Monday 20 July 2015

Guest Blog 42

Open Letter to Michael Gove

Rt Hon Michael Gove MP
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Dear Mr Gove,

As a Probation Officer I thought I’d share a few ideas with you. I appreciate that you have only been in this post for two months, and are still learning, but I am an experienced Probation Officer and have direct experience of the inner workings of our prisons [the Probation Service and Offender Management].

In your recent address to the Prisoner Learning Alliance, you emphasised the importance and value of education within prisons, which is very positive. In your own words, the current prison estate is "overcrowded, insanitary and inadequate". I do believe that you've been very open in citing the Chief Inspector of Prison’s report into HMP Pentonville as an example of the decrepit prison estate. The blood-stained walls, the piles of rubbish and food waste, the increasing levels of violence, the absence of purposeful activity and the widespread drug-taking.

It is also well known that there are prisons where prisoners are routinely confined to overcrowded cells for 22 or 23 (and sometimes 24) hours each day, the growing numbers of elderly, vulnerable prisoners and those living with serious mental illnesses, the high rates of assaults on prison staff, the high rates of suicide amongst prisoners and, as you also referred to, the many inmates being bullied and assaulted – including sexual abuse – by prisoners [and prison staff].

I am sure most will agree with you that these problems in our jails must be rectified if we are to begin to prepare prisoners for a better, more law-abiding, life. It is unacceptable that figures can be quoted to suggest that 45% of adult prisoners re-offend within a year of release, rising to 58% for those serving short term sentences. I do not, however, think the answer is in building new prisons, which has worrying parallels with the highly criticised claim of Michael Howard in the mid 1990's that "prison works". Unless our sentencing and penal approaches are radically reformed "a modern prison estate" will ultimately result in the same old problem of overcrowding where there will always be "dark corners that facilitate bullying, drug-taking and violence" that can not simply be "designed out".

I am sure most will agree with you that prison should be a place where people are sent as a punishment, not for further punishments. This brings me to your points on rehabilitation, and on education playing a vital role. I wholeheartedly agree with access to adequate education, training and employment opportunities during imprisonment and into the community. Success also requires prisons to be properly resourced with available rehabilitation programmes, drug and alcohol services, healthcare services, therapeutic communities, accommodation support, life skills, social visits, community outreach, resettlement programmes and more.

I am sure this would have already been the case if the history of Ministry of Justice budget cuts and poor sub-contracting had not left prisons [and probation] with inadequate resources and provisions. In terms of your suggested education reforms the reality is that many prisoners live with literacy and numeracy problems and have previously failed in school, and would perhaps avoid being forced into prison classroom settings. The cynic in me wonders how many younger prisoners and their former school-teachers would trace blame for their deficits towards your previous 'reform' of the educational system? It should also not be ignored that prisons have on average a small number of well-educated inmates and those from good career backgrounds, just as there are those that are already rehabilitated at the point of entering prison. I'd suggest finding ways of using these prisoners in a positive way to encourage learning and rehabilitation in others.

It is unfortunate that you have omitted Probation Officers from your list of the "so many people" that contribute to the work of rehabilitation in our prisons and into the community. While prisons do work in isolating dangerous offenders from the rest of society, contributing to safer homes and streets, so do we. Previously more accurately known as the Probation and After-Care Service, we have probation workers based inside prisons and in community-based offices. These are key professionals in implementing sentence, release and resettlement plans to manage and supervise low, medium, high risk and dangerous offenders in custody and on release into the community.

In terms of your single reference to the Probation Service I am surprised at your welcoming of "more providers into the care of offenders". Frankly "thanks" to your predecessor Mr Grayling we now have organisations involved in offender management and rehabilitation that are far from "visionary" and have not "improved probation". As you are well aware, based on Mr Grayling's 'reforms' 70% of the Probation Service has been outsourced to private providers that have no real interest or experience in working with offenders or improving outcomes. The ink on these contracts are barely dry and already Sodexo, which owns 6 of the probation Community Rehabilitation Companies, has announced plans to cut 600 probation jobs which includes many Probation Officers that have been professionally trained at university degree standard. And this is just for starters!

