Sunday 3 May 2015

Bleak Futures Week 18

Yet another upgrade to N-delerious and worse again - its a fecking joke.

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Unable to get on Delius all day. Seems like even the system realises how fucked up things are at the moment. Yet when the pressure starts to build re missed targets managers will not want to know. To anyone in the same position, make sure that when the system decides to return make sure that you enter a detailed explanation re the delay.

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After 2 days off, enjoying sun, I returned to work today, dreading the upgrade, something always goes wrong or we have to re-learn how to access and use the IT systems. I was not disappointed, got a an email from Crown Court asking for the case allocation document! I checked and it was there in n'delius, uploaded when it was done in Feb! Oh no, would you believe it, its a blank doc! I always put a hard copy in the file too, so faxed it over.

Not 10 minutes later, I was advised the FDR was also blank! I don't make a habit of uploading blanks, and I was a little put out by the inference that I hadn't done it, as I did and offered to fax a copy, but was reminded by court staff that I will have to do them again in nDelius to complete the record!

Well no, I completed the work once and have the evidence, actual hard copies so, I won't be re-doing it all again anytime soon, been allocated more reports since then. So it looks to me that the upgrade erased some text, another colleague sent a blank recall report to Noms yesterday, unaware it had been erased! You really couldn't make it up. I will be entering a complaint to my SPO.

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'Upgrade' has been a disaster in our northern office. People seem to have lost access to records, whilst some offenders and their records seem to have become invisible and impossible to find. We know they should be there but we can't find them. And then the computers are crawling for some and completely stopped for others. I'm in NPS but god knows how my CRC colleagues are coping with their increased OASys demands. Must be pulling their hair out. Interesting how CRC colleagues no longer have time to see clients. Too busy fudging OASys stats.

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Six times yesterday I tried to make an entry on same individual and six times got exception error - three times tried again on same offender this morning. Finally cracked it when I did not use next appointment but that meant I had to put this in separately. It's beyond a joke now. 2 staff in my office covering 5 caseloads - I am on the verge of breakdown without N-disastrous.

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Don't know which northern office you are from my friend, but same state of play in my northern office too.

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Some northern offices completing basic level one OASys to save time but not being told this is officially allowed. Staff at breaking point with others shipped to TTG, leaving rest to pick up the caseload. Nightmare continues.

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It won't let me change the screen colour - its dark blue and we can't read the top of the screen - there's a facility to change colour but it doesn't work unless it will upgrade overnight. And don't get me started on it kicking me out when I've not used it for like a minute aarrgghh.

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Horrendous IT day yesterday with loss of capacity for hours both Citrix and Delius. Whole day without everything working, really, really, shameful. Heading in now hoping to do some catch up, I really cannot go on like this.

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Yet more problems with N-disastrous. All day long I have had exception or time out errors, repeatedly having to make the entries over and over. With only two staff and a caseload of five staff - a trying day to say the least. We were told this upgrade would improve the system - it is worse than ever and takes even longer to find something.

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Durham Tees Valley have people starting training this week. Unsure what it consists of as there is no one in my office who has been selected. I'm sure it will all work out though and the Prison officers will make them feel really welcome.

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I said this wasn't going to work when we first heard of it inside. How are they going to get people into their local resettlement prison when the prisons are so full? There's nowhere to transfer the current occupants to in order to make room for the new influx. There's 2 people in Leicester as far as I know. They won't have a chance of getting everybody. TTG and the new RAR system need a huge investment of money and people and all we get are cuts. How can it be said that people will be provided with accommodation when local councils are making it harder by the day to apply and hostel places are disappearing overnight?

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Surely TTG in concept should be about providing support for those leaving custody that only have £46 in their pocket (and a £1000 debt), and in most need? That would be those that need help with accommodation, employment etc that don't already have any support networks to turn to? These however, are the most time consuming and expensive people to extend the service to. Making it voluntary is just a sneaky way of cherry picking those that will need the least assistance and therefore cheaper and easier to acquire the 'outcome' required for payment. 


Something that hasn't been mentioned of late is that TTG is to work in association with the creation of 'ressettlement' prisons, where prisoners are released from their local prisons after being transferred there a month or so prior. I'm a little perplexed as to how TTG can actually start running until the resettlement infrastructure has been put in place?

To my knowledge, no prisoners are yet being transferred for local discharge, and people living in London are still being released from areas such as Durham or Liverpool. How can TTG work whilst that's happening? TTG is a concept that sounds good to politicians and the public that have no real knowledge of the issues that exist within the CJS, and a half baked notion from a SoS that has even less of an idea.

