Work release and periodic detention in New South Wales: The custodial model and role experimentation

Abstract The custodial model is singled out from among the possible alternative models for work-release programs. Although custody-oriented staff typically are conservative and oppose change, work release programs press them into unfamiliar relationships with residents and with members of the free community. Without formal guidance, personnel engage in role experimentation that holds potential as a prelude to significant penal reform. Implications are suggested through analysis of periodic detention and work release as different schemes followed in New South Wales.