A view of probation and mental health after the pandemic

ABSTRACT

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the world change dramatically. For people in the Criminal Justice System (CJS), the pandemic has levied an even heavier toll. To date, the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of those within the CJS has been most acutely focused on people in prison. However, the impact of the pandemic on people on probation has carried similarly devastating costs to mental health. People on probation also have higher rates of suicide and suicidal ideation than in the general population. The implications of the pandemic and what it has meant for both service users and the probation staff who supervise them are therefore an area of vital concern. The mental health costs of the pandemic for Probation Service users have been immense. The impact of the pandemic has also been felt by service users residing in supported housing and approved premises. For probation staff the pandemic has shifted the boundaries of working, communicating and interacting with others. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)