Probation officer to poet might not seem the likeliest career path. But poet laureate Simon Armitage, recognising the work of the probation service, has suggested there are more similarities in the roles than you might think.
Poetry “reminds us that the world is made up of individuals,” Armitage said, as his new poem, A Life In The Day Of (see below to read it in full) is published.
The poem’s release has been timed to coincide with new research from HMPPS, in a bid to raise public awareness of the probation officer role and to inspire more people to consider it as a career.
The research, conducted by Censuswide, surveyed more than 2000 adults in England and Wales, and shows that more than a third (35%) of adults are unaware of what it’s like to work within the Probation Service, or of what the job of probation officer might entail.
The research also shows that the public hold several misconceptions about probation officer roles. For example, nearly a third (31%) believe you need a degree to become a probation officer. In fact, as of March 2024, HMPPS introduced a new entry route allowing non-graduates to apply to be probation officers.
“It’s a job that is so often misunderstood, which I think is such a shame,” Armitage said.
“Another 1,300 probation officers are to be recruited in the coming year, along with community payback supervisors and probation services officers” – James Timpson, prisons minister
Following his father’s career path, Armitage spent eight years working in a probation team in Manchester, where he was responsible for monitoring offenders and attempting to reintegrate them into society. Throughout those years, he wrote poetry at night and at weekends. His first poetry collection, Zoom!, was published in 1989, and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Poetry Award. He resigned from the probation service in 1994.
“The job can be tough,” Armitage said. “You need resilience and a drive to want to help people – people from all walks of life, some with quite complex needs. It’s your job to support them in their journey out of prison and back into society, which is why probation officers are so important in the criminal justice system.
“That’s what inspired this poem I’ve created for HMPPS,” Armitage said. “I want people to realise no day is the same in the Probation Service and it’s a job that’ll keep surprising you.”
Armitage’s support for the probation service comes at a time when England and Wales have the highest per capita prison population in western Europe, with the adult male prison estate operating at 98.0% to 99.7% occupancy between October 2022 and August 2024. The prison population is projected to increase by an average of 3,000 places annually over the coming years.
Research suggests that reoffending is a driver of growth in the prison population, and that reoffending rates are growing.
In response to Armitage’s ode to the probation service, minister of state for prisons, probation and reducing reoffending, James Timpson, said: “Simon’s poem really brings to life the wide-ranging role [probation officers] play, and as a former probation officer himself he knows how much of a positive difference they make in their community and to steering people away from crime.”
Timpson confirmed that another 1300 probation officers are to be recruited in the coming year, “along with community payback supervisors and probation services officers as part of our Plan for Change to make streets safer”.
Armitage, who became poet laureate in 2019, said his new poem offers a heartfelt thank you to everyone who continues to work in this important but often misunderstood profession. Speaking of the humanising power of poetry, he says: “It reminds us that, you know, we all have slightly different views of the world. We all walk in a slightly different way.”
A Life In The Day Of
A’s sprawled in reception, he’s sofa surfing, needs a bed.
B left a message, she’s hearing voices again in her head. Make a plan. Rip it up. Boil the kettle.
C keeps his third appointment in a row - minor miracle. Tell D a hard truth.
Give E some tough love.
Juggle custard, plait sawdust, meet a deadline,
get F over the breadline
for another week, clear emails, having a good morning
till G fluffs his final warning.
Team meeting: we’re ghostbusters, sort of, we’re
tightrope-walking the high wire
between care and control, calm and chaos, we’re magicians conjuring big difference from small changes.
Proud of H, she’s kicked the habit, found work, high five. Say a few words at I’s funeral, he was one of mine.
Count to ten, breathe deep on the fire escape;
big heart, thick skin, the patience of Job - that’s what it takes. J got banged up overnight, he’s going to prison.
K needs a shoulder to cry on - sit and listen.
Lunch break: open a can of worms.
L’s stayed clean, M’s paid her fines, N’s learned
a life lesson and texts THANK U.
O asks me to turn a blind eye - no can do.
P’s done some terrible things but I need to keep seeing
P as a human being.
Boxes ticked: Q, R, S and T have planted
saplings, picked litter, strimmed verges, painted
the park gates, paid the community back. U’s failed
a drug test again and gone AWOL, it’s jail
for him, but could I have done more? Home visits:
get V on a waiting list, sort W’s benefits.
This time last year X was suicidal,
now she’s a mum. Talk Y out of a downward spiral.
Z comes into the office and says I helped him become
an actual person. Handshake. Case closed. Job done.