Tuesday 11 November 2014

Resistance is Growing!

I have never posted anything in my life or used Twitter, texted, been on Facebook or indeed any form of social media. But now I am in my 60's & with over 30 years of practice I am beginning to feel I should say something; perhaps we that are older can afford to be the most radical as perhaps we have less to lose? I would therefore like to salute you for your sterling efforts & to recall, without being too morbid, the words of Dylan Thomas:

"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light".

Is there anyone else out there of an older vintage who feels the same? We should not just retire and walk away but fight TR and the 'dying of the light' in Probation with patience, determination and precision?


In our office the resistance is being run by the older hands on behalf of those with 30 years to go-it was the old stagers that stood on the picket lines and the old stagers that challenge the nonsense of the diktats that are emanating from Gestapo HQ.....like every good resistance movement, slow to start but difficult to stop.....

One thing this blog has done for me is highlight that, as a 30+ years in, I am not so alone as I had come to feel. Perhaps we ought to get together somehow?

Speaking as another old stager: I think those of us who have been in the biz for thirty odd years get a real visceral sense of how distinguished the history of probation is, how great the threat, and how deep the damage being done.

I have been in the service for 30 years, not quite into my 60's only just into the 50's, but I fight on a daily basis. I let everyone in the office know exactly what I think and that I will never accept TR. I contribute to this blog on a daily basis and I continue to "rage against the dying light", and carry on fighting, and when it's time to retire we can walk away knowing that we gave it our best shot.

What really concerns me is the amount of experience, the skills underpinning genuinely effective practice, the knowledge of law, objectivity, anti discriminatory practice, innovation arising from concern to improve. So much has already disappeared, those in training cannot train/pass on what they don't know/or have no interest in finding out.

"Luckily in our area we are taking a collective stance and have passed a vote of no confidence on our chief in the hope she will pass this up mainly and get something done". 

How do we go about this? I think a lot of those in senior positions would pull their socks up if they thought this could happen to them.


Relatively simple. We compiled a letter to her and all signed it telling her she was not doing anything that we could see to ease staff stress. Asked her to give clear guidance at how to do our work and what to cut corners with as all on 200 per cent mark or roundabout.

Itemised a number of suggestions to her to ease the pressures and asked why has she not thought of any of them thus far? Overtime for one, and basically threatened a collective grievance. She swept into action with a number of tokenistic gestures after the union went to see her but the view was, too little to late. 

Collective grievance next up, followed up by individuals all e-mailing managers with much the same. Also look up the term vicarious liability as well. We found this useful. They cannot go on threatening you with SFO 'what ifs' as they are as responsible, if not more so, if one occurs.

This has been rumbling around our office for some time too and something needs to happen. Planning to take legal advice re the failure to fulfil the duty of care which, from just a brief conversation, has evidently been neglected on several fronts.

Has anyone thought of reporting this to the Health and Safety Executive? That would really cause huge problems for the employer. So, I suggest having done your letter to your Chief Exec, you write again and say nothing has changed and all of the same signatories then write to the HSE expressing concern about stress levels. I know they got involved with one organisation to great effect (believe it was an NHS trust but not certain). Please check out their website, you will see probation work now hits all of the stress factors. Good Luck!

A very sensible approach and one I can see a lot of officers utilising. How helpful were/are your local Union reps during this? Also, can you keep us updated as to any outcome as it might be of some use?

Yes of course, I will keep you posted. Interesting our ACO has now offered us stress management interviews. What is the point if they won't or can't do anything about it? Back covering exercise and yet another token. She has said can revert toil as a one off to overtime so at least we get paid for any extra hours, but this does not ease things for the future. Good luck to all colleagues. Collective seems to work better so up and at 'em. At the end of the day, not gonna sack you, they need you, now more than ever!!

Union reps pretty good actually. I urge everyone to do the same as us. It has them on their uppers believe me!!

Man in the pub says that many staff in Manchester are talking about having a vote of no confidence in the CEO of the NPS. Anyone from this area heard anything about this? Could start a trend....

As I currently work in Manchester I feel qualified to comment. There will be NO vote of no confidence in our CEO simply due to the fact that we are too fecking busy just trying to get the day job done. If, and it's a big if, we have a spare five minutes, we normally use it to go and lie down in a very dark room. It's getting crowded in there though and our ACE has moved their pillows in.

