I thought I'd just pen a few words and explain why I'm taking a break. One reason is that I'm tired and depressed - who wouldn't be with what's going on? I've also said a lot and there's always a danger of repeating myself endlessly. I can't be upbeat, because I'm not and I suspect being endlessly negative becomes wearing for both reader and author alike.
The whole TR omnishambles is shit from beginning to end whatever gloss and upbeat spin the likes of Russell Webster put on it, and if there are still doubters out there, just have a look at the opening paragraphs of the Target Operating Model published last week by the MoJ:-
This Target Operating Model describes a system which will deliver a step change in the
way we rehabilitate offenders, and which will lead to year-on-year reductions in
reoffending. This system will implement the vision which the Secretary of State described
in “Transforming Rehabilitation: A Strategy for Reform”.
The reformed system is designed to deliver more effective rehabilitation to more
offenders, while ensuring that sentences of the court are carried out, the public is
protected and taxpayers’ money is put to best use. It is a system in which innovation will
be encouraged and success in reducing reoffending will be rewarded.
When I read cloud cuckoo land stuff like this I'm reminded of that famous Labour Party manifesto put together by poor old Michael Foot and described as the 'longest suicide note in history'. When it all falls apart and history comes to reflect on the great Grayling TR disaster, there will be this document that will bear testimony to the whole folly and no doubt form a considerable part of his political obituary.
Last Thursday 19th September was undoubtedly a high point for this blog with 2480 hits in 24 hours, powerfully demonstrating people's concern and worry and I feel tremendously honoured that so many people drop by to read my thoughts and views. I will continue to write, but only when I feel there is something essentially new to say, and hopefully when a more positive frame of mind has returned.
Sadly we've lost 'Save Probation', but there's a new kid on the block 'PoOfficer' and I would encourage people to follow them. Joe Kuipers continues to keep us up to date with valuable information from the inside and there's always Russell with the endless tweeting........
Thank you for your hard work on this blog, Joe. It has not all been negative. All the best for your future, whatever it might bring.
ReplyDeleteMeant Jim-sorry
DeleteI have really enjoyed reading your posts, negative or not they articulate the current changes we are all going through. It was nice to know I was not the only PO feeling the same...... Come back soon!!
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteFully concur... the TOM - Total O/shambles Model' is depressingly redolent of previous shiny manuals peddled by MoJ/Noms & drafted by CS far -removed from the messy lowlands of practice.....& open sesame for privateers.
Without JK's heroic efforts at bringing the shambolic back story of the shamefully hurried & legally dubious negotiations bt MoJ & Boards to light.. reliance on twitter gobbets would be ( outside of Justice unions) a v poor substitute..
SK challenge to CG in his well worded letter will when ORB amendment gets a hearing be occasion for your incisive & blisteringly honest samizdats!
Maybe stand you a jar or two in Camra pub ' The Cottage Loaf' in Llandudno....?
Regards
Mike
I am still working to Ethnie's 'New Choreography'. Have I missed something?
ReplyDeleteI don' t think the break, although well deserved, will last very long Jim. I have a funny feeling TR will be in the headlines pretty soon again.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, Liverpools school cooks have staged a large walkout today (unison), because of the differences in pay between those employed by the state and those supplied by contractors.
No doubt its an issue that will bite Grayling sometime in the future.
You have offered considered & (in the circumstances) very measured advice; you have certainly assisted me in coping; and you have made many friends. I think the criteria have been met. Put yer feet up for a few days kiddo.
ReplyDeleteIn gratitude and admiration of Jim Brown.
ReplyDeleteNEXT BUSINESS
An update from Joe Kuipers - already described by others as a must read for all probation staff.
http://joekuipers49.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/read-all-about-it.html?m=1
Every revolution has heroes and villains, CG is the villain in chief though ably supported by self serving senior managers whereas Jim Brown; Joe Kuipers, Saveprobatation et al are true heroes of this one.....those that remain when the dust settles bear witness to the people that caused this damage and watch how many times they use the excuse....'we were only following orders'
ReplyDeleteJim, Your a saint for doing this blog for so long. I've been an avid reader and have logged in each day to have read. I must say I've learnt more from your blog than any Probation briefing and have always thought how spot on you are. Have a good deserved rest and don't let the bastards get you down as the saying goes !
ReplyDeleteJim thank you so much you have become one of the family· my teenagers having a laugh at my devotion to your blog fighting over the kindle every night so I can check in with you and our colleagues after a mad day in probation.! You have been amazing and helped the cause no end. I know we have moaned a bit and had a rant , We can't all be analytical . I hope we haven't depressed. you Jim big hug : ) well deserved rest xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all you have done. You have given us a voice when many dare not speak out and you have tried to make sense of the unthinkable and unspeakable.Rest well my friend.
