TR Week One

Some people are hoping the 2nd week of TR is better than the 1st. I don't. I hope it's still a pile of crap and that that Delius is still down - this gives us ammo to fight our cause.

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I very much doubt that is going to be the case. If you look at how much you FAILED to get done in the first week due to your excessive caseload, it stands to reason that this is going to double next week!!

I'm dreading Monday, but at the same time have a perverse sense of anticipation when I fail to get done twice as much then go to my MM and say 'don't say you weren't warned'.

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A very stressful first week - Delius issues, unable to take cases back to court because those who know it all seem to have forgotten that the Unpaid work staff (CRC) need access to do our job - hence deleted the most important part on the system, so spent most of the week just swearing. Left work stressed, went home and cried - how did it all come to this. In my opinion it feels like the Unions only started kicking butt when the Probation side came into it, CP has always been the poor relation and I cannot see any improvement - I actually felt suicidal this weekend, I need a job, but don't know if my health can take anymore of this stress!

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I hope you don't mind me saying but please don't suffer in silence. We can all do something about it. Speak to your manager, colleague, friend or see the Doctor. Take some time off work. Nothing wrong with looking after yourself. I appreciates it's difficult but more so if you think you are alone. Trust me you are not alone. We are all struggling but very important that we support each other during these difficult times. we are all with you my friend.

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There was a strange surge of evangelical fervour towards the end of last week, with a series of new appointments and shiny suits singing the praises of the CRC. Colleagues seem determined to make something work for their clients, despite the almighty fuck-up that this split has generated. Admin staff are on their knees. As always there are those collaborators eager to pocket extra cash and work extra hours/days on offer, but I guess we have to accept they are making a choice. Not everyone is against TR, and many don't give a crap either way - not if there's a few quid on offer.

I am also dreading next week, and the week after, and the week after that, etc. Pay me off and let some new eager body fill my chair before I'm found lifelessly slumped over my keyboard.

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I am trying to find a place in my mind where this does not matter as much, but I can't. I am trying to rationalise this in terms of just turn up and do what you have to do, just do your job... because that is what I get paid to do. Sadly, no-one seems able to tell me what my job is any more. 

I am so affected by the changes but also by working within such a stressed team with one colleague swearing all the time, another just shouting and railing against the injustice of this. It just dreadful for us all. Part of who I am is to try to help others and I am becoming worn out because colleagues need me (including a very stressed manager) and I need them - this takes all of our energy, there is so little left to give clients however hard we are trying.

I took some time off to try to recharge my batteries but now just feel fearful of returning. I have never told a client to "pull yourself together" but am trying this one on myself now! This was so much more than a job it was a wonderful vocation and it has been just destroyed. Sorry for moaning but it has helped me to just say this here where I cannot be accused of bringing my employer into disrepute... So let's gather ourselves and try to have have a good week!!

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I refuse to 'gather myself to try to have good week'. It is as it is.......awful!!!!!!
I will do what I can do without ruining my health or promoting an unrealistic view of what can be done.

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This is a summary of my week in IT hell.

nDelius - as well as the 72 clicks to get the right team, my Officer Diary is blank. I can only assume this is because my caseload is listed under my new IOM role and my contacts are entered using my new IOM role. However, the offender manager (hate that term) is me under my old OMU role. Therefore, the alerts that I have set as reminders are not showing in my Officer Diary and I do not have the facility to check the Officer Diary for my old OMU role as I no longer exist under that team on nDelius! I use my Officer Diary as a prompting system. I definitely set a couple of reminders on there Weds but they are not showing and I cannot for the life of me remember what they were! What if they were to do with Child Protection or an urgent action to do the following morning that if it wasn't done would compromise the safety of someone? Re the offender manager bit, apparently this is not something IT can sort out (!!) so it is down to our Administrator (who looks after 16 of us!) to reallocate them all individually!

Lost yet? It continues....

Oasys. I wasn't changed over to IOM and during the TR changes, all allocated officer details were lost anyway so, even though I had been spot on at doing my data cleansing the other week (with which we were more or less threatened with disciplinary action if it wasn't done), my task manager and caseload is now blank and I have to find all my people AGAIN and assign them to me AGAIN. I did one earlier but it went through to a colleague who left our area months ago and refused to give me access until she decided! (I definitely clicked on my own name!). Eventually, IT sorted it (after our godsend administrator did).

Reports on current cases (again apology for the terminology). As a CRC PO I am no longer worthy (in Grayling's eyes) to prepare their PSR if they re-offend. I CAN however, (and am expected to), prepare a progress report and send that to the PSR author who will incorporate it into their report.

UPW and Programmes staff haven't been able to input/access information. This could especially cause problems with BBR/IDAP where the guys go home to their victims. They could share some information to their NPS OM which the OM records but Programmes team don't see as they can't access the records as they are in CRC. Programmes go into group, mention something that winds him the hell up and he goes home and assaults his partner!

You seriously couldn't fucking make this up. As I am sure you are all experiencing, this is the tip of the iceberg. Yes, I feel slightly better now I have ranted!

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A police officer from the Public Protection Unit in my area tried to email some info about a sex offender to one of my colleagues this week but the email was blocked because it 'contained profanities'. Brilliant.

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I'm in IOM too. I"m finding it most frustrating that as I have the PI people I can no longer officially go to their monthly Crown Court review hearings and speak, I have to be babysat by my NPS colleague. The clients hate it and the Judges can't understand it. Saving money? 2 PO's instead of 1????

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Progress report! Not heard of that one yet & as for the officer diary - not as long as I have a hole in my bottom will that be getting done !!!! If someone wants to know where I am or what I'm doing - walk to my desk & have a look !!! DID YOU GET THAT - NOMS, MOJ, CIA, GSI, CI5 & B&Q - no f*cking chance !!!!

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Also, have we all noticed that sect 9a and sect 9b Burglaries under the Theft Act 1968 appear on the schedule 15 offence list - MAPPA 1? Kiss goodbye to my caseload then - hope you can take the strain of those few extra cases nationwide NPS!!!

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NPS are having burglary with intent to cause Criminal Damage and burglary with intent to cause GBH. Trouble is, you can't tell from looking at pre-cons as these come under the sections of the act mentioned above but so do other, non-mappa offences.

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Yep. Trouble is there was no way of knowing for sure who was mappa and who was not in terms of splitting the caseload so we just had to get on with it best we could. Hopefully it will be clearer for new cases coming through the courts (hopefully!!!).

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It didn't help that the Delius sub codes weren't always put on correctly. I just read through the deps and removed the MAPPA flags if I disagreed.

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I had to re-allocate cases back to OM because offence was wrong on Delius...