My friend and mentor David Mathieson, who has died of a heart attack aged 71, was Merseyside's chief probation officer from 1981 until his retirement in 1999. He started his career in 1962 at Preston and was the youngest probation officer in the country at the time. He then moved to Merseyside the following year. As David rose quickly through the ranks, he was national vice-chair of the National Association of Probation Officers during the 1960s, editor of the influential Probation Journal and, in the 1970s, vice-chair of the Association of Chief Officers of Probation.
David's ability to analyse the political and social landscape and to write eloquently about the world of probation had a significant influence. Whether it was an article for a journal or a letter of condolence to the family of a staff member, his words were superbly crafted. David looked upon his department as an extension of his family.
His commitment to the humanitarian values of social work was unwavering and his belief that all offenders had the capacity to change was unshakable. He also believed in the strength of poor communities to organise themselves and his personal attempt to influence the Thatcher government's thinking about urban regeneration following the 1981 Toxteth disturbances was tenacious and sustained. He was particularly proud to work with Archbishop Derek Worlock and David Sheppard, bishop of Liverpool, on social policies affecting Merseyside.
David was born and brought up in Aughton, Lancashire, went to Ormskirk grammar school and gained a degree in Spanish from Manchester University in 1962. He lived for most of his adult life in Rainford, Merseyside, and was a Merseysider to the core. His engagement in a range of charities as well as the cultural life of the region was deeply impressive – so too was his devotion to Everton FC. David's favourite poem was Wordsworth's Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, in which there is a reference to "a calm so deep" – a perfect epitaph for him.
He is survived by his sisters, Margaret and Beryl.