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On 1st May we just got an A4 notification to say Shelter were doing the TTG. It also says 'the other TTG services, emergency 48hr post release accommodation and support to prisoners who've been subject to domestic or sexual abuse and those who may have been sex workers will be introduced later in the year and will be delivered by OTHER commissioned providers'. It further says 'NOMS have created a number of resettlement prisons & it's ANTICIPATED prisoners will be transferred to these - if they're not, the prison will liaise with the Responsible Officer to agree support (I'm guessing this will happen a lot - can't see resettlement prisons taking off tbh).

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I had a conversation with the department that organises Through the Gate in a Northern prison and was informed that despite them being one of the designated prisons they have no-one in post and no training planned at this time - perhaps Mr Grayling could suggest why this would be?

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I hear that a northern prison had a big issue with TTG and conflict between Sodexo-based CRC and another CRC both of which cover that prison. Because info is commercially sensitive they are watching each other carefully but have requested separate offices in that same prison. Now this is likely to be replicated in other areas too, isn't that interesting?

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Another prison visit and another sea of blank looks when I asked how the plans for TTG are going? Now some prisons are shanghaiing admin and support staff into roles without any formal training. Message to those staff who see this as a career move, if something goes wrong in between picking your old lag up before transporting them to their new pad, please make sure that you are in a union. Those that aren't can expect to get picked off one by one.

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An IT technician with Gwalia Housing has just started working as a TTG peer mentor trainer with St Giles in a prison in Wales. I give him the benefit of the doubt!

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TTG Cardiff prison still not up and running. Community part of the contract not being awarded until June.

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Interesting thought. A lot of people used to do Criminal Justice related voluntary work because they wanted experience that would help them to get into Probation. Now there IS no Probation, what's the incentive?

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It used to be a befriend and assist job. If you had life experience, you may be suitable as long as you could show you could relate to the clients. Now you need a degree and the ability to enforce punishment for non-compliance. Some colleagues' whole life work trashed and maybe facing unemployment in their 50s. Lost career and vocation to make way for profiteering from crime. This is the new future of the Probation Service. Oh and don't forget the devalued pension pot they have robbed as well. RIP

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A prisoner released after 5 yrs in prison, never used the internet, told by Work Programme to go to his local Hub to enrol on an IT course so he can upload his CV to emails etc. Course was full. He has to try again for next months course. He wants a CSCS card so he can work in construction but WP won't pay the £180 for it unless he has a firm job offer. He attended ETE in Probation, run by longstanding partnership, who have sorted all of this for him apart from the CSCS as they don't have a budget. The Work Programme fails and parks prisoners. This guy is trying to go straight after supplying class A. He can easily make some money but chooses to go straight. He needs professional help to do this, not volunteer mentors who don't have the expertise.

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At this moment in time, I am actually spending more time behind a PC than I was pre-TR - not what I expected in CRC - man down pub tells me it's going to get better - if and when it does I may buy that man a drink but I cannot see it being achieved in my CRC lifetime.

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We spend more time at a PC than ever before, the systems are less efficient and detrimental and duplication is running rife.

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In our offices (joint CRC and NPS) the receptionists can't see delius for NPS. This causes a whole heap of problems. Anyone else in the same boat?

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Yes same in my office/area - causes heaps of problems. Recently Social Services were after information on a case not long finished - CRC staff unable to access - once terminated goes back to NPS - had to ask them to look up information - swamped by bureaucracy.

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Only going to get worse, wait until you are not even working in the same building and everything is fed through and out of the central Hub..

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I work as a joint CRC/NPS receptionist and can still see NPS front screen records just not full functionality. A lot of it is interpreting the information we can see which boils down to experience in our particular field. Safeguarding and Prison checks on the increase. We are a small cog in the big wheel, but important front line staff and if it causes a whole heap of problems now, wait until we are not there anymore which seems to be the plan!!!

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I'm aware of central hubs for CRC but what will happen at the few NPS offices that are left? Will there be any receptionists there? Receptionists are indeed an important - if not the most important - cog in the wheel and I for one would struggle without them!

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The fact is that the default operating models are not fit for purpose in the real world. In my opinion, they have been designed without any comprehension of the environment in which they will be delivered. Every offender has a phone, none of them are mentally unwell or suffer from substance misuse issues, public transport is universal, everyone has good reception on their mobile phone, no-one ever turns up late or early, no-one misses a group. The list of factors is endless. Receptionists are the gatekeepers. Without them there will be chaos. The CRC management know this and are still arguing the point with Sodeveryone.

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Excellent points well made. Reception staff - I am sorry you've been taken for granted for so long. Your hour of recognition is now here. Similarly case admin staff - the prospect of losing your knowledge & experience makes my blood run cold.


