What Story Is Probation Telling? Pitts and Mozers, Part Two
Release Date: 06/23/2026
EP 247: Taking RNR Across Cultures. Carolina Báez Hernández on Evidence, Implementation, and Reform
The Criminologist
What does it take to move evidence-based corrections across cultures — and make reform survive the real world? In this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, Joseph Arvidson sits down with Chilean psychologist and correctional reform specialist Carolina Báez Hernández for a wide-ranging conversation about evidence-based practice, Risk-Need-Responsivity, implementation, culture, leadership, and the realities of correctional reform. Joe and Carolina first met in Barcelona at the International Training School on Core Correctional Skills, where Joe was an instructor and Carolina was a...
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EP 246: Why We Can’t Look Away. Dr. Debbie Goodman on True Crime, Victims & Violence
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Why are we so fascinated by high-profile crime—and when does that fascination cross the line from understanding into entertainment? In Episode 246 of The Criminologist Podcast, Joseph Arvidson welcomes criminologist, professor, author, media contributor, and host Dr. Debbie Goodman for a wide-ranging conversation about crime, justice, and public understanding. Dr. Goodman explores the difference between consuming true crime and examining crime through a criminological lens. She discusses how victims and survivors are represented in the media, why complex acts of violence resist simple...
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EP 244: Sound, Somatics, and Rehabilitation: Caroline Georgiou on Healing Inside Prison
The Criminologist
n this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, host Joseph Arvidson welcomes Caroline Georgiou for a conversation unlike any we have had on the show before. Caroline is a trauma-trained counsellor, somatic movement therapist, clinical supervisor, and one of the world’s leading innerdance facilitators and trainers. Her work explores the relationship between sound, trauma, the nervous system, emotional regulation, identity, inner awareness, and human transformation — including within prison settings. Together, Joe and Caroline explore what happens when rehabilitation moves beneath words. In...
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What Story Is Probation Telling? Pitts and Mozers, Part Two
The Criminologist
In this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, we continue Part Two of my conversation with Stephen Pitts and Imants Mozers, authors of The Missing Story: Probation, Legitimacy, and the Battle for Public Understanding. If you have not yet listened to Part One, released as Episode 241, I encourage you to go back and begin there. This second part picks up the conversation by going deeper into probation’s identity, public legitimacy, leadership, and the stories the field tells — or fails to tell — about itself. Stephen and Imants challenge us to think about why probation cannot simply assume...
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EP 242: Responsivity in Action: LEGO®-Based Interventions with Dr. Jerrod Brown
The Criminologist
In this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, we welcome back Dr. Jerrod Brown for a fascinating conversation on LEGO®-based interventions with justice-involved populations. At first glance, LEGO® bricks may not seem like an obvious tool for probation, corrections, forensic mental health, or human services. But as Dr. Brown explains, structured LEGO®-based activities can provide a powerful, hands-on way to engage individuals who may struggle with traditional talk-based interventions. This conversation explores the intersection of neurodisability, responsivity, trauma-informed practice, and...
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EP 242: Responsivity in Action: LEGO®-Based Interventions with Dr. Jerrod Brown
The Criminologist
In this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, we welcome back Dr. Jerrod Brown for a fascinating conversation on LEGO®-based interventions with justice-involved populations. At first glance, LEGO® bricks may not seem like an obvious tool for probation, corrections, forensic mental health, or human services. But as Dr. Brown explains, structured LEGO®-based activities can provide a powerful, hands-on way to engage individuals who may struggle with traditional talk-based interventions. This conversation explores the intersection of neurodisability, responsivity, trauma-informed practice, and...
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The Missing Story: The Battle for Probation’s Public Image with Stephen Pitts & Imants Mozers — Part One
The Criminologist
🎙️ Episode Show Notes — Part One The Missing Story of Probation with Stephen Pitts & Imants Mozers What is the story probation tells about itself? And perhaps just as importantly… What happens when probation does not tell that story clearly? In this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, we begin a powerful two-part conversation with Stephen Pitts and Imants Mozers, co-authors of the new book: 📘 The Missing Story: Probation, Legitimacy and the Battle for Public Understanding This conversation was so rich, timely, and engaging that we decided to release it as a...
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The Criminologist
What if the people you supervise aren’t one fixed version of themselves… but multiple possible versions—each shaped by what gets reinforced over time? In this episode, I introduce a practical way to think about behavior change in supervision—what I’ve been developing as Quantum Desistance. This isn’t about physics. It’s a lens. A way to understand how change actually unfolds—not through one intervention, but through patterns that repeat, stabilize, and eventually become identity. We build from what you already know: The Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model Desistance theory and...
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EP 238: Making Good—and Staying Good | Paul Doke on Long-Term Desistance
The Criminologist
In this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, host Joseph Arvidson is joined by Paul Doke, PhD candidate at Liverpool John Moores University, to explore one of the most overlooked questions in our field: What does it take not just to desist from crime—but to stay desisting over time? Building on Shadd Maruna’s groundbreaking Liverpool Desistance Study, Paul’s research—“Made Good and Stayed Good”—examines identity, recovery, and belonging among long-term members of Narcotics Anonymous who have sustained desistance from crime and substance use for 5, 10, even 40 years. Together,...
info_outlineIn this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, we continue Part Two of my conversation with Stephen Pitts and Imants Mozers, authors of The Missing Story: Probation, Legitimacy, and the Battle for Public Understanding.
If you have not yet listened to Part One, released as Episode 241, I encourage you to go back and begin there. This second part picks up the conversation by going deeper into probation’s identity, public legitimacy, leadership, and the stories the field tells — or fails to tell — about itself.
Stephen and Imants challenge us to think about why probation cannot simply assume its value is self-evident. Agencies must be able to explain what they do, why it matters, and how the work contributes to safer and healthier communities. That requires leadership, shared language, strategic communication, and a willingness to listen to voices that are sometimes left out of the official story.
In Part Two, we explore:
• why probation agencies need a clearer professional identity
• the role of leadership in shaping shared language and public understanding
• the value of lived experience in explaining justice interventions
• why agencies should be strategic about who they try to reach and persuade
• how professional probation networks are growing across the world
• the importance of APPA, CEP, the Caribbean Association of Probation and Parole, and emerging networks in Africa
• Stephen and Imants’ reflections on the future of probation
• the next World Congress on Probation and Parole, scheduled for Riga, Latvia, in May 2028
Listeners can learn more about Stephen and Imants’ work at probationfutures.com, where you can also sign up to receive access to the digital version of The Missing Story when it becomes available.
I have also been releasing short YouTube video highlights from this conversation. You can find those, along with additional video content from The Criminologist Podcast, on my YouTube channel.
As always, thank you for listening to The Criminologist Podcast. Please subscribe, share this episode with a colleague, and continue following along as we explore the ideas, people, and practices shaping the future of probation, parole, desistance, and community corrections.
Links mentioned in this episode
- Probation Futures: https://probationfutures/com
- The Criminologist YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCriminologist
- Short YouTube highlight from this conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4TLNu40TAI
- American Probation and Parole Association: https://www.appa-net.org
- Confederation of European Probation: https://www.cep-probation.org
- World Congress on Probation and Parole information via CEP: https://www.cep-probation.org/world-congress-on-probation/