Omnishambles Update 81

Pat Waterman, chair of Napo Greater London Branch, writes with news from Utah:-

TO NAPO MEMBERS:

Howdy

In his blog yesterday, Nick Smart (CEO London CRC) reported that last week he had had his first meeting with London’s “preferred bidder” MTCnovo. The meeting was also attended by MoJ staff whose role was to ensure that the issues discussed did not stray into areas that were "competition sensitive" which meant that any detailed discussion of MTCnovo's plans, including their operating model and any plans they have with respect to corporate services, were out of bounds. MTC were represented by Rich Gansheimer who will head the MTCnovo Operating Board to which Nick, as CRC CEO, will report.

We are advised that:

“MTCnovo were very keen to stress their corporate values, particularly around respect for individuals, and how they will apply this to staff and service users. MTC encapsulate this in the acronym BIONIC (Believe It Or Not I Care).” It was also explicitly stated, in response to comments on social media, that while the founder of MTC was philanthropically motivated and did hail from Utah, they have absolutely no formal or informal connection to the Mormon Church.

Rich Gansheimer qualified as a social worker in 1986 and began his correctional career in the same year at the Ohio State Reformatory. With over twenty six years experience correctional experience in the State of Ohio, Rich Gansheimer was appointed MTC’s regional vice president in Texas in 2012. In this position, Mr.Gansheimer oversaw eight correctional facilities MTC operates for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Capital punishment is legal in Ohio. A total of 139 people (one woman and 138 men) are currently under a sentence of death in the state as of January 16, 2014. Since the death penalty was re-instituted in the United States in 1976, Texas has executed more inmates than any other state.

Nick says that on balance he felt that the meeting was a positive one. I wish that I could be so confident. I just cannot help but wonder about someone whose experience is all within the American “correctional service”. While we wait for more news about the future of the CRC, the Deputy Director of the London NPS, Sara Robinson, advised staff in her blog last week that:

As a result of the recent implementation of the RSR/CAS improvement plan I am delighted to report that we have significantly uplifted our RSR/CAS performance. I was always confident that London would achieve this improvement quickly and these figures demonstrate how well we have done in a short space of time. I would like to thank all staff involved for their continued hard work to ensure that we get RSR/CAS completion right.

I am not sure what constitutes a significant uplift and would be interested to know if this accords with members’ reality.

Sara also tells us that there are 32 Newly Qualified Officers joining the NPS, taking up posts across London in November. Fifty six new PQF learners joined the NPS last month. A new cohort of eighty two is expected on 2nd February 2015. Fifty of these new learners will be placed in the CRC. A further cohort of possibly sixty learners in total is expected to start sometime in April.

I am only too well aware of the staff shortages in all grades particularly the qualified Probation Officer grade. But I do have concerns about where all these learners are going to be placed.

I would also like to remind members of the Branch Meeting this Friday (28th November) at BPR. Lunch is available from 1p.m. The meeting will start at 2 p.m. with a panel discussion entitled “Crisis, What Crisis”. Our guest speakers will be Sara Khan (Director of Inspire), Janet Crowe (Deputy Director of Prison Reform Trust) and Will McMahon (Deputy Director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies).

Formal Business starts at 3p.m.

I hope to see many of you there. If you do intend to come to the meeting do not forget to email Mail London NAPO so that we can arrange a Visitor’s Pass for you.

Pat Waterman
Branch Chair

Meanwhile, some contributions from the frontline:-

Leics lost a universally respected IT trainer last week. The new CRC simply tripled her tasks and chucked in a few more for good measure, having lost Derbyshire staff to NPS and pruned over 50% of the remainder from Leics and Notts. I think she saw what they expected her to do with the broom and that was the last straw. I've never seen so many leaving gifts and cards for one person. Apparently, at no stage, did anyone from the CRC consult her about what she could take on in addition to her already burgeoning workload. Luckily, she was in a position to walk away. OMs with mortgages and families, experiencing the same wholesale changes in their Jobs, face a horrendous prospect and not everyone can just tell them where to stick it.