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When we first split the Courts were not ringing OMs for updates to aid sentencing, however today I've been emailed to send court a progress report to aid sentencing. Never heard of these reports - I'm happy to fill it in as it will mean someone getting sentenced right (hopefully) but the whole NPS/CRC is shifting sands.

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Unpaid Work is a disaster - only one supervisor as the other on training, no sessionals anymore. 16 turned up as per signed instructions and 6 of them were sent home. Offenders arguing about who went home last week (cos of the same problem) and who's turn it is to go home this week; others arguing to stay as it's not their fault we've no staff; OMs arguing for their clients to stay. But never mind, Sodexo saving £18k pa in staffing.

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This situation can have serious consequences for any offender doing unpaid work and claiming benefits. If your contract with the Job Centre has the time you spend weekly on unpaid work factored in, and the Job Centre get wind that you haven't actually done those hours of unpaid work for any given week, then you run the risk of being sanctioned. It matters not that it isn't your fault, you just haven't fulfilled your agreement. Harsh, even cruel, but true!

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Couldn't agree more. Our UPW vans are off the road cos no one has a PSV licence. Now have hire vans but can't take the tools out cos no tow bar to carry the trailer.

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Not sure what area you are in, but in our CRC Unpaid Work we have had 4 supervisors to 6 service users today. We are twiddling our thumbs here. Maybe I can suggest coming to give you a hand?

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Staff do not need a PSV licence. It is CP card that Sodexo are refusing to let the staff get. They will not put staff through this training, thus resulting in only being able to carry 8 passengers. Vans are off the road because they do not know what they are doing, they do not understand how unpaid work, works. This is another way of cost cutting. They think that by refusing the CP card to the supervisors that they will save money. Really more money is being spent on hiring brand new mini buses.

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It's a bit worrying that they can't arrange transport for their offenders. It makes me wonder how they deal with real problems that involve risk?

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Our CRC not very good at maths. We are expected to take 10 offenders with only 8 available seats on the van.

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What is so disheartening about all of this is that, despite all the evidence on here and tweeted etc elsewhere of the disintegration of the Service, none of it will make a blind bit of difference to those with decision making powers. We have HMI in at present doing an 'audit' of how things are working post TR. Assured of anonymity, all questions are being answered honestly by those of us whose cases are in the sample. But will what we say have any impact - I doubt it. Still, I await the HMI report with interest, as I was told by an Inspector that it won't go to the CEO (for tweaking) before publication, as is the normal practice with inspections, apparently.....

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Whilst a deterioration was expected, that it is happening so fast is frightening. It seems people have regressed and lost all sense of what had been learned, supposed to have been put in place years ago and have reverted back to systems and process that applied to very dark times. Whilst 'service user' feedback is now derigeur, engagement, effective practice, for those who knew what that was, seems to have flown out of the window. Restrictive punitive measures and approach abound, law, policy and guidance is disregarded as back covering and so called risk management, predominates. Half a day training or do it yourself IT training, easy enough to cheat and falsify, resulting in.. the horrors are too many. People died, were abused, treated unfairly because of exactly this type of behaviour in the NHS. It's only a matter of time before it all crashes down on them. In many ways am beginning to see the value in kiosks, at least that will mean some people will not have to suffer.

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Anyone in Northumbria want to add to this list of the impossibility of getting breach papers past the Enforcement Team in NPS?

Your breach is rejected because:

1. You haven't tried to do a home visit (offender is known to stab people)
2. You haven't checked if they have outstanding fines (I was asking for 7 hours additional Unpaid Work)
3. You haven't sent warning letters (he doesn't have an address)
4. You haven't ruled out a curfew (I wasn't asking for a curfew I was asking for more Unpaid Work)
5. You haven't provided witness availability for Unpaid Work staff (I would if he denied the breach, we're not at that stage yet)
6. Your Delius entry from 3 months ago says someone rang and said she was sick (I don't have a sick note, I don't know who the caller was)
7. You need a letter from his employer (his employer doesn't know he's on Probation)
8. Your word is just hearsay, not evidence (I'm his Probation Officer!!)
9. You haven't said whether you have tried to phone him (He hasn't got a phone)
10. You haven't got a signed agreement to say that he understands that he has to come to appointments (He hasn't attended at all. He hasn't been signed up yet)

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NPS in the northwest are also doing a fine job of knocking everything back. They simply loathe requests for WWOB; they'll eat hot gravel rather than apply for an arrest warrant.
What's the story, NPS?

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You're making a single fatal error, you had the client at the centre of things, the breach procedure has targets at the centre of all things!


