BEYOND ATTENDANCE: PRACTICE-BASED OBSERVATIONS OF PROBATION SUPERVISION AT A REPORTING SITE, PAKISTAN

Abstract

This paper explores the implementation of probation in practice in Pakistan where despite the enabling legislation for probation there is hardly any research that has been published on the routine practice of probation. It is based on structured field observations recorded during a research data collection exercise with the probationers in Rawalpindi, Punjab which highlighted the practical and organizational impediments for rehabilitative supervision. Field notes were taken on multiple data-collection visits to a probation reporting facility in a district court complex, during which date was collected concurrently. Observations were not collected using an ethnographic protocol but were systematically recorded by the research team as a contextual record alongside the quantitative study of the probationers and reviewed and summarized into common patterns of observation and then mapped against constructs from literature in international probation and correctional psychology. The following seven recurring patterns were identified: supervision as attending to court instead of rehabilitating probationers; lack of any officer-probationer relationship or relationships that are constrained; overly high probationer caseloads; poor physical facilities and lack of confidential access; limited legal knowledge among probationers; mistrust and guardedness of probationers in the institution; and social-desirability effects related to proximity of staff. A series of clearly defined policy and practice ideas are suggested, such as caseload reform, provision of a dedicated confidential interview room, a standardized induction for probationers and embedding psychologically informed practice into the probation service. This paper provides one of the first comprehensive, documented and practice-based descriptions of probation supervision in Pakistan.