I too work in Manchester and although I am also spending most my working day in the dark room, I would still like to slip a piece of paper under the door voting for a vote of no confidence. Our CEO has been an utter disgrace and looked after herself, she has not once showed that she cares about the staff, a vote of no confidence would fit well.

I would urge you to do it via a collective letter. It has ours thinking believe me. Check out Vicarious Liability and chuck this into the mix.

Far too much fear in Manchester to do this.....we are living under a shadow.

I reiterate my earlier comment. Do it collectively. They cannot sack you all. In our area all it took was a discussion at a water cooler. An e-mail sent to all operating staff and that's all that was needed. We have our ACO on the uppers and heard about other area's getting somewhere too. Stick together, they need you more than you need them!!!

I appreciate that all staff from higher management and below are in a very difficult position. The vast majority of people have mortgages, children, debts etc and need a job. They are not going to risk that by speaking out and being critical, even when inside they probably know what a crock of s**t it all is. 

What I take exception to is them spouting on to us that everything is ok, bang on about performance, tell us about it being a time for opportunities when we know from looking at other sectors that jobs are the first to go to maximise profits. Be honest, be real; don't say anything at all if you can't say how it really is and certainly don't get on people's backs when you haven't done the coal face in ages and when you did, it wasn't with the crap systems/processes/volume of work that we have now.

Speaking as an ACO who is as fed up with all this nonsense, I would welcome a vote of no confidence and of course I would pass this up to my own seniors. The fact is I am stifled completely by new guidelines and what I could do six months ago is now out of my jurisdiction. This is very frustrating for me but it will at least show our own seniors that what is going on is dangerous and destructive. I began my life in the wonderful probation service as admin and I have worked my way up slowly, not for the money, but because I really do care about the service and the people who work for it, believe it or not.

Postscript

Just received an email in a Manchester office stating all NPS staff who have written more than 2 PSR's per month since Sept to be paid for overtime for the extra reports. Naturally I asked if CRC staff who have been writing reports up to 1/11/2014 would be treated the same. As usual no one knows. Is this happening in other areas?

Do you think this is a cynical attempt to buy you off? This blog seems to have a lot of negative comments from Manchester. Just wondering what the motive for this is?

37 comments:

  1. Just an impartial observation: You do realise that many of the comments here could be characterised as a lot of old people with little or nothing to lose trying to poison the prospects of a lot of young people? ( perverse chimes with the banking crisis?)

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    1. It doesn't come across that way to me - and I'm 30+ years away from retirement rather than 30 years in

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    2. Impartial my arse! I would have thought that the career prospects of 'young people' would have been stronger within a internationally acclaimed - integrated – probation service, instead of one that has been fragmented, with the bulk outsourced to private companies who have a record of fiddling the books and degrading conditions of employment. But, you are right on one thing: probation has been poisoned – by an ideology.

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    3. I do wonder if and why it has it escaped your notice that the Civil Service has a substantial record of fiddling the books and financial incompetence ( visit the NAO website) and degrading conditions of employment?

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    4. Oh dear 18;29, I do hope that you are not at colleague. I am '30 years in', having joined a distinguished, exciting and creative Probation Service at the age of 24 and until recently I have never woke up thinking, I don't want to go to work; even when the day ahead is likely to be stressful and challenging. In the last 12 months it has been a chore to hold onto the enthusiasm, but I think I have done a pretty good job, in the face of adversity. If I moan, I do so in the hope that the Probation Service survives this onslaught and that younger people, who share my passion for the work, will have a servcie into which they can inject their enthusiasm and find a proud and eventful career, just as I have and will continue to do, until I retire. I am in no hurry, and the very last thing on my mind is to poison the prospects of those who come into the Service, rather I hope that I am able to do my bit to ensure the Service and the work we do, continues for many years to come, not for myslef, but for everyone else.

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    5. I am also 30+ years away from retirement and am certain that colleagues apposing TR are looking after my 'prospects' not poisoning them.