On top of this, you have announced the closure of 91 Courts that is bound to impact not just on the National Probation Service based in these locations, but on all present in these Court settings. And yes Mr Gove, following these cuts it may well be that "more than 95% of citizens would still be able to reach their required court within an hour by car," but most will not have had a 10% pay rise or access to a free travel, let alone a chauffeur driven car.

It would be nice if as part of your learning curve you committed to understanding the role of the Probation Service based in prisons and in the community. It is perhaps 'right up your street' that much of probation work is 'rooted in solid evidence, respectful of academic research and has been developed over many years and after rigorous testing and study'. Therefore here lies an opportunity for you to 'ask the right questions in respect of developing prison, rehabilitation and resettlement policy' by speaking to those at the forefront of delivering these services in custody and the community. So while you applaud the professionalism of prison governors, as do I in many cases, please do not forget the professionally trained Probation Officers, the prison and probation frontline [offender management] staff, and all those in organisations delivering successful rehabilitation services.

We currently have everything crossed in the hope you'll be the Minister to end the dismissive and cut-throat approach to the Probation Service - our achievements, contributions, intrinsic value and magnificent staff. You would have been briefed that the Probation Service won the British Quality Foundation Gold Medal for Excellence in 2011. Prior to privatisation no Probation 'Trust' was deemed to be failing or in need of emergency measures; we were meeting our targets on the production of court reports, victim satisfaction and the successful completion of orders or licences; and the Probation Service was acknowledged for carrying out its work efficiently and effectively.

The contribution of the Probation Service to society in preventing reoffending should not be underestimated (or undermined by misrepresenting statistics). The Government’s own statistics published in 2014 showed that reoffending for those given community orders under probation supervision was 34.0%, a drop of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous 12 months and down 3.9 percentage points since 2000. Probation Trusts across the country, achieved year on year reductions in the levels of reoffending. This was in contrast to statistics for those released from short term custodial sentences of under 12 months, who received no probation supervision, and had a significantly higher proven reoffending rate of 57.7%. Recent statistics published in 2015 reinforced that the Probation Service [prior to privatisation] was working. This included that between 2011 and 2013, the number of repeat offences was down 8 per cent and the number of reoffenders fell 11 per cent.

I may not be able to trump your quotes by Sir Winston Churchill, but Lady Linklater of Butterstone once said that the "core value of the Probation Service is far from understood by all those who presume to reconfigure it". I am not privy to the input of probation directors (NPS and CRC's) in the current direction of 'probation services', but Lord Ramsbotham has for some time expressed concerns that instead of being separate, probation is [still] subordinate to prisons, which is "absolutely the wrong way round", and worryingly there is [still] no dedicated Minister for Probation.

Despite the introduction of the [confused] Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and [possibly illegal] Post Sentence Supervision over good old-fashioned 'probation orders' and probation supervision, we on the frontline are battling to keep the support and rehabilitation of offenders at the centre of probation work. It can not be denied that keeping in touch with a [good] probation officer [with access to resources] throughout custody and on release does help people to cope with and overcome their difficulties, and change for the better. Community sentences are cost effective alternatives to imprisonment, probation supervision is effective in reducing offending, and some we have supervised have been known to become employed as mentors, volunteers and [rarely] even probation workers.

I'm going to put this last 'seed' out there as I am a Probation Officer and it's the type of thing we do. The ideal destination of an ex-offender can be described as the point where an individual has shifted from not wanting to offend and actively avoiding criminal opportunities, to a position where offending is never contemplated as an option and 'criminality' a past state of mind. It would be incorrect to think that desistance from crime only begins with arrest or conviction, or that it can only be achieved following punishment, enforced sanctions, risk management or the contact of rehabilitation services (although rehabilitative support and interventions do significantly help to reduce reoffending).