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As far as I'm aware in the NorthWest and using Merseyside as an example, the warrant team is tiny and so anyone on 'their toes' has minimal chance of being hauled back before the courts. Warrants only tend to get executed when they are arrested on new matters. Stay on your toes for 3 years or so and Probation Court officers will re-apply to court to have the warrants cancelled.

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Who are the breach officers in Northumbria? Are they the ones transferred over from G4S as part of TR? Remember, they didn't get asked just like we didn't, and may not have been given suitable support and training. If not, then I have no idea what's going on!

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If it's any consolation in another northern office close by Northumbria, breaches are also being rejected for ridiculous reasons.

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I cannot stress how much sympathy I have for PQF learners. I have never seen entrants into probation treated this way. We all know how their salaries were messed up at the outset with many having no income until the mess was sorted, they have also been auto enrolled into a pension scheme without even basic information provided - a clear breach by NPS of pension regulations.

But by far the worst part is their training, often hitched to over-burdened PO "mentors" who can't keep up with their own case loads let alone training others, managers with no time to spare....and who cares???? I have tried to help a lovely person in our team to the detriment of my own workload and having to catch up out of hours. She tells me she is in despair because she was promised a rewarding career with decent training and she dare not speak out. Isn't that a shame?

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It's shocking but the same right across England and Wales. I went to a conference the other month when a man from NOMS asked our opinion on new learners asking, should their caseload be protected and if so for how long? We stared blankly at him for a long time. Of course they should be protected but we're so short-staffed how can that be possible and with highly qualified staff being dismissed on the other side, didn't know what to say! Speechless. We eventually let him know what we thought.

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I also really feel for the new PQF trainers. Last week I reluctantly refused a request to act as mentor for a trainee due to start tomorrow. This decision came about owing to the failure of management to date to rectify my unmanageable caseload and bring it in line with comparable role PO's elsewhere in the 'business'. A number of us commenced grievance proceedings 6 months ago on this matter and yet again we hear today the hearing date has been delayed, so we have informed management we will not take any 'new' work for the foreseeable. It goes against the grain to refuse to help a colleague, especially a newly-appointed trainee, but we are on our knees here with no end in sight.

Day 3 of the HMI inspection and the inspector I saw today probably wasn't anticipating the response he got when he told me that our teams decision last July not to do any more Oasys or ISP's (after requesting direction on prioritisation of work and been told by Snr Management that 'everything was a priority') had been 'indefensible'. He spent the next 10 minutes heavily rowing back on that one, saying it wasn't personal and hopefully their report will make a difference in terms of resource allocation. Well, as I told him, I'm not holding my breath on that one. It couldn't get any worse here than it has been today...

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Well it's an absolute certainty that no TPO is going to be failed...at least they know they will have a job.

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I am a TPO and worked for a significant period in AP's and programmes beforehand. I joined a Trust. I am thriving and absolutely adore being a TPO. Sorry to go against the grain of this post but I just feel I should share my experience.

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I think there's a gulf between those who have grown up (professionally speaking) in recent times, and those who have longer memories & experiences. Neither is right or wrong, but times and practice are significantly different. My DipSW Learning/training experience bears no relation to the current TPO experience. My time as an assessor didn't have any resonance with my practice teacher's efforts to knock me into shape. It shouldn't be a case of going against grain, it is just different for so many reasons. Grumpy old gits sometimes find it hard to be eclipsed by young pups, whilst fresh blood can be feisty and enthusiastic and blind to the priveleges that experience brings.

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I "absolutely adored" being a PO...and then along came TR...

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I have been qualified 9 months, was a PSO before. I had to fight for protected caseload and someone to support me with my first parole report before I even qualified. I now have a caseload of 47 mostly high risk. For the first time in my life I am now on anti-depressants.

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Everyday in the CRC gets worse. You can see the stress etched on colleagues faces. We were recently given a week to transfer cases. Today we got learning point from a recent SFO - when cases are transferred there must be a handover between staff. Staff being sent into prison without risk assessments or proper training. Message being sent out from management that we must divert from recall.

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There was a big performance metrics meting for NPS this week. Apparently a recall will count as an unsuccessful completion. Wonder if same for CRC and that's why being advised to divert? It's all about the targets and profits. I guess the instruction will be risk escalate before recall? Just had a SFO for murder - risk escalation.

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If there's a message being sent out that states 'divert from recall', then that really needs to be published. Such an instruction takes away the individual (and trained and experienced) judgement from the probation officer, and puts a management decision focused on meeting targets way above concerns for public safety. Recall should occur only when necessary, and being instructed to refrain from doing what is necessary when public protection is concerned is just frankly shocking. Print it off and send it to Sadiq Khan with your anonymous concerns about what risks such advice may have on public safety.

