To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research his Department has undertaken into public opinion on community based alternatives to prison.[98192]
A public perception survey of the Probation Service was commissioned by the National Probation Directorate from Mori Social Research Institute. This primarily related to those community sentences which are the responsibility of the Probation Service. It reported on public awareness and the perceived effectiveness of the service in its various roles.
The results and report, "Perceptions of the National Probation Service", were circulated within the National Probation Service in September 2002. It is available to download from the probation pages of the Home Office website, and I will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.