Previous Article
News
Professor Paul Senior
It was very sad to hear that Paul Senior has, after his long battle with serious illness, passed away on 22nd June 2019. It is particularly sad to lose such a redoubtable hero, friend and true champion for probation and community measures.
Paul Senior became a probation officer in Doncaster in England in the 1970s and then worked as Training Officer in South Yorkshire Probation. After a period in 1980s as Chair of NAPO’s Professional Practice Committee and following many publications, he joining Sheffield Hallam University part-time and was appointed as their first Professor of Probation Studies in 1996. Paul Senior trained many probation officers in England and Wales and made a significant contribution to training and academia in Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore and elsewhere. He has written many probation-related papers and led important projects. Paul Senior was Director of Sheffield Hallam Centre for Community Justice at Sheffield Hallam University and Editor of their Community Justice Portal. Paul was until last year, the Chair of the Probation Institute.
Nothing epitomises the passion and commitment of Paul Senior to the probation ideal more than his passionate but measured 2013 Bill McWilliams lecture, Privatising Probation: The Death Knell of a Much-Cherished Public Service? His influence and importance in probation thinking with his questioning and skilled interrogation of thorny issues become legendary. Throughout the many would be ‘reforms’ and particularly, the TR episode, Paul stood, as a challenging, articulate and critical voice, testing and questioning the rationale and results of the constant dismantling and restructuring of probation in England and Wales.
Paul Senior died peacefully, with his family at his side, after a courageous six-year battle with cancer. He will be much missed and long remembered in the probation family worldwide. May he Rest in Peace.
Gerry McNally
CEP President
Related News
Keep up to date with the latest developments, stories, and updates on probation from across Europe and beyond. Find relevant news and insights shaping the field today.
Recap
Probation outside Europe
Governance Oversight and Accountability Mechanisms in Probation and Parole: Compare and Contrast Europe and USA
19/09/2025
Confederation of European Probation (CEP) and American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) organized an insightful webinar that introduced the theme “Governance oversight and accountability mechanisms in Probation and Parole. Compare and contrast Europe and USA”. This event took place on Thursday, 18 September 2025.
Recap
CEP Events, Framework Decisions
Recap: Expert Workshop on Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA and 2009/829/JHA
16/09/2025
The Expert Workshop held on September 10–11, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium, brought together senior managers, probation practitioners, criminal justice professionals such as lawyers and prosecutors from across Europe as well as representatives of the European Commission, Academy of European Law and European Judicial Network to discuss the advancements in the implementation of Framework Decisions 2008/947/JHA and 2009/829/JHA. Hosted at the Houses of Justice, the CEP Expert Workshop served as a dynamic platform for mutual learning, collaboration, and strategic planning.
New
Probation in Europe
New Vodcast Episode: Katharina Heitz on the Ressources-Risk-Inventory in Probation
11/09/2025
The 14th episode of Division_Y features Katharina Heitz, Head of the Central Department for Social Work at the Public Probation and Parole Service Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Recap
CEP Board, Probation in Europe
CEP at ESC 2025: Penal Policy Transfer and Ageing in Prison in Focus
08/09/2025
The Confederation of European Probation (CEP) had a strong presence at the 25th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology (EUROCRIM 2025), held in Athens from 3 to 6 September 2025. As one of Europe’s largest gatherings of criminologists, the ESC annual conference brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from around the world to exchange knowledge on crime, justice, and social responses. This year’s theme was “Logos of Crime and Punishment,” inspired by classical Greek philosophy.
Probation in Europe, Technology
Have Your Say: EU Call for Evidence on the Digitalisation of Justice (2025–2030)
18/08/2025
The European Commission has opened a Call for Evidence on the Digitalisation of Justice: 2025–2030 European Judicial Training Strategy.
Reading corner
Criminal Justice
Parole Futures
18/08/2025
At a time when many parole systems are experiencing considerable strain, the aims of this collection are twofold: first, to encourage systematic and critical reflection on the rationalities, institutions and practices of parole. Second, to think big, and pose ambitious ‘what if’ questions about the possible futures of parole and prison release. Offering novel insights from Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America, this collection builds the case for, and then showcases, a ‘way of doing’ parole research that is global in outlook, interdisciplinary in approach and unapologetically normative in character.
Subscribe to our bi-monthly email newsletter!
- Keep up to date with important probation developments and insights.