Back To The Future

Abstract

The Probation Service has an established tradition of identifying and meeting the housing and related support needs of offenders. However, under the Government's Supporting People initiative and the changes proposed in the Housing Green Paper, current arrangements will change dramatically. Ensuring these changes do not disadvantage offenders will be a complex task not made easier by the News of the World's campaign to name child sex offenders. Here, Diane Barkley and Steve Collett argue that offenders can gain considerably from the future shape of housing services providing that both practitioners and managers engage fully in the new arrangements.