ReplyDeleteTo provide sizzling critques of TR is not in my view negative. If something is wrong-headed, to oppose it with vigour is surely a positive act. We should not couch opposition as negative. Repetition is different, though I don't think there has been much of that going on. I guess there will be some who will be pleased that you are taking a break, those who did actually see your words as negative and underming of the TR project. I cannot associate a smile with Grayling, but I am sure he would smirk to know that On Probation Blog is taking a break.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the kind words everyone - I'm sure some rest and recuperation will restore my mojo. Meantime, keep sharing info.
DeleteCheers,
Jim
Financial Times reports today 'Serco counting the cost of working with government'. Shares have dropped 11% mostly as a consequence of recent negative publicity regarding MoJ contracts.
ReplyDeleteI see the day approaching, and fast, when no-one will touch a government contract with a bardge pole.
I'm led to believe both Serco and G4S have aroused the taxmans interest of late?
Whilst Starbucks took the main focus on tax dodging, its important to remember that between 2012/13 G4S paid no tax at all to the UK government. That is something that should be mentioned alongside its outstanding issues of fraud.
Delete"The Guardian, Move resettlement prisons to reduce re-offending".
ReplyDeleteVery good article showing that the government ae not actually delivering what they said they would for TR.
It was the first thing I said was undeliverable when Grayling first announced his plan, I have seen complaints on line from Hertfordshire folk that their local gaol is not The Mount at Bovingdon, Herts but Hollesley Bay colony in the wilds of outer Suffolk!
DeleteAndrew Hatton
I have checked - the journey from Hertford Town to Hollesley is over 80 miles by road - almost impossible by public transport, which takes 4 and a half hours each way. Presumably it is worse for other Hertfordshire towns.
DeleteI am genuinely surprised, how little public attention has been given to this aspect of the TR plans. With only one male prison in Essex - it will be just as bad. As for women,I understand there are only two Women's Open prisons now, so it is just a complete non starter and always obviously was.
Haverigg is even difficult for other places in Cumbria and I think Durham is their local prison. Still when Wrexham is built - it will all be straightforward - except what is needed in Wrexham is a modestly sized local say 500 or so for N Wales and perhaps West Cheshire - but instead a 2,000 giant. I wonder if there is a long term plan to replace Walton as unless that or Strangeways goes the Wrexham place will have a massive catchment area.
I have been pleased to have been reading your blog since its inception. The contrast between briefings by probation chiefs locally, your insight and my own experiences in court has been mind boggling. Have a rest and return refreshed.
ReplyDeleteHow are you old mate! Keep smiling - at least, in my office people are getting the message not to get involved in anything which has 'voluntary' attached to it - i.e. volunteering to move to CRC's etc. Hey and it's Friday!
ReplyDeleteFundamental fact. Moving into a CRC voluntarily is a leap into the unknown Choosing to go to CRC before 1/4/14 would be foolish as, until 1/10/14, no-one knows who the employer will be. Why would anyone put themselves in that position. It would be like buying a house without knowing where it is. You just wouldn't.
ReplyDeleteGood point 9'36' Merseyside chief is waiting clearance for heading up C.R.C in Merseyside. However leaders in that position won't have the same contracts as the subordinates I would imagine anyway.I'm not sure why a chief would opt for this given all the uncertainty surrounding C.R.C? I guess there is limited positions for chief's in N.P.S and. the bulk of offenders clients will be in the C.R.C. It just brings it home that Merseyside is forging forward with T.R.
DeleteThe allocation model offers those who are not automatically allocated the opportunity to submit an expression of interest. No-one will express an interest in the CRC as they don't know if the employer will be G4S, Serco, Sobarts, Tesco or Toys 'r' us!! Too risky.
DeleteNapo has registered a trade dispute, there is going to be a ballot for industrial action.
ReplyDeleteTime to explore our options such as only working to contracted hours, refusing seeds observations (which I feel will be used against some officers come the TR shambles) any strike action needs to be for a few days at least one day is pointless
ReplyDeleteInvestigations into G4S and Serco have begun. Where will Graylings TR be if it turns out that neither company can bid? And what about exsisting MoJ contracts? I feel grayling may be a very worried man at the moment!
ReplyDeleteWhat is seeds observations?
