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Risk of Harm to Otters: A Probation Officer's Diary
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"Product Description
A fascinating peek into a Probation Officer's world. We accompany Lois Sansom for a year, to variety of probation settings including prisons, young offender teams and courts. Her diary tells offenders' stories and describes their crimes in full and sometimes graphic detail. Lois works with a wide range of criminals, aged from 13 to 80, from sex offenders to arsonists, murderers to drug dealers. Lois approaches her work with dedication as well as humour (her book is interspersed with funny stories) and shares with us success stories as well as failures. She experiences a few scary moments and gets herself into a few scrapes - Lois shares with us even her most embarrassing moments at work. This is Lois Sansom's first book, a highly entertaining read. Not to be missed."
"Product Description
A fascinating peek into a Probation Officer's world. We accompany Lois Sansom for a year, to variety of probation settings including prisons, young offender teams and courts. Her diary tells offenders' stories and describes their crimes in full and sometimes graphic detail. Lois works with a wide range of criminals, aged from 13 to 80, from sex offenders to arsonists, murderers to drug dealers. Lois approaches her work with dedication as well as humour (her book is interspersed with funny stories) and shares with us success stories as well as failures. She experiences a few scary moments and gets herself into a few scrapes - Lois shares with us even her most embarrassing moments at work. This is Lois Sansom's first book, a highly entertaining read. Not to be missed."
- GenresAutobiography
165 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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April 5, 2014I was notified of this via Twitter and curious.
I have only read the Foreword and was put off and saddened by her description of her 'left wing' probation training, which was very different to mine in 1973 - when there was as much diversity in the service among the workers as she describes in her opening pages.
Right now, I am not curious to read more, but am hopeful she has not written a blurb to 'puff' the new Community Rehabilitation Companies - soon to take over much of the work of the current 35 Probation Trusts in England and Wales and surprisingly not required by the contracts likely to soon be let by The Ministry of Justice to employ professionally trained probation officers.
I have only read the Foreword and was put off and saddened by her description of her 'left wing' probation training, which was very different to mine in 1973 - when there was as much diversity in the service among the workers as she describes in her opening pages.
Right now, I am not curious to read more, but am hopeful she has not written a blurb to 'puff' the new Community Rehabilitation Companies - soon to take over much of the work of the current 35 Probation Trusts in England and Wales and surprisingly not required by the contracts likely to soon be let by The Ministry of Justice to employ professionally trained probation officers.
May 10, 2014
I had high hopes for this book. I expected a probation officer would have some pretty fascinating stories to tell, and Lois Sansom has met some real characters. But the execution of her storytelling was just not good.
First, Sansom covers a lot of different stories, but her transitions from one story to the next are nonexistent. For several pages the author will tell the story of one person, and suddenly the story abruptly ends and in the next paragraph she is discussing someone else.
Second, a few pages into the book, Sansom thanks her mother for proofreading the work prior to publication. I find it hard to believe anyone proofread the book at all, as nearly every page contains a blatant grammar or punctuation violation. It was bad enough that I wondered if the author was indeed a 48-year-old probation officer or a C-average high school student.
Third, Sansom includes many images throughout the text that are irrelevant and distracting. At times she will use an image to describe the way something looked. A writer should be able to show us through words how something looks, not through stock images. Other times, the images are similar to the meaningless graphics that show up in PowerPoint presentations to fill the white space. They interrupted the flow of the stories and I found them quite obnoxious.
The last thing that bothers me about Sansom's work is that on occasion she stops in the middle of the text and asks the reader to clarify things for her; at one point she goes so far as to ask us to e-mail her if we have the answer. This might be great for a message board online, but for a memoir-type work of prose, it's just tacky. As the author, Sansom should be telling us what she already knows--not what she doesn't know. And writing a book for others' enjoyment isn't the place to get extra education about your field of work.
I don't know that I've ever given a two-star rating to a work of nonfiction, but I really wasn't impressed. I enjoyed reading about some of the characters Sansom has interacted with, but her quality of writing needs some improvement.
First, Sansom covers a lot of different stories, but her transitions from one story to the next are nonexistent. For several pages the author will tell the story of one person, and suddenly the story abruptly ends and in the next paragraph she is discussing someone else.