In my humble opinion, to successfully desist from reoffending is not only the responsibility of offenders to seek and achieve by complying with the expectation to address their motivations and needs, but also for the state, justice system and the receiving community to ensure an adequate and consistent framework to individuals to change for the better and to assimilate as citizens [based on evidence]. Prisons may have been failing in this respect, but the statistics show that the Probation Service surely was not!

Yours sincerely,

A Probation Officer
(15 years to retirement)

47 comments:

  1. Good stuff, Guest Blogger - Maybe submit your piece to Guardian for their Comments feature? Or e en your local paper? Get the message out there. Prison related issues & Court closures have made the press, but probation's woes remain hidden. We need the oxygen of publicity.

    I actively sought to have conversations about my CRC predicament with others of all ages & from all walks of life this weekend, which revealed they almost all knew nothing about the work (or existence) of probation but, whilst many expressed opinions that would have made Ghengis Khan blush, they all agreed that having someone skilled & prepared to work with "life's unfortunates" (one of their kinder phrases) was essential - "if only to keep them out of my hair". They all condemned the notion of commercialisation of social work, even the hard-nosed business people who evidenced not a shred of compassion for anyone who committed an offence.

    If we build it, they will come.

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    1. Probation Officer20 July 2015 at 09:39

      I would have submit to the Guardian if it wasn't for the restrictive civil service policies upon us. We're all in the shadows nowadays!

      It's an open letter so maybe any persons, tweeters, bloggers, journalists will repost.

      Delete
  2. Very xxcellent Guest Blogger and like Anon at 08:17 I hope you share it with other publishers and your own member of parliament.

    I am in admiration of you.

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    1. Well that is a good thing and a shame we cannot say the same for the PR officer for NAPO who should be applying time to be doing this sort of stuff. Well done to the author pity our NAPO officials do not seem able to emanate your level of effort.

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  3. This is an early heads up guys. The only part of rehabilitation in custody run by the public sector is the education and training units. Gove is softening us up to create a competition for privatising education. He is no knight in shining armour.

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    1. But all prison education provision was contracted out more than 20 years ago, so I'm not sure what public sector provision you are talking about....

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    2. There is no ETE in Cardiff prison. Funding was cut

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  4. good piece. Not sure why you play down the number of staff who have a criminal record though. I and many of my colleagues have one, a past, evidence if you like of the rehabilitated and like in my case, my relationship with my PO played a part in that.

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    1. Probably because most probation staff are quite judgemental and see you as an ex offender more than they would a colleague. Can't have those ex offenders getting probation jobs - they might even encourage people to commit crime!

      I've found that the best probation officers are those with a record but then I am pro former offenders working with us.

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  5. Define best probation officer. I would say it's someone who meets all targets and not someone talking to someone all day about being an ex offender themselves. Time is money. A good supervision session should last about 10 minutes or so

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    1. "Define best probation officer. I would say it's someone who meets all targets and not someone talking to someone all day about being an ex offender themselves. Time is money. A good supervision session should last about 10 minutes or so"

      I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion it's time to pack this blog in. I know I shouldn't rise to crap like this - but sometimes you just can't help yourself can you?

      Delete
    2. Jim, whomever this person is, they just sound ridiculous. Please don't let whichever company / organisation it is trying to infiltrate the blog get to you. Just see it that what you are doing is having some kind of effect that they don't like. Surely this has to be a good thing? xxx

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    3. Jim it is soul destroying to read some of the comments and many are from people who do actually work in NPS or a CRC. It's horrifying and seemingly hopeless...but then so it must have been before probation was put together..let's not let them get to us, in the words of another, all it takes for evil to succeed ,,,,

      Delete
  6. The following by email:-

    "CLCRC have certainly upped their game today by announcing via email at 5pm that they will be changing employees' terms & conditions with immediate effect, thereby removing any and all reference to EVR and replacing it with a scheme that's virtually statutory redundancy, i.e. Max 15 years at current payscale. Presumably to frighten as many as possible into taking the insult that is voluntary severance? And despite the lack of any agreement with any trades union the 90 day clock has been started on redundancies & letters are in the post."

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    1. Bastards.

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    2. Statutory redundancy, for over 55s, is a better option than the severance offer for it gives pension release AND the additional payment. The unions in all Sodexo CRCs have known this was coming. I assume other CRCs will follow suit so I will expect the same email in the morning as they get in CLCRC. I wonder if we will
      hear from the Union.

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    3. This was a complete lie. They sent no such email. Why do you post things that are completely untrue?

      Delete
    4. To Jim, please don't stop now. There's no other true record of this war. Please tell all of us who are now sick or retired how we can help you?

      Delete
  7. Don't rise to it Jim ��

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  8. Does anyone have any updates on BeNCH CRC by the way??

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    Replies
    1. Yes the details have been passed to me and will be published in tomorrow morning's blog.

      Delete
  9. CLCRC have indeed announced late today before close of business, that while staff looking at what happens if EVR is history, may have looked at the agreed and fully ratified, and in force organisational change policy, [for reference one might presume, as you would after receiving news of the Sodexo offer [sic] for voluntary severance terms], the 4.5 weeks pay per year of service reflected in the local redundancy policy "will" be changed to the statutory minimum. Take your unsweetened and radically reduced and nationally unagreed but offered cake now, or forage where you can. No reference in the bullying electronic mail as to how and why the policy will be changed- well it won't be unless the NNC sanction such after referral....and any change there must be ratify up for all outside EVR scope. Period. It must have been extremely painful and lamentable for the CEO to have had to announce this decree on instruction. One would hope. No sub-context hinted at such. As for colleagues everywhere, the EVR terms must be the yardstick that the unions cannot deviate from, having been agreed nationally, in good faith, with transferring employers, whether for colleauges in NPS, CRCs, or in the Trusts that divvied out deals to the chosen, before now and beyond....Game on Napo, Unison, GMB, Scoop, NOMS; the weight of all history is upon your shoulders and every right thinking person's shoulders now, and by no means least of all, on all your staff and members' shoulders who are trying to do the best they can after all folly!!!! The staff transfer terms are sacrosanct. National collective bargaining is sacrosanct. Period.

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  10. sadly this is not the case. I know i have been there. They are not breaking the law and as a wise man once said the law is an ass. This is just the start. The others are just letting them do the dirty work and then blood letting on an enourmous scale. The unions can do nothing as these have leeches are acting lawfully. There are no morals in " big business " so you have to do what is best for you. It sounds selfish and self centered but they have government on thier side even if we have morals on ours.

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    1. Can I impose a contract unilaterally?
      If you impose a new contract unilaterally you will be in breach of contract and your employees may well:
      ●● make legal claims against the company for constructive dismissal if the breach is fundamental and significant
      ●● claim damages for breach of contract at a civil court
      ●● claim at an employment tribunal for unlawful deduction from wages if the change affects their pay.

      Delete
    2. How can contracts be varied?
      ●● An existing contract of employment can be varied only with the agreement of both parties. Changes may be agreed on an individual basis or through a collective agreement (ie: agreement between employer and employee or their representatives (trade unions or workforce representatives)).
      ●● An employer who is proposing to change an employee’s contract of employment should fully consult with that employee or his or her representative(s) and explain and discuss the reasons for the change.

      Delete
    3. "The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has recently published its judgment in a case surrounding the collapse of Woolworths, and has stated that UK law on collective redundancy consultation does not comply with the European Collective Redundancies Directive. As a result, if an employer is seeking to make 20 or more redundancies over a period of 90 days, it will have to initiate a consultation with employee representatives.

      Previously, UK law provided that this consultation was only necessary if the employer was proposing to make 20 or more workers redundant at one establishment within 90 days. However, the EAT has ruled that the 'at one establishment' part of the law should be 'deleted' to bring UK legislation in line with the EU.

      The law change makes it more likely that collective redundancy consultations are necessary. Employers are now obliged to consult collectively even if they are proposing to make a few individuals redundant at several business locations, provided that, taken as a whole, there are 20 or more redundancies proposed within a 90-day period."

      Delete
    4. The cost of getting it wrong can be considerable. If you fail to reach an agreement and go ahead and impose changes to terms and conditions without staff consent, then you could be held to be in breach of contract. While tribunal claims must be made within three months of the employment ending, court claims for breach of contract can still be made up to six years after the event. It's worth bearing mind, too, that while tribunal damages are capped at £25,000, there is no such limit in the courts.

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  11. Jim please do not let the small narrow minded management laggies deter you. This blog is the driving force for many of us and will remain so despite the attempts of mindless idiots.

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  12. Hi Jim, the burden on you is a heavy one but the function your blog serves to many is invaluable. There are no other public forums with this much engagement, for the most good, thats all you need to concentrate on.

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  13. Transfer of staff from probation trusts to NPS or CRCs entailed minimal contractual rights on behalf of employees, and contractual commitments on behalf of employers, as enshrined by the staff transfer agreement and underwritren by the secretary of state for justice, irrespective of any contracts of employment minimum rights of employees in individual trusts. No staff member employed by a probation trust previously should be canvassed to, or illegally encouraged to, accept terms outwith the staff transfer agreement. Any such behaviour towards staff is in breach of contract and illegal as such.

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  14. Reading the views about on the redundancy situation it seems we are being lied to by the government and our probation bosses. Thankfully this blog has attracted a few commenters in the know. Is this legislation correct? Is it illegal for Sodexo/CRC's announce these redundancies without due consultation or to canvass staff with lesser redundancy offers? Why is Napo not providing us information and fighting our corner? Where is the Napo legal advice we've paid for? Where is our bloody so-called press officer?

    In the meantime MP's get a pay rise backdated to last May when MPs took their seats after the general election. I read this at the Napo forum (that place Napo officials never visit) which makes me more angry. An ordinary MP will get £74,000 p.a., up frpm £67,060.

    The decision comes after last week's announcement that public sector pay rises would (again) be capped at 1% for the next 4 years.

    Ipsa justifies the increase as part of a package of reforms.

    What isn't said:
    i) that MPs also get office and secretarial allowances, mileage and subsistence, a host of other allowable expenses, free parking, 1st class free travel to Westminster, second home allowances, free postage,.......
    ii) becoming an MP requires no academic or professional qualification, exams or practice-placements to pass, no annual appraisals, gatekeeping, sampling or Inspections to pass and prove competency, no external panels to appear regularly before being cross-examined on reports and giving professional assessments verbally,.. Being an MP is not a profession.

    Suggested essay title: "Compare and contrast the roles of Probation/CRC practitioners with those of an MP. Evaluate the social worth of each. Conclude with your views on the pay structure differential".


    Jim, don't pack the blog in, it's the only thing left representing probation at the moment.

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    1. Brilliant post 01.35 every point raised absolutely relevant, and yes, where is the Press Officer - maybe she could use your post to raise our profile, she certainly doesn't seem to have a high profile herself but she is a P.O not professionally trained in media so maybe ambition above ability - time for drastic changes at the top table!

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  15. Napo General Secretary IL's recent blog writes more about 'check off' than he does about redundancies. This line from the GS summed up Napo priorities and that they really are on a different page to the rest of us!!!

    "I am never one to get ahead of myself about a good result, but nobody else secured an extension to the cessation of ‘check off’ despite all their efforts, and Gove has had to convince the Cabinