Bringing policy reform to fruition is an enterprise fraught with difficulty; penal policy is no different. This paper argues that the concept of ‘storylines’, developed within policy studies, is capable of generating valuable insights into the internal dynamics of penal policy change and particularly the ‘commmunicative miracle’ whereby policy participants sufficiently align to achieve reform. I utilize the part-privatization and part-marketization of probation services in England and Wales (‘Transforming Rehabilitation’) as a pertinent case study: a policy disaster foretold, but nonetheless inaugurated at breakneck speed. Drawing on interviews with policy makers, I demonstrate the means by which the ‘rehabilitation revolution’ storyline resolved (at least temporarily) the tensions and problems inherent in the reform project; without which it would have struggled to succeed. We see that storylines play at least three important roles for policy makers: they enable specific policies to ‘make sense’, to ‘fit’ in line with their pre-existing beliefs. They provide a sense of meaning, moral mission and self-legitimacy. And they deflect contestation. In closing, I consider the implications for scholars of penal policy change.

实施政策改革是一个充满困难的企业。刑罚政策没有什么不同。本文认为，在政策研究中发展的“故事情节”概念能够对刑事政策变化的内部动力，特别是政策参与者充分团结以实现改革的“交流奇迹”，产生宝贵的见解。我将英格兰和威尔士的缓刑服务的部分私有化和部分市场化（“改造改造”）作为一个相关案例研究：预言了一场政策灾难，但是开创了惊人的速度。通过对决策者的采访，我展示了“复兴革命”故事情节解决（至少暂时）解决改革项目中固有的紧张和问题的方法；没有它，它就很难成功。我们看到故事情节至少对政策制定者起着三个重要作用：它们使特定的政策能够“变得有意义”，“符合”他们先前的信念。他们提供一种意义感，道德使命和自我合法性。他们使争夺战转向。最后，我考虑了刑法改革对学者的影响。