From probation work to criminal sanctions work: Key changes in social work with offenders in Finland from the 1960s to today. (April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Harrikari, Timo; Westerholm, Kristina
• Is Part Of: European journal of probation. Volume 7:Number 1(2015)
• Page Start: 21
• Page End: 39
• Publication Date: 2015-04
• Subjects: Criminal justice social work -- governance -- probation; Probation -- Europe -- Periodicals; 364.6309405
• DOI: 10.1177/2066220315575673
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2066-2203

Abstract

The article addresses key changes in Finnish probation work's rationalities, mentalities and technologies from the 1960s to the present, examining them within a wider governance theory framework. The article asks how the following aspects of probation work have changed: (1) the conditions of probation work, (2) its institutional self-understanding, (3) its work methods and (4) its objectives. The thesis is that these changes have been connected to several synchronous and multi-layered developments, such as globalization, a re-orientation of Finnish social policy and the introduction of new methods and tools within probation work.