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If there's another "dinosaur/old git" comment in our shared building today I won't be needing my redundancy, but I will need a PSR after I've given one of the smug NPS newly-qualified POs a good slap. NPS manager isn't interested in addressing it. CRC manager says it's not his staff member so he can't do anything about it. Looks like it'll have to be 2 falls and a submission a la Mick McManus, or a thick ear a la Frank Bruno. I haven't a fucking clue what happened to professional standards in the probation service. Where did they go?

57 comments:

  1. Ok, this gets a bit confusing before becoming unworkable so bare with me...
    Home CRC - the CRC operating in prisoners home area.
    Host CRC - the CRC operating in the resettlement prison closest to where the prisoner is detained.
    If we can't get the prisoner transferred to a local resentment prison for their release then the OS has to contact the Respondible Officer (or OM as we once knew). That RO/OM has to agree what services they will purchase from their Home CRC from the rare card. Now as the Home CRC may me located miles from where the prisoner actually is, they are likely to approach the Host CRC to pay them to deliver the agreed/purchased services.
    Problem is that there is a significant variance in pricing between the CRC's. If the Host is more expensive then the Home can cough up the extra money or (as our Host CRC told me) they will have to travel to deliver the service themselves!
    Also we've been told (non-resettlement prison) that if we can't transfer a prisoner to their local resettlement prison then we are to transfer to ANY resettlement prison! That's clearly going to help isn't it...

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    1. RE Anon 08:54 post: -

      Please give us a list of the institutions designated " local resentment prison " ?

      (Some typos are beyond hilarious - that one is a real gem - thank you.)

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    2. There's a list of resettlement prisons by CRC on the MoJ website, it's not hard to find

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    3. I think you missed the point... Read it again...

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    4. Ah. I unconsciously corrected the typo.

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  2. Why oh why has none of this been used to try and get us a bit of interest during the election campaign. Surely one of our would-be leaders or MPS has some awareness of the risks to public safety. Where is NAPO . What is IL doing to earn his salary?

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    1. On radio 4 just now -BH Mon morning-there was about 10 min update on concern about impact of TR and risks it had created

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  3. We had our updated briefing last week. Basically it was admitted it's a complete mess. No estates sourced yet, but CRC are moving end September. No idea where people will be working whether that be the hub or out in the community. No idea who will deliver services etc... We are now into the first week of May and still NOONE knows the plan.....

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  4. From MOJ from Reducing Reoffending Partnership bid

    Offender Characteristics

    Tier 1 ogrs score 0-49: offenders broadly expected to comply with there sentence requirements and desist from crime without intensive additional interventions. These offenders will have a low risk of harm and likelihood of reoffending

    Likely Rehabilitation support features

    Largely based around court or licence requirement
    Part self managed, including via kiosk step-down reporting
    Appropriate case manger direction and supervision
    Identifying antecedents, behaviour and consequences
    Setting short and long term goals
    peer support and challenge in groups/pod settings
    referral and signposting to appropriate service
    Brief interventions(e.g self managing substance use)
    Learning materials on the offender portal

    Tier 2 Ogrs score 50-75 offenders expected to need more direction and additional support to comply with the requirements of their sentence and reasonably suspected to reoffend without successful interventions

    A risk management plan as needed, tailored to personal circumstances
    Case manager directive support, aiming at encouraging the offender to move towards self management
    core focus on rehabiliative interventions listed below
    Mainly group-based interventions, with one to one support where appropriate
    Structured group interventions led by case manager focussing on specific offences

    Tier 3 Ogrs score 76+ offenders with multiple and complex needs, who are expected to fail to comply with their sentence and rapidly commit further offences unless tailored support is provided. These offenders will pose highest risk of re-offending of those allocated to the CRC, and have multiple criminogenic risk factors

    A risk management plan as needed, tailored to personal circumstances
    Intensive support imposing controls on behaviour
    Specialist and mainly one to one rehabilitation intervention
    Multi-agency, whole system approaches with coordinated case management (e.g. with social services, NHS, police, Intergrated offender management and RRP prison caseworkers)
    Sentence plan aligned with existing care plans
    Assertive outreach worker and community volunteer support (E.g peer mentoring, accompanying offenders to appointments)

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  5. Here's an interesting statement just left on yesterday's blog:-

    "That facts are, though, that the Prison Service has moved a lot of prisoners to be in resettlement prisons. Almost all of the designated resettlement prisons have 85%+ prisoners from the home CRC and most CRCs have very small numbers of prisoners with 12 weeks or less to serve who are not in resettlement prisons."

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    1. chris grayling trolling again I see :@)

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    2. Hmmm this may be the case in the male estate but in the female estate I doubt it very much as women are often held far from home due to the fact there are few female prisons and in some areas none at all so it is highly unlikely that the women will be sent to resettlement prisons in their home areas because there is unlikely to be one. Now if successive governments had actually implemented the recommendations of the Corston report this would have been solved a long time ago.

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    3. 85% is a very precise number and I would suggest this type of information has come internally. Possibly from NOMS. On the balance of probabilities I would say that it was NOMS, who dunnit, in the boardroom with a Parker pen.

      Can I claim my £5 for the star letter?

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    4. @16:50

      Nice try, but as the poster of the original comment I can assure you that I am nothing t do with NOMS. I also said 85%+, which is a reliable figure, according to relatively independent sources.

      The point @13:17 about the female estate is sadly true, although the MoJ fudge is to make Eastwood Park (for example) a resettlement prison for five CRCs

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    5. Can you say (and corroborate) where your figures come from?

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    6. I have Prison Service figures corroborated by an independent source

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    7. That's a "no" then.

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    8. You choose to believe whatever you like

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    9. You'll have to do better than that. If you really expect probation staff to accept such an assertion without question then you don't know much about us.

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    10. As I say, you believe what you like. I am telling you that resettlement prisons have 85%+ from their home CRC. That is a fact. Prison Service internal data, which I have seen, shows this. It bothers me not whether you accept this. I have no reason or desire to mislead you, nor any vested interest in doing so. Facts are facts though

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  6. I'm a dinosaur and an old git and from what I see it is this exclusive group of officers who are holding things together by just carrying on with things the way they work not the way lickspittle new managers have been told to do things.......this is the group that can see through the bullshit and who wont be bullied.....from what I see there are quite a lot of 'Sodexo positives' out there who hope that by pushing their masters line they will be spared the coming cull and offered a place at the top table.........eyes open please....they're just using you to do the dirty on your staff before they come for you.....being an old git means that you have seen this before......who was it that said if you fail to learn from history you're destined to repeat it ? Still not too late to tell it like it is.....

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  7. Bloody nightmare week, horrendous IT problems, 6 days no email,had to get admin to do my safeguarding referrals as practitioner colleagues too stressed trying to recover work for court deadlines, colleague also had the dreaded call case allocation not done (it was) ok then it's blank ( it wasn't)...just bizarre. Then told by IT that the upgrade was done last weekend with no-one realising it was not compatible with parts of system (citrix and lotus notes) Just who are these people designing these systems? Or more to the point, just who is commissioning such not fit for purpose crap ?????
    I despair.

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  8. Why oh why have the unions not written to the National Audit Office regarding TR and especially IT and TTG ?
    Post election I am straight to my MP (again) but at least it will be a new face!

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    1. How do you know "they" haven't written to NAO? Did you suggest it yourself (assuming you are a Union member) to a Branch/National Officer?

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  9. In some ways from the outside looking in point of view this is absolutely hilarious. In one way because it was so predictable.

    I just wonder how long it will be before some enterprising lag decides to sue the MoJ and the relevant CRC for failing to provide the TTG services promised from May 1, 2015 if they are released with only the £46 and no support. After all if it is contracted that that is when TTG was due to start and people don't get the promised support then breach of contract ensues.

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  10. @13:21

    Can you name one prison where there should have been a TTG service in place on Friday but there was not? I know that Purple Futures, Sodexo and Working Links all reported the service in place in all of their prisons on 1 May. So in which ones has it not happened?

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  11. They'll all be claiming payments for TTG services from first of May- whether its operational or not.
    If they don't claim payment for TTG services from that date, then they risk being accused of contractual failures.

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    1. Although one would like to assume that MoJ contract managers, and prison governors, would notice if a service didn't really exist

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  12. They lie. End of. As long as the facade is maintained the charade will continue. MoJ contract managers collude because TR failure is their failure. The only way forward is for the bidders to wake up to the enormity of the task and the MASSIVE potential for reputational damage

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    1. MOJ contract managers are doing their job. They are not architects of TR. Remember this on Thursday!

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  13. TTG - so what happens if the prisoner HAS accommodation, some enterprising person eager to prove their worth will be signing them up for services ( which they already have) and CLAIMING for it....just remember twas predicted here.

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    1. Why would they do that? It makes absolutely no sense to provide services to people who don't need them and thereby increase your costs. That would be completely counterproductive if you were motivated by profit....

