Community Supervision: Seen and Supervised
What does justice look like in our communities? This photo exhibition invites you to step into the everyday realities of justice social workers and people serving community sentences across the UK and Ireland.
These images have been collected as part of the research project, in which we are exploring the experience of working in, and being subject to community supervision across the UK and Ireland.
We’ve asked our participants from the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland to share images with us which capture their experience of being on supervision. We’ve also asked social workers and probation officers to share images which capture the relationship they have with clients.
Through these images, the exhibition shines a light on the hidden world of community supervision—its challenges, its human connections, and the stigma often surrounding it. Please explore the images, share your own reflections, and join an ongoing conversation about the purpose of community supervision and the role it plays in society.
How People Feel About Their Order or Feel About the Work they Do
A participant who is subject to community supervision in Northern Ireland told us “For my photo I chose my astronaut statue. As sometimes I feel lost, like an astronaut that was lost in space, floating and unsure. I am uncertain about my future, and I fear this quite a bit at times, but also try my best to relish in the depth and mystery of the universe”.
A person from Scotland on a community order shared this image. It shows the pressures that he feels mounting up. He said, “Debt, Courts, Appointments, Stress it just feels never ending and you don’t know what comes first and apparently all just as important”
Some people submitted images which suggested fragility and noted feeling ‘broken’
A lot of people shared pictures they had taken when they were outdoors, this often symbolised a sense of freedom, particularly if they have experienced being in prison.
One participant provided this commentary on their photo, when asked to capture what it was like being subject to supervision in the community. It’s freedom from prison!!! But yeah it can be a pain having to attend stuff but the alternative is prison. At least this way I can start to build my life back up.
Anger and tension was a common emotional response symbolised in images from Service Users. This could include feeling angry/annoyed about the circumstances that surround their involvement in the criminal justice system, or frustrated by their experience of their order or supervision.
While it is unclear whether people are talking about pressure in relation to their order or wider circumstances, a number of people submitted images showing people screaming suggesting they are overwhelmed.
The first person simply said “dealing with everything, AAAAHHHH’
And the second “Someone take this away from me, I cant take anymore’
HOW PEOPLE DESCRIBED THEIR EXPEIRENCE OF BEING ON SUPERVISION OR HOW THEY APPROACH THEIR ROLE AND THE SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP
Many of the pictures were dynamic - showing movement either through time or distance - symbolising a journey. A service user on Community Supervision in Northern Ireland uploaded a picture which captured his experience of being on supervision as a journey. The image of a journey, following a path was common- this one was captioned simply as: loneliness. This sense of loneliness is captured by the solitary shadowy figure, walking down an isolated path, with the foggy landscape obscuring everything from view.
However one of the participants on Community Supervision in Scotland selected a similar image but had a different description, and interpretation of that experience. Captioning it “Isolation” she said, ‘Sometimes isolation is necessary in order to heal, reset, and recharge and start with a fresh mindset.”
These differences are really visible when you compare these images aren’t they?
A number of practitioners also shared images of walks or paths, like the two above. In these, there are always two people, suggesting they see themselves as being on the journey with clients. The social worker who submitted the image above often goes a walk with clients to carry out supervision meetings, and when they are struggling will often say ‘Lets take that a walk’. Walking beside someone their journey is a very powerful symbol of support.
A service user in Scotland reflected on her journey over time. This was her motto.
For another they chose an image which shows an angry young child, dressed as an adult saying “ knowing from an early age what is right and what is wrong, its important to talk to boys about emotions”
A practitioner from Ireland shared an image of a graph, which symbolised for her the development of the supervisory relationship over time: “The image of the graph I think really represents the relationship for me and that connection in that it can develop and sometimes it can take a dip and it can be built back up again.And it shows that, you know, it takes time to build that that connection.”
This practitioner uploaded this word cloud to capture the complexity of all the things she feels are essential to her role – have you noticed she’s removed the word ‘love’?
Another practitioner likened her role to being a cheerleader saying “the majority of support, help ,advice towards working with a service user to improve their lifestyle, achieving goals, reducing offending etc takes someone to believe in them and cheer them on. I cheer and motivate people to make better choices and go for what they want in life whether that's a job, dream, goals and building someone's confidence to allow them to reach their goals. I am at the sidelines cheering them on.”
This person uploaded an image of a path cleared as part of their unpaid work: “the picture I've included was taken yesterday of part of a downhill path which a group of us doing unpaid work cleared…We got rid of bushes, tree branches, general unwanted foliage and rubbish to provide easier access... And a year on, I'm happy to see that the path is still clear for other walkers and cyclists. A job well done!
This woman from Scotland received a Community Payback Order and shared this image: “I feel this captions the support and guidance I received from my P.O. He was always there to help while going through very difficult times”
We're interested in your feedback. Tell us what you think about the exhibition.
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