Racism and Anti-Racism in Probation

Drawing on detailed ethnographic material, Denney presents a challenging analysis of the complex processes by which black people are treated differentially by probation services, and offers suggestions for improved probation practice.
"Racism and Anti-Racism in Probation" analyzes the complex processes through which black people are differentially treated by the probation service. Focusing on the use of "language" in probation practice, David Denney shows how subjective judgements made by probation officers can be given a quasi-scientific quality within the criminal justice system and are often used to justify sentencing practice. In particular, the underlying assumptions and perceptions of probation officers in relation to race are crucial in understanding the nature of the service offered to black offenders. Drawing on ethnographic material as well as his own wide experience of probation work, David Denney demonstrates how probation officers exercise power in a subjective manner, through judgements given verbally to the courts and written reports. The process through which these are constructed and transmitted in a form acceptable to sentencers has a fictional quality, with clearly framed linguistic entrances, exits and interventions, all governed by a code of esoteric conventions unknown to the offender.