I am certain many more would be walking away right now if they were financially in a position to do so - me included.

I certainly would. The current situation on so many levels is untenable and getting worse by the day. The systems actually prevent the work getting done and it would seem the impending updates are no improvement. Even those of us who are fortunate to enjoy reasonable health and decided to insist on staying to see if there would be any semblance of sense or ability to continue without the selling of souls, are now falling and collapsing under the stress and abject incompetence of those supposedly 'implementing change'. It is one huge disorganised nightmare and getting worse by the day. This is not from a perspective of not wanting to change, not having the ability to adapt quickly and easily or being unable to use and access the IT. It is from an informed, experienced and objective analysis. Enough is enough and this is more than enough. 

Prisons are key sites for recruiting to "terrorist" organisations and the Spookes know this. Benchmarking and 'Fair and Sustainable' has taken thousands of officers off the landings of our Prisons and we are in a situation, in many prison, where the prisoners are in control. All prisons are full of drugs and gangs organising the sale and collection of debt. This environment is perfect for the identification of the vulnerable and suggestible and the radicalization of the alienated. Clearly the best way to stop this is to have many more staff who have time to build relationships and change minds. TR is dangerous at so many levels, they just have not thought it through.

As the TR revolution beds in in my area, the more frustrating each day becomes. There are constant instructions regarding the whereabouts of data and who has or does not have access rights. After thirty plus years as a PO with a similar profile to Jim's, I am deeply saddened at the events that are befalling the probation service, both locally and nationally. I can't believe that TR was ever conceived in the first place.

A valued manager of 8 in one location of the NPS told she has now to manage 30 over 7 locations. The inevitable resignation followed and she is leaving imminently. The MoJ are simply incompetent and arrogant beyond belief. The damage they have perpetrated on this service is, ironically, nothing short of criminal.

Here's a real life true vignette for all you Bidders. Think hard about what you are entering into. This happened today in the CRC. (Slightly abridged).

Vulnerable, heroin using woman with a 20 week concealed pregnancy is beaten black and blue by her partner. Social Worker I've worked with for years phones to ask if I can help get her into a refuge and needs info on the man and how soon he will be released into the community:- 

Me: Really sorry, I can't access his records.
SW: Is he still on licence?
Me: I don't know, I can't access his records. 
SW: He's being charged with GBH, can't you recall him?
Me: I have no idea, I can't access his records.
SW: Did you know he's not long out of prison for severely assaulting a previous partner who was heavily pregnant?
Me: No, I didn't. I'm sorry to sound like a parrot but I have no access to his records.
SW: The refuge need a risk assessment on your client, I know you can't send me the OASys but can you summarise it for me?
Me: Unfortunately she is due in Court for another matter and NPS have taken the OASys to do the PSR. I no longer have access to my own records and because I've got 40 odd other cases, I can't remember it all off the top of my head.
SW: This is just ridiculous.
Me: I know! And dangerous and fucking stupid.

That sounds scarily like conversations I've had with social workers. They call me as they have serious concerns about people I supervised whose supervision ended pre June this year and ask for risk details, order/licence details. My response? Sorry, I can no longer see records on the individual that I supervised and I can't remember. Please call NPS duty, that is if they have time to answer the phone as they're so overworked. Dangerous doesn't begin to describe it.

I did ring NPS and their Duty Officer rang me back. Without a word of a lie, it was lovely young woman who worked in the CRC for 8 weeks before getting a place on the qualifying framework on the basis of her degree in Criminology. I mentored her briefly during her 8 weeks with us, she's now 6 weeks into her new role.

I understand that we don't want to assist with TR and being in the NPS I am not in your position. However, I continue to communicate with CRC colleagues and would have asked them to deal with the matter. I will not allow the split to take away the reason I joined probation to protect the public and enable others to make positive lifestyle changes. We must remain strong and care for each other.