Integrated Offender Management and the Policing of Prolific Offenders.

This article reviews an ethnographic study of an integrated offender management (IOM) unit in Sunnyvale, focusing on the multi-agency working (MAW) between police and probation services. The study highlights significant cultural and mission orientation differences between police officers, who often emphasize crime control and surveillance, and probation workers, who prioritize rehabilitation and desistance from offending. It reveals tensions in collaboration, with some police officers maintaining traditional policing approaches that can conflict with probation's goals, and probation officers sometimes adopting risk-based crime control practices. The research also incorporates offender perspectives, showing mixed views on the legitimacy and fairness of police interventions under IOM. Overall, the study provides detailed insights into the complexities and challenges of MAW in offender management, emphasizing the ongoing influence of police culture within integrated settings.