Abstract

The introduction of COVID-19 restrictions meant that probation practitioners worked from home, engaging and supervising people on probation remotely. However, limited research has explored the personal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on probation practitioners who supervise women. Women on probation are often a marginalised group, who have multi-faceted and complex needs, and were at even greater risk and disadvantage during the pandemic. The current paper explores the experiences of probation practitioners, who were responsible for supervising, supporting and safeguarding women on probation during COVID-19. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-one probation practitioners working remotely for five Community Rehabilitation Companies. Probation practitioners reflected on their challenging role, often thwarted by a myriad of practical obstacles, and heightened emotional turmoil due to the triple-edged sword of unification, the pandemic and working with complex women. These hidden key workers demonstrated core resilience as the probation service navigated through uncharted waters to provide a professional service to some of the most marginalised women in society. The findings offer a unique perspective on the experiences of frontline workers supervising women on probation during the exceptional delivery model in response to COVID-19. The study offers important implications for current practice and for the future of hybrid work in the criminal justice system.