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Journal Article 1: Wells, T., Colbert, S., & Slate, R. N. (2006). Gender matters: Differences in state probation officer stress. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 22, 63–79.

Abstract: The causes of stress for criminal justice practitioners, including probation officers, can generally be categorized into four areas: internal to the organization, external to the organization, the job or task itself, or personal in nature. Historically, criminal justice agencies have been characterized as male-dominated organizations. However, the presence of females in the criminal justice arena is growing, as evidenced in this project. The purpose of this analysis is to examine female and male perceptions of stress among what has been a predominately male-occupied position, probation officers. Overall, the findings suggest that female probation officers exhibit greater signs of physical stress yet, remarkably, reflect lower levels of occupational stress in the study at hand. With the limitations of this study in mind, prospects for further research are delineated.

Journal Article 2: Deering, J. (2010). Attitudes and beliefs of trainee probation officers: A “new breed”? Probation Journal, 57, 9–26.

Abstract: As part of their attempts to re-package probation supervision as ‘punishment in the community’ and concerned with risk assessment and the protection of the public, recent Conservative and Labour governments abolished social work training for probation officers and, over the last 10 years have sought to recruit trainees from a wider base than previously and train them in these new objectives. This study looks at the attitudes of two cohorts of trainees over a range of issues and concludes that they may be more ‘traditional’ in terms of these attitudes than government may have wished.