Second, a few pages into the book, Sansom thanks her mother for proofreading the work prior to publication. I find it hard to believe anyone proofread the book at all, as nearly every page contains a blatant grammar or punctuation violation. It was bad enough that I wondered if the author was indeed a 48-year-old probation officer or a C-average high school student.
Third, Sansom includes many images throughout the text that are irrelevant and distracting. At times she will use an image to describe the way something looked. A writer should be able to show us through words how something looks, not through stock images. Other times, the images are similar to the meaningless graphics that show up in PowerPoint presentations to fill the white space. They interrupted the flow of the stories and I found them quite obnoxious.
The last thing that bothers me about Sansom's work is that on occasion she stops in the middle of the text and asks the reader to clarify things for her; at one point she goes so far as to ask us to e-mail her if we have the answer. This might be great for a message board online, but for a memoir-type work of prose, it's just tacky. As the author, Sansom should be telling us what she already knows--not what she doesn't know. And writing a book for others' enjoyment isn't the place to get extra education about your field of work.
I don't know that I've ever given a two-star rating to a work of nonfiction, but I really wasn't impressed. I enjoyed reading about some of the characters Sansom has interacted with, but her quality of writing needs some improvement.
September 21, 2016
This book is funny, fascinating, and horrifying. I literally couldn't stop reading it until the end.
In the 1960's and 70's, the English parole and probation system was hi-jacked by the new philosophy that all "clients" (i.e. convicted criminals) are basically good people. The actions which led to their legal problems are a result of being oppressed and disenfranchised by a cruel society. They need only kindness and non-judgmental support to set them on the right path. Even a slap on the wrist was considered cruel and unusual punishment.
By the time this author entered civil service in the early 1990's, the tide had begun to turn. Officers were sought with varied backgrounds (hers was in marketing) and pragmatism became the key word. More sophisticated means of risk assessment were adopted and less emphasis was placed on the immediate happiness of the offender and more on the long-term protection of society.
In her 25+ years as a probation officer, this lady has worked in prisons, courts, youth offender programs, half-way houses and behavior modification programs. She's seen it all and she tells her story very well indeed. She's met the jail house lawyers who know everything but how to stay out of jail.
She's met the revolving-door offenders who see themselves as victims and regard the probation officer as a public servant paid to help them game the system. She's seen pedophiles who have no sense of remorse or guilt. And, once in a while, she sees someone who's made a bad mistake and learned from it.
As she says, "You can't make a racehorse out of a donkey." Some offenders will go free against her wishes, sometimes against everyone's wishes. All she can do is the best she can in an underfunded system stretched too thin. She must hope that her recommendations are correct and that she's able to help those who can be helped. It's an incredible responsibility and the brave souls who do it and take it seriously have my complete respect and deep admiration. They are truly unsung heroes. I love this book.
In the 1960's and 70's, the English parole and probation system was hi-jacked by the new philosophy that all "clients" (i.e. convicted criminals) are basically good people. The actions which led to their legal problems are a result of being oppressed and disenfranchised by a cruel society. They need only kindness and non-judgmental support to set them on the right path. Even a slap on the wrist was considered cruel and unusual punishment.
By the time this author entered civil service in the early 1990's, the tide had begun to turn. Officers were sought with varied backgrounds (hers was in marketing) and pragmatism became the key word. More sophisticated means of risk assessment were adopted and less emphasis was placed on the immediate happiness of the offender and more on the long-term protection of society.
In her 25+ years as a probation officer, this lady has worked in prisons, courts, youth offender programs, half-way houses and behavior modification programs. She's seen it all and she tells her story very well indeed. She's met the jail house lawyers who know everything but how to stay out of jail.
She's met the revolving-door offenders who see themselves as victims and regard the probation officer as a public servant paid to help them game the system. She's seen pedophiles who have no sense of remorse or guilt. And, once in a while, she sees someone who's made a bad mistake and learned from it.
As she says, "You can't make a racehorse out of a donkey." Some offenders will go free against her wishes, sometimes against everyone's wishes. All she can do is the best she can in an underfunded system stretched too thin. She must hope that her recommendations are correct and that she's able to help those who can be helped. It's an incredible responsibility and the brave souls who do it and take it seriously have my complete respect and deep admiration. They are truly unsung heroes. I love this book.
May 9, 2014
Interesting book in regards to probation officers.
June 20, 2014
i thought this was interesting but my reading was interrupted and not sure ill ever pick it up again
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews