Members are invited to all events and to the AGM at which they are invited to approve new Trustees, and may propose changes to the structure and operations.

We currently have nine Trustees who are responsible for steering and governance of the CIO, in accordance with our objects and the requirements of the Charity Commission.

Fellows are invited to join us and meet four times a year in an advisory capacity. In 2024 we have introduced a Fellows Working Group which is assisting in drafting papers seeking to influence various bodies in line with our aims and values. There are currently 22 Fellows.

In place since 2014, this group is an advisory network of academics in the justice sector. Currently there are 23 members of the Network. We are keen to work more closely with the network; to engage them with our research projects and with the two smaller groups (Research Panel and Sir Graham Smith Awards Panel). The Network provides mentors for the successful Sir Graham Smith Awards Scheme Candidates. Membership is by invitation or request. The group is chaired by Associate Professor Madeline Petrillo from the University of Greenwich.

This group has been meeting regularly with the primary purpose of sharing research, steering and arranging Probation Institute Research Events - online events on current areas of practice. Currently there are five members of the Committee which is now chaired by Dr Matt Tidmarsh from the University of Leeds. We are keen to recruit more practitioners to join this panel. The editor of the Probation Quarterly is a member of this group.

The Sir Graham Smith Award Scheme was inherited by the Probation Institute and has successfully operated under the PI for ten years. This is a sub panel of the Academic Advisory Network. The task of this group is to select suitable candidates for the Sir Graham Smith Award, support the candidates and monitor the outputs of the research. The Panel invites a mentor for the SGSA Award from the Academic Advisory Network. The Panel will also guide the publication, launch and promotion of the completed SGSA research reports. The panel is currently chaired by Dr Jane Dominey from the Institute of Criminology at Cambridge.