Probation practice and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Rationale

Twenty-one Community Rehabilitation Companies were set up following the division of the National Probation Services during ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’ in England and Wales, under a 2013 Ministry of Justice initiative. Reunification commenced in 2018. A study completed prior to these changes suggested that probation officers had had little training in recognising attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and may have been underestimating its prevalence among their clientele. Given the substantial changes in probation staffing and organisation since 2018, a new study seems warranted.

Aims

The aim of the study was to understand experiences of people under a community sentence who reported having ADHD and of probation staff working with them.

Methods

Using a qualitative research design, one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with client facing probation staff recruited from one Community Rehabilitation Company. Service users undertaking a community sentence who had been diagnosed with or self-identified as having ADHD were then identified and recruited by these staff; those who consented were also interviewed. Transcripts were analysed using a thematic analytic approach.

Results

Thirteen probation staff and six male offenders under community sentences, agreed to participate and completed interviews. The overarching themes emerging from the two groups were similar, both reflecting on descriptions of ADHD; treatment of ADHD; experiences of having or working with ADHD in the wider community and in the criminal justice system specifically and visions of future support needs tied to the order. In addition, probation officers specifically raised the matter of payment by results. Both service users and probation staff identified gaps in knowledge, experience and services, but areas of good practice were also identified.

Conclusion

The findings highlight the continuing under-acknowledgement of tailored clinical support for people serving a community sentence who have ADHD together with a lack of support and training about ADHD for probation staff. Return to the national organisation of probation services and recognition of need for a range of relevant skills offers a great opportunity for re-evaluating supervision and management of offenders under community sentences who have ADHD. These findings provide the basis for a template for developing knowledge and support provision for probation staff to recognise ADHD, or its likelihood, and their capacity to follow through with appropriately informed personalised supervision plans and access to specialist service advice and support.