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    2. We used to refer to Skills4work and generally clients would report back that they had been offered courses, or voluntary work! However, once on their books they would keep an eye on case and if the client, through their own ingenuity found work, S4W would call us and ask if client could produce a payslip or other evidence of work, so they could take credit for placing the client in work! I always refused, as its lying, fraudulently claims credit for another's endeavour! Shameful!

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    3. Probation used to do that, out of desperation to avoid financial puishment- we would have to put on CRAMS - if a person got work, and if they still had the job a month later. But if they only went on a one day course, or got vol work, or even found work under their own steam, or if they even commenced their sentence with a job, we had to record it as though WE had assisted them in getting the job. I wouldn't do that either, for the same reasons, in the same way we were told when we did a termination OASys, it had to be ticked so that the Order looked as though it had ended successfully - do not record the person as being homeless If they were sleeping on someone's settee, and even if that small comfort was only a couple of nights a week. Some of the newer qualified would naively go along with that, but some old gits refused, for the same reasons, which was to hit the targets and therefore ensure our area was not punished by the Govt by withholding payments (but at least that money went towards improving the Service, not making bosses rich),

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  14. No, they pretend they have provided the service to get paid.........that way they focus on the easy hits to get paid with minimal effort. Just like Shelter used to claim their payment for finding accommodation for prisoners by providing one nights B and B (often in v questionable accommodation) and then they were homeless on night 2 but it didn't matter 'cos they could claim the payment.

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    1. If Shelter really had a contract under which they were paid if an offender had accommodation for one night (which I am not sure that I believe) then I would blame whoever let the contract

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  15. Blame the clowns at NOMS then 19:14. The Public Accounts Committee told us last year that they are incapable of selling water in a desert. And lo, it comes to pass.

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  16. To Nigel Farage. From an exclusive club on the Jim Brown blog of 'Old gits and dinosaurs' we are wondering what your thoughts are on the CJS??. You have been very quiet like the rest of the' old boys club ' in all the parties on this issue so I wonder what your vision is for the future of the CJS........ We wait in anticipation for a responce......... Should be interesting to see if they even have a policy on this issue as no one else has uttered one word about CJS or even victims of crime. Keep us posted Jim if we get anything back but i wont hold my breath. Any other poltical parties want to make a contribution and update us on their policies please get in touch,,,,,we are waiting!!!

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    1. Because the main parties have reassured us that they will roll it all back?. If your diversity training has made you so compliant, nothing Ukip or any other non liblabcon party is ever going to change your mind about anything is it?. Keep pretending you're kicking against the pricks. It will make you feel better. Here's you p45.

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  17. The back biting and bitching has started in my office with the 'new blood' PSO's claiming PO's don't do anything they don't do so therefore are expendable, most don't understand they are being allocated case's they are not qualified to manage so accept them no questions asked. It is time for clearly defined roles between PO's and PSO's to be set out, if not the end of the PO role in CRC's is nigh.....

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    1. Do that and POs will be gone overnight. No one here seems realise there are no probation officers in CRCs ? There are a few case managers who were once Probation officers. We are all the same now .

      It will not be too long before the CRCs are downgrading current PSOs with newly appointed lesser paid PSOs starting on new contracts with no pensions in the LGPS.

      Unless all POs can show actual required work which is different , needing a level of intellect that is based on the training and not developed from actual experience or acquired knowledge you can forget it.

      The CRC will determine the base levels of required work and the qualification requirements, if any is to be required ?

      It would be nice if PO got of the high horse and realised the work has been broken down and separated and officers of probation have gone east to the NPS all the rest gone west !

      The word probation is not in the title CRC, A telling clue !!

      In the meantime NAPO is made up of all grades paying the same percentage of rates based on staff Pay. Napo had better wake up and respect all the fee paying members.

      PO in a CRC means nothing nowadays. How do you think the unions could take PSO subs and then work on agreements to reduce their terms or pay so POs try and hold onto a position of status that now belongs in the NPS? No Union could hold members if this becomes more obvious. POs have always had the primary attention of Napo but those days have finite number on them too now and that is a good thing if your a paying in PSO and should demand a campaign process that is equal to the needs of all members.

      Are you really sure it is the PSOs doing the moaning , because it does not read like that above.

      All staff should have united as workers not divided by grades. We might have had a better chance.

      No Genie is going back in the bottle and you will not reverse the trend to liberate staff in the CRCs so try and adjust !

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    2. That's a bit prickly, after rubbishing po's you then ask for unity, " united as workers not divided by grade-too late for you then!

