Time for DIY

We're now well into the second day when probation and other related criminal justice matters are all over the media, but not a peep out of Napo HQ. Not a hint of a press release, comment or interview. I know why, but it's pointless wasting time discussing what the reasons are, it's just too painful and appalling. It can wait for another day, meanwhile the penny is dropping that the best policy is just get on and do it yourself, like Pat Waterman, Chair of Napo Greater London Branch:-

"It will not surprise Napo Greater London Branch members that Pat Waterman and the team are regularly in touch with key media figures letting them know what is going on and passing on the views of members in a no-nonsense way.

Today the following letter was sent to The Guardian and press releases were also sent out along the same lines. Needless to say the Justice Secretary's team have been attempting to counter our efforts but we are managing to break through his defences and bypass his baseless arguments. Several key journalists are beginning to sense that Chris Grayling is now coming under intense pressure from people in grey suits (I seem to remember John Major had a colourful word for them they also appeared in Harry Potter as the Dementors) as the cracks are starting to appear and his folly is starting to be laid bare for all to see.

As you would expect from Pat and the team where he goes we go and where the corporations seeking to take over probation go we will be there holding them to account."

Dear Editor,

Probation staff have been warning for some time now that privatising the Probation Service is an extremely risky thing to do The Public Accounts Committees report published today confirms our fears and repeats our warnings. What is particularly worrying is that that according to a recent freedom of information request £9.5m has already been spent on consultants and the Ministry of Justice PR department has been on overdrive trying to misinform the public about the even greater risks they might face if something is not done about crime (well something is being done and they are working hard to dismantle it and replace it with an untried and untested system that no one else in the world would touch with a barge pole) but they have yet to come up with a compelling argument to justify privatising the Probation Service in the way they are planning to do so. 

Many politicians who have been involved in criminal justice are expressing grave concerns, a large number of academics, Probation Trust Chiefs, and the vast majority of front-line probation practitioners. Even the Justice Secretary's own Permanent Secretary Ursula Brennan has delayed matters previously exercising her right to override the minister in the public interest. So what does it take to stop this calamity taking place before the next election? Let's face it, this is all being rushed through by a poor performing MoJ procurement team in a reckless attempt to reach a point where it would be very difficult for a new administration to repair the damage that will have already been done. 

We believe that the Justice Secretary is already placing the public at increased risk as the Probation Service has been plunged into a state of crisis entirely of his making at a time when he has also caused considerable problems for other parts of the criminal justice system. The system has now reached a tipping point where services run purely for commercial gain are failing leading to mistakes, decline in the quality and professionalism of services, serious unrest, new lowest levels of staff morale and a steady drain of highly skilled staff -who have simply had enough of being messed about. 

The Justice Secretary will be responsible for major breakdowns in the criminal justice system that are already starting to occur and will no doubt continue to occur. We can only hope that he sees sense and stops his ill-judged 'Transformation' of Probation before it is too late and the public is put at even greater risk. There are some things that should never be privatised and they include Probation and Children's Services - it's just too risky to rely on private companies with poor track records to do this work on the cheap.

Pat Waterman

Our efforts yesterday resulted in Joanna Hughes being interviewed by telephone on Sky News but sadly was not able to travel to the London studios at short notice and no media broadcast vans were available. We are amateurs and on a learning curve, but there is no other option given the supreme inaction from Chivalry Road. We are learning fast and have now recruited another to our freelance operation to be a presence at the London end of things.

Watch this space, as they say, and do get in touch if there are any others out there who think they can contribute and are not phased at the idea of appearing on TV or radio.

Stop Press The latest campaign bulletin was emailed out a short while ago and has this to say:-

"Today saw the publication of the PAC report on the Probation reforms. It makes for interesting reading and has highlighted some of Napo’s concerns adding greater weight to our argument, particularly in parliament. It highlights seven recommendations which include ensuring that delivery is not affected by greater levels of bureaucracy, asks how the under 12 months custodial population will be managed in the new arrangements and calls for a plan B should any of the providers fail to deliver."