ReplyDelete"seeds" (Skills for Effective Engagement and Development) was/is an attempt to re-introduce person-centred/client-centred/social work values into probation practice.Once upon a time the probation training route was intrinsically linked with social work training, at one time being a Home Office sponsored specialism within the social work qualification which gave successful candidates professional options of probation and social work posts. For reasons beyond our ken the training was hived off - some cynics at the time suggesting it was a means of divide & rule, a means of controlling & bringing into line the two fluffy bunnies that were social work & probation. How astute those cynics were.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, it seems that a growing level of realisation that Boateng's robocop "we are an enforcement agency" approach was shall we say "unhelpful", led to an expedition to search for a new silver bullet. After much soul searching they made the discovery of a sexy 'new' approach. It came packaged with its own made-up name - Desistance - a rather fortuitous piece of social work archaeology by Fergus McNeill & co.
There remains a level of suspicion about the adoption of this approach as many believe it is Wooden Horse, a wolf in sheep's clothing, a fist in an iron glove, a means to an end - otherwise why would a hardline sec of state like Grayling agree substantial funding to give staff big warm cuddles?
I like the analysis - you put it so much better than I could - thanks!
DeleteJim
ReplyDeleteA belated thanks for all your hard on the Probation Matters Blog.
Your provision of information (mostly lacking from others) and analysis of the Transforming Rehabilitation 'Omnishambles' has been excellent.
As a regular reader, including being one of the 2,480 'hits', on Thursday 19 September 2013, I think you deserve a hard earned break.
Hopefully not too long !!!
With nine people being charged with fraud relating to the A4e work programme fiasco, can we assume that the 'rap' for any shady dealings uncovered by the Serco/G4S investigation will be mantled on employees, and not the company itself?
ReplyDeleteI would also like to say thanks Jim for your insight and the comments you have generated. You have earnt a break (as long as you have not been nobbled!). I hope you have at least caused some reflection in those who senior managers who have felt unable to speak fearing the consequences. Cheers have a pint on me for a job well done
ReplyDeleteI want to get closer to finding out why this butchery is taking place:
ReplyDelete“The supervision of offenders in the community has its roots in 19th century voluntary associations such as the Church of England Temperance Movement. Today it is a complex process which pulls together accommodation, job-seeking, drug testing, counselling, administrative and information services.” From Serco website, 2013 - sounds very similar in tone to the following source:
“The Carter But Smarter report warns that the official reoffending rate is unsafe. It recommends a radical shake-up of the criminal justice system in order to truly reduce reoffending, including the abolition of the regional structure of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the introduction of new public-private partnerships to reduce crime and recidivism.” – Policy Exchange website referring to the Nov 2010 report by Max Chambers.
Chambers offers a carefully worded history in his report: “Until the Morrison Committee of 1962, the probation service had no active relationship with prisons at all, and the aftercare work of prisoners was delivered by the Discharged Prisoner’s Aid Society. Although the growth of welfare work in prisons post‐1962, aftercare services in the 1960s and statutory licence services (such as parole) increased the points at which probation interacted with prisons, both retained very separate identities, cultures and histories.”
“Indeed, in the 1980s, the probation trade union NAPO (National Association of Probation Officers) actively campaigned against probation officers working inside prisons at all, regarding the stigma of ‘dehumanising’ prison institutions as anathema to probation officers’ core aims and goals. Not only was there a palpable disconnect between prisons and probation, but the two organisations themselves were also very differently constituted. On the one hand, ever since its inception, Her Majesty’s Prison Service was a national organisation with a very centralised ‘command and control’ organisational structure. The system of probation, on the other hand, had grown up organically and locally, beginning with a group of faith‐based organisations in the late nineteenth century.”
“Prior to 2000, 54 ‘probation areas’ were in operation, with a degree of autonomy from central government. Without a national framework or coordinating body, probation areas were largely free to distribute the resources allocated to them by central government as they saw fit, and areas were accountable only to a probation committee made up of local magistrates.”
Chambers highlights a couple of interesting and important concerns that are fundamental to Grayling’s position in 2013 but which have been deleted from Grayling’s gameplan. Firstly: “The reality is that the services required by offenders are currently largely provided by the state. Public sector provision ‐ such as housing, job training, education and skills, addiction treatment, mental healthcare and social services – will still exist even if a payment by results mechanism is introduced.
Offenders will still be entitled to public services;... As these services are largely being provided by the state, there could be a situation whereby private providers are using public money to commission services back from the public sector. In effect, this means that the state is paying twice and...unless the measurement of success is robust, the state could be spending twice for outcomes that have not actually improved.”
Secondly: “So far this report has described the failure of a monolithic agency in Whitehall to impose a system of case management from the centre onto very different prisons and probation systems... This report’s fundamental criticism of NOMS is that reform has been too prescriptive and centrally directed – prioritising process ahead of incentives...”
I wonder where Max Chambers is now?