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    3. Read it again ! I am sorry the PO structure has been destroyed. In crc the po has no majority now. The nps has the bulk. The tough message does not criticise Po it is a shame you read and dont understand. This is typical and what helped the failure to defend us all from tr. If you want to be a po get into nps. In crc role boundary is a thing of the past. The new bosses are not Po so they will not buy in to your ideals that have no justification. You could aways do the list for the blog and make the case for po. You wont and cant though.

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    4. Some of us did not have a choice about going to crc. If we go to nps now we lose our terms and conditions and jump through hoops to get there. Apparently Kent got the sift wrong and are now short of po's in nps.

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    5. Ok I understand that ! It is a terrible consequence that effective and decent hard working POs became casualties of the incredible complicated twisted assignment process. However and yet again this is a failure of Napo . They agreed the process claiming it was the best that could be argued in order to grab the limited and targeted EVR monies. Foolish !
      However, they ended up selling out the professional grade for less than a piece of silver.

      Incredible The Chair Mr Rendon at the time could be likened to encouraging kids to play by the motorway as he had not a clue what the implications were for our probation professional officers. The service was being destroyed yet the so called NEC accountable body asked no real questions and those that do get accused. Allowing the incredibly poor agreement to stand instead of demanding a reversal. The TR fiasco has only just started to impact more negatively and viciously on professional officers. Those in CRC will feel lost and undermined as staff see no ceiling on the nature of the work we have left. I know there are too many over ambitious yet poorly skilled PSOs taking work on either to afraid to reject or too ambityious to appear capable of the most chaotic work.

      Despite the lack of POs in NPS Kent, Napo are powerless to raise cases on behalf of those displaced POs. Of course I would expect they should rightly be allocated to roles in the NPS if they want them. The TR assignment process actually provided a framework to reduce staff by thieving our terms over transfer limited by phoney timelines. We should be very angry at terrible situation our colleagues are in. There is no reason NAPO do not get the figures of staffing vacancies and negotiate to reinstate the terms for POs who want to move to NPS.

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    6. 22.39 you seem to know a lot of inside information about the workings of NAPO and if you are so closely related and have very strong, opinionated views, what are you doing about it other than ranting from the sidelines. It takes courage to stand and be identified and counted, easier to deliver armchair politics for those who talk the talk

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    7. What are you talking about ? My observations are borne from taking appropriate interest in the matters which have impacted on our jobs. I have read as much as is available on the blogs and on the napo forums. Any reader with a few concerns will share many of the issues I touch upon. You make assumption that I am doing nothing your welcome to that blinkered position. I do not think its fair to call a few marked points on the facts a rant perhaps you are one of the NEC sheep ? Always endorsing never trying to preventing or slowing the inertia of the NAPO train crash. I take the anon as you have to protect all our positions I am just amazed that you are so arrogant you don't realise the last 4 lines of your comment is you. Now why don't you tell us all what you are doing ? Encourage others to be stronger instead of the snide commentary you make actually misleads readers from the alternative views than the readily accepted spin. Perhaps you are being defensive because you are in that mix ! It matters little difference now.

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  18. Confusing when CRC staff are assessing all prisoners for TTG

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  19. that was happening in my office 6 years ago, before I retired - some - not all - PSO's resenting the money PO's were getting when THEY were doing the same job - but they couldn't see the work PO's were doing which they did not get to do. And in addition, PSO's were starting, unfairly, to be given higher risk work which they were not qualified to do.

    But then, there was also the occasional PO, who had not been in the Service long enough to be near the top of the scale, resenting the higher salary which those at the top were getting- but forgot, that those at the top, also had the same years to wait when longer serving ones were equally in front of them at the top of the scale.

    c'est la vie!

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    1. I had a see you next Tuesday boss who had court admin doing PSR referrals, telling them they would get PSO jobs if they banked that experience. All bollocks. None of them got PSO jobs. I got bullied for pointing out the dishonesty. Years before it became government policy.

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  20. Why is there complaint at having to do a job were paid to do. At least we have a job so be thankful for that instead of moaning. RANT OVER

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    1. because it's not the one we signed up for; there is too much work and not enough hours in the day; it is compromising public safety and I could go on and on. And I know your response will be 'well if you don't like it leave' well why should we??

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    2. Because you won't be effective in your work? You won't get job satisfaction? The poor buggers you supervise will pick up on your negativity? You won't find a job as well paid??? Just a thought or two.....

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  21. My concern is unexperienced TTG staff in prisons working with high risk offenders.

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    1. They will be sign posting and form filling, no more and no less

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  22. UPW bods getting sent to out of area projects in taxi's now and I mean miles away that wont be cheap

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  23. In relation to the breach teams ...its easy really if you get the information right then it will go through ......simples!

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