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    6. I work in Probation and see opportunities for younger and older employees with TR. But even those that see the opportunities think that TR (or at least this split in Probation) is a really bad and dangerous idea. It is hard to find anyone who thinks it is a good idea, other than those that have been promoted as a result - that is the CRC CEOs (and even they don't believe it though they might say it). Everyone else, and I mean everyone I have talked to can not see the logic in splitting the service, and the evidence on the ground is that an excellent service has fallen apart and become incredibly dysfunctional. It's strange. It's bewildering. It's confusing. To be honest, it's embarrassingly bad and the private companies are fools for bidding.

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  2. What utter drivel!

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  3. Those prospects would be what exactly?

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    1. erm......life, love, happiness, achievement, job satisfaction, tolerance, pride, belief. Surely you don't honestly believe that even Mr Grayling can abolish these Jim. Not even the child catcher in chitty chitty bang bang managed that.

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    2. Grayling is destroying the job as we know it - the young will inherit something entirely different and we all have a duty to do our best to try and stop this happening.

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    3. I think the two important words here are "we" and "different". I don't belong here so genuine ( honestly) apologies, and no more annoying comments from me.

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    4. By all means apologise, but dont feel excluded: "we" are all very cross and concerned, and doubtless a bit snappy, but I for one (aged, wriinkly, crosspatch) welcome your interest. Please stay interested

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    5. Would agree anon 20:34 for a moment was wondering if anon 19:29 and 39 may actually be someone in 'higher management' seeking to find a way to salve a conscience and then bottling it..whoever and wherever please do stay interested...as so many comments highlight, the work of Probation is rarely understood or appreciated by other than those who come into direct contact with it..but what is achieved affects everyone of us...in so many ways.. quietly committed, competently and persistently innovating, striving to improve, become increasingly effective and successful. Doing so humanely, fairly, objectively and with intelligence...oh and for far less financial cost to the public purse than the alternatives.

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  4. Or perhaps its a bunch of people both new and more experienced who give their hearts and souls to the job and are worried about the consequences of half baked ideas will have on the people they work with.

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  5. Tweet from Ian Lawrence about JR - initial hearing set for 18th November...

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    1. Does anyone know what happens from this point as I have no idea of the JR process at all?

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    2. VIA TWITTER FROM IAN LAWRENCE: -

      " directions = what JR timeline is & we seek injunction @ earliest opportunity "

      https://twitter.com/IlawrenceL/status/532288427061170176

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    3. Missed the link to Ian Lawrence - Napo General secretaries blog: -

      https://www.napo.org.uk/blogs/judicial-review-we-now-ask-there-testgate-5

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  6. Well I just said what I thought... so you are all probably entirely right to rubbish my comment.

    and Anonymous18:46: I stand corrected. You too are right:
    "probation has been poisoned – by an ideology"

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    1. You're entitled to your view Anon 18:54, however am just wondering if a similar view would have crossed you mind say, if it had been the wholesale privatisation/dismantling of the NHS that was under discussion? I wonder would you have thought the views of long serving medical staff to be 'old people with nothing to lose trying to poison the prospects of a lot young people'? In terms of 'treasured institutions', the probation service was around long before the NHS was set up!! (Not that we've ever been treasured by anyone, except perhaps ourselves and those whose lives we've helped to turn around).
      Deb

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    2. People should be treasured, not institutions. And a similar view would have crossed my mind.

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    3. Dayan Dayanov was the paranoid schizophrenic who beheaded a woman in Tenerife. A report into his care at a mental health unit in Wales is scathing about his care and suggests that had it been otherwise there may not have been a victim. He was dismissed by the hospital as a malingerer and attention seeker and there were racist undertones in his 'treatment'. I agree with Anon 19:47 that people not institutions should be cherished, but we seem to get priorities back to front so often. And this transcends arguments about public-private.

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  7. Twelve years in.... and my resistance remains strong. I have organised, protested, picketed, campaigned, lobbied and will continue to do so. I don't care how long colleagues have served 30 years or 3 we should all stand together against this utter B*****s.

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  8. Resistance? Wait until the 12months and under become subject to 12 month supervison-then we'll see resistance!
    I still don't know how that will work, and foresee numerous legal challanges.
    Could someone explain please, (sorry if I appear a bit thick), but if someone is sentenced to 3months, serves 6weeks, then recalled to serve the remaining 6/7 weeks of the original custodial sentence and released on a further 12month supervision, what can be done if that person refuses to comply?
    If the laws changed to make a breach of supervision a criminal offence, then its still not simply a recall, its got to be arrest, charge, and brought before the courts.
    If a further custodial sentence is not imposed by the courts at that time, and say a fine is given, what then?

