The Probation Service Exhibition
Did you know that the origins of the Probation Service were founded on faith?
Frederic Rainer (1836-1911) was a printer and member of the Church of England Temperance Society who lived in Holborn, London in the 1850s and 1860s and witnessed the poverty surrounding the Police Courts. Rainer worried about the lack of help for people in these courts, especially those with alcohol issues. He sent 5 shillings to the Church of England Temperance Society to create the Police Court Missions. Police Court Missionaries were then placed in Police Courts across London and a National Police Court Mission developed which was the forerunner of the Probation Service today. Missionaries gave advice and support to offenders based on the Christian values of care and compassion. Those values continue today as Probation staff work with people in their care believing in each person’s capacity to change their lives
for the better.
Come and visit the exhibition and see how the Probation Service has developed since the 1850s.
This event has ended.