cumbria Probation Service

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