Probation and parole in Ireland: Law and practice By V. Guerin, S. McCarthy, Dublin: Clarus Press. 2022. pp. 380. €45.00 (pbk). ISBN: 9781911611608

Abstract

While the practices of probation and parole in Ireland have a significant history, dating back over a century, there is a considerable lack of comprehensive literature examining the place they have taken in the Irish criminal justice system, their legal framework and their inherent practices. What little literature exists is mostly academic in nature, which makes Vivian Guerin and Shane McCarthy's book unique in its approach. Probation and parole in Ireland: Law and practice contributes a valuable and comprehensive insight into both of these important aspects of the criminal justice system, focusing primarily on the legal and practical aspects of each.

In the Introduction, the authors note the lack of a substantive text on probation and parole and argue that those ‘involved in providing, delivering and managing probation and parole services need and deserve the tools to do their jobs to the best of their ability … this book is aimed at providing a collection of those vital tools for probation and parole professionals, as well as for those who study in these and related fields’ (p.1). This is an ambitious undertaking. With such a diverse agenda it would be easy to fall short of the mark, yet the authors comprehensively achieve this goal. The book draws on the experience of both authors as practitioners in the penal system to achieve this aim and to provide a clear analysis of relevant legislation, case law, international standards and research underpinning the practices of parole and probation in Ireland. The authors cover a significant amount of material throughout the book, yet manage to present it in a clear, logical and accessible manner. The organisation of the book chapters allows the reader to either follow the path of the book in a coherent way or to use particular chapters as reference points for smaller nuggets of particular information.

It would be impossible within the scope of this short review to do justice to the wide range of material covered and the perspectives offered by Shane McCarthy and Vivian Geiran. Therefore, what follows is an effort to give a brief summary of the book's structure, core insights and conclusions.

The book opens with a comprehensive history of the development of the law, policy and practices that underpin the modern system, focusing primarily on the Irish perspective but with a necessary exploration of comparative developments in the UK and the US. It outlines the development of modern punishment and sentencing approaches from standardised and retributive ones to a more individualised and rehabilitative ethos that underpinned the growth of ‘humanitarian and reforming mechanisms’ (p.30) into a quasi-singular system of probation and parole. The chapter continues to explore the early frameworks for the current Parole Board and the Probation Service in Ireland and charts their development, concluding with an examination of modern discourse in relation to both. This provides the context to understand contemporary evolutions within the area, that are discussed in more depth throughout the remainder of the book.

Chapter 3 explores the concept of offender assessment. It focuses, in particular, on the notion of risk, beginning with an interesting and insightful discussion of the history and development of risk assessment and proceeds to examine the ways in which risk assessments have been used in Ireland in sentencing, probation and parole practices. The discussions are critical in nature, outlining the various uses of risk assessment but also highlighting the dangers of relying too heavily on such reports in decision making – emphasising the need to ‘understand not only the role and purpose of these instruments but also their limitations’ (p.79).

Probation work is the focus of Chapter 4 which opens by considering the various conceptualisation of ‘probation’. This exploration finds that probation is a concept that encompasses a variety of meanings, including a system in and of itself, a supervisory sanction and a practice. What is clear from this chapter is the multifaceted and complex nature of the work undertaken by probation officers in Ireland, with a breadth of principles, model, practices and approaches to consider throughout their work.

Chapter 5 focuses on community service and as with other chapters explores the definition, legal basis, international standards and policy recommendations in relation to community service. The authors highlight the opportunity to follow the example of other jurisdictions in using community service as a diversionary sanction rather than being permitted as a substitute sentence when a custodial sentence has already been imposed.

The book opens with a comprehensive history of the development of the law, policy and practices that underpin the modern system, focusing primarily on the Irish perspective but with a necessary exploration of comparative developments in the UK and the US. It outlines the development of modern punishment and sentencing approaches from standardised and retributive ones to a more individualised and rehabilitative ethos that underpinned the growth of ‘humanitarian and reforming mechanisms’ (p.30) into a quasi-singular system of probation and parole. The chapter continues to explore the early frameworks for the current Parole Board and the Probation Service in Ireland and charts their development, concluding with an examination of modern discourse in relation to both. This provides the context to understand contemporary evolutions within the area, that are discussed in more depth throughout the remainder of the book.

Chapter 3 explores the concept of offender assessment. It focuses, in particular, on the notion of risk, beginning with an interesting and insightful discussion of the history and development of risk assessment and proceeds to examine the ways in which risk assessments have been used in Ireland in sentencing, probation and parole practices. The discussions are critical in nature, outlining the various uses of risk assessment but also highlighting the dangers of relying too heavily on such reports in decision making – emphasising the need to ‘understand not only the role and purpose of these instruments but also their limitations’ (p.79).

Probation work is the focus of Chapter 4 which opens by considering the various conceptualisation of ‘probation’. This exploration finds that probation is a concept that encompasses a variety of meanings, including a system in and of itself, a supervisory sanction and a practice. What is clear from this chapter is the multifaceted and complex nature of the work undertaken by probation officers in Ireland, with a breadth of principles, model, practices and approaches to consider throughout their work.

Chapter 5 focuses on community service and as with other chapters explores the definition, legal basis, international standards and policy recommendations in relation to community service. The authors highlight the opportunity to follow the example of other jurisdictions in using community service as a diversionary sanction rather than being permitted as a substitute sentence when a custodial sentence has already been imposed.

Geiran and McCarthy consider the concept of restorative justice at length. At the outset of Chapter 6 they take time to consider the definition and parameters of the concept before discussing the models of practice and key stakeholders in detail – highlighting the need for the co-operation of state agencies to ensure that the restorative practice programmes work effectively while vindicating the rights of the victim. Once considered a novel practice in criminal justice, restorative practice is now a proven, victim-centred practice that should be considered a necessary and integral part of probation practice as opposed to being an ‘optional extra in the probation officer's toolkit’ (p.189).

Chapter 7 presents the background, history, law and practices of parole, situating parole as a rehabilitative initiative which offers ‘hope as well as an opportunity to change’ (p.193). The changes and implications brought forth by the commencement of the Parole Act 2019 are explored, and act to future-proof the book to an extent. The authors also consider the role of the probation service and the sanctions for breach of parole.

The remaining chapters are used to address some ancillary issues that include juveniles and electronic monitoring. Indeed, these final chapters are interesting in that they consider a multitude of issues, many of which are quite contemporary in nature, reflecting newer trends emerging in relation to probation and parole. Many of these issues highlight and reinforce the requirement for cross-sectoral collaboration and interagency engagement, a theme that is prevalent throughout the entire book.

Overall, this book is a significant resource to anyone interested in probation or parole in Ireland, or indeed with any interest in criminal justice. The book is comprehensive in its scope and is written in an accessible format that reflects the research and consideration that clearly underpin the process of writing this text. Moreover, the vast experience of the two authors is evident in the discussion and critique they offer throughout. The insights and discussion would be valuable to legal practitioners, probation and parole officers, academics and students of criminology or criminal justice.