Troubled service itself on probation

By NAOMI LARKIN

Being a probation officer can be a rewarding job - but it also brings stresses and, it seems, temptations.

Witness the sacking this week of two officers at the centre of drugs-for-favours allegations after an internal investigation.

The Public Service Association has already labelled the findings of the Department of Corrections investigation flawed and unfair. The officers, both from the South Auckland branch of the Community Probation Service, plan personal grievance claims.

And yesterday the stress of dealing with a criminal element most people prefer to avoid was dramatically illustrated when the Employment Court awarded a retired probation officer 14 years' salary plus punitive damages, compensation for stress and costs.

Christopher Gilbert claimed his employers worked him to exhaustion and that he was forced into early retirement on stress-related medical grounds in 1996, aged 51.

His total payout is in the region of $1 million.

A job advertisement for probation officer could read something like this:

Wanted: People who can deal equally well with criminals, judges, lawyers and police.

Needed: the ability to stay on the right side of the law.

Certainly the scandals and dismissals that have plagued the service this year have turned up the heat on the performance of its 550 members.

One high-profile case involved the dismissal of a male manager who had sex with a male offender.

Since the beginning of this year, investigations have been launched into 12 staff (including the two women) for breaches including sexual harassment, drink-driving and assault.

Last year, 33 employees were investigated, misconduct was proved in 26 cases and seven staff were dismissed.

The probes involved misuse of department property, failure to supervise offenders on periodic detention and breaking the Privacy and Official Information Acts.

So just what are these people supposed to be doing and how does the service operate?

The real job advertisement, put out by the department, reads: Are you interested in contributing to make New Zealand a safer place to live?

As a Probation Officer you will be expected to assess offender behaviour using assessment tools, formulate sound recommendations to assist the judiciary in sentencing, identify appropriate interventions to establish sentence management plans and work closely with targeted offenders.

Applicants have to demonstrate competence in analysis, problem-solving and judgment. They must possess communication and relationship-management skills, adaptability and resilience, and be team players.

It is their job to work face to face with serious and persistent criminals, to advise courts and prisons on the suitability and risks of sentences and parole, and to prepare reparation reports on behalf of victims.

When an offender fails to follow the conditions of sentence, the probation officer turns into an enforcer - all in all a big ask for people whose pay will range from $33,000 to $42,000 a year.

Sean Rahui, organiser for the Public Service Association, the union representing more than 70 per cent of probation officers, says members work in "extremely trying situations."

"They endeavour to do their best under difficult circumstances.

"They work with people that you and I would prefer not to deal with, but they have to work with them on a daily basis.

"The challenges of that job are extreme, and some of the work that is being done by these people ... is critical to ensuring that we reduce the amount of reoffending in the community."

The service's general manager, Ann Clark, says the people who apply to be probation officers often have social work experience or a relevant degree. A formal qualification is not essential.

The recruiting process involves checks with referees, a work sample, psychometric tests (measurement of mental ability) and criminal history checks.

However, several investigations into misconduct last year involved staff who had failed to disclose convictions when applying for their jobs.

"Generally there is a great deal of interest in probation officer jobs that are advertised. However, like any national organisation, we do have some geographical areas where it is more difficult to recruit," Ann Clark says.

There are about 550 probation officers nationwide - 460 of them full-time.

Between 1997 and last year, 1460 people applied for 57 vacancies.

Once appointed, applicants undergo a formal induction followed by ongoing professional supervision.

The department will spend $1.3 million on staff training during the 1999-2000 financial year.

Because of the high number of Maori in prison, the service is actively trying to recruit Maori. There is an added push this year to increase the number of Maori managers.

Although they make up only 15 per cent of the population, Maori men account for 35 per cent of arrests for violence.

Similarly, Pacific Island men account for 10 per cent of such arrests, and make up 3.4 per cent of the population.

"Corrections aims to recruit, develop and reward staff employees who can add value to the department's commitment to reducing reoffending by Maori," says Ann Clark.

The service has introduced the Taste of Leadership programme for Maori officers, designed to help them become managers, and has sponsored staff on Te Aratau, a Maori management programme.

The service's southern region has also started an assistant probation officer scheme to encourage Maori into the job. It involves a balance of study and probation work.

But one Auckland probation officer told the Herald that the push for Maori to become managers was irrespective of merit and at the expense of non-Maori.

"I'm anti this separatism, and I don't think it's right.

"Only Maori probation officers can do it [the Taste of Leadership programme], and so they are pushed into management positions ahead of other people."

Ann Clark says the number of cases dealt with at any one time depends on the role the probation officer is performing.

"A probation officer who is part of a specialist team, for example an officer doing home detention, works intensively with fewer clients and writes reports.

"Some others predominantly supervise offenders and have no report-writing responsibilities."

All staff must sign the department's Code of Conduct, written in 1996.

The manual clearly sets out the disciplinary processes that must be followed. Breaches result in an employment investigation, according to Ann Clark.

The service's northern regional manager, Gordon Attwood, is adamant that, despite the number of investigations, the code is an adequate means of ensuring acceptable staff behaviour.

"The Code of Conduct is very rigorous because we are setting modelling behaviour for offenders.

"We are standing up as probation officers and saying: 'We want you as an offender to not offend.'

"To do that we have to be above reproach. We can't be inconsistent and say: 'Well, you behave yourselves but we don't have to'."

The "vast majority" of staff work hard and are professional, he says. The service owes it to these staff, and to the public, to act quickly and firmly when one of the flock fails to follow correct procedures.

"It's really disappointing that two have let the side down when the other 550 probation officers are sitting there going: 'We work so hard, eight to 10 hours a day, seven days a week sometimes, trying to model appropriate behaviour for offenders and show them a way of not offending and motivate them not to offend.'

"It's really disappointing ... in such a public way, in such a topical kind of issue."