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    1. The detail of

      http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/11/contents/enacted

      needs checking - it does depend how it is implemented - it might not all be made law simultaneously.

      I recollect there will be fixed time recalls 14 or 28 days with little judicial/ministerial discretion but I have not assimilated details.

      It was an issue that came up in Parliament today under current implemented legislation

      To see discussion scroll down to : -

      " 10.
      Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con): "

      after going to this: -

      http://www.napo2.org.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=860

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  9. Lord chancellor denied relief over missed claim deadline

    http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/lord-chancellor-denied-relief-over-missed-deadline/5044985.article

    Article Begins: -

    " The High Court has refused the government relief from sanction after the agency responsible for legal aid filed particulars of claim against a law firm out of time.

    Mr Justice Globe (pictured) said the lord chancellor was wrong to argue Master Leslie had erred in his refusal to grant relief in September.

    The decision is another twist in the post-Jackson era of courts getting to grips with parties failing to comply with deadlines or breaching court orders. A new period of leniency followed the Denton judgment in the summer, but this case shows the court will not show blanket tolerance of non-compliance. "

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  10. Prisoner-lawyer calls recorded, Grayling admits

    http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/prisoner-lawyer-calls-recorded-grayling-admits/5045006.article

    ARTICLE INCLUDES: -

    " This is a serious matter, and I would like to start by apologising unreservedly to the House on behalf of the department for any interception of communications,’ said Grayling.

    The justice secretary said the issue was first brought to his attention on 5 November and he had reported it to parliament at the earliest opportunity. "

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  11. Chris Grayling talking about SFO review in this case http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-30003796

    On twitter Tania Bassett has confirmed 'it was an SED release so no link to TR or probation'.

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    1. The vast majority of us are ill informed about the circumstances. Assuming he was serving a sentence of 5 years recalled or not, the offender manager may be the offender manager up until the SED. I think it is best for all parties to avoid comment until after the SFO inquiry- this includes especially Grayling and NAPO.

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  12. Was it not the case that when the first National Standards were introduced breach of sentences / Licence was considered to be an offence given that this incurred punishment with all sanctions including the removal of liberty , consequently the instruction was that the person ( unless missing ) would be offered an interview to answer the allegation of breach, would be entitled to legal representation at the interview and that the warning according to PACE should be given..

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  13. Ian Lawrence Blog includes: -

    " we have just heard that there is a Directions hearing scheduled for the 18th November where we expect the JR timetable to emerge. We will do all we can to keep members posted once we have definite news about developments and the Officers and I are grateful for your patience. "

    https://www.napo.org.uk/blogs/judicial-review-we-now-ask-there-testgate-5

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    1. Andrew, do you have any idea of what happens now with regards to the JR/TR process?

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  14. Crisis Grayling strikes again:

    "Prisoners and employees are being left vulnerable as a result of staff shortages at an overcrowded Kent prison, inspectors have found.

    HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey holds 1,252 men - compared with the 985 it was designed for, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) said.

    Staff shortages meant many exercise and education sessions were cancelled.

    The unannounced inspection in June also found half the posts in the offender management unit remained vacant.

    Staff in the unit, which monitors offenders through their sentences, received no training or "meaningful supervision", the report said."

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    1. Just heard this being reported on 5Live and the NOMs written reply was that 'since we were alerted of the problem in August we have put measures in place' - referring to a recruitment drive. Really!! It never ceases to amaze me the spin put out by MoJ/NOMS.

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  15. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/12/violence-elmley-jail-prison-crisis-staff-shortages-chief-inspector

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  16. The CEO of North West made an interesting (by interesting I mean weird) speech at the opening of a new office this week. In front of several other partnership agencies she told both nps and CRC staff that she doesn't want to hear about sniping between sides stating that she is hearing colleagues calling the nps the dark side and CRC second class cizitens. Very bizarre coming from someone who had never even been tothe office and we don't have time to behave like petty children as we are all working our backsides off trying to make the tr shambles work!!! Other agencies were laughing at her (and us, who felt like naughty school children being chastised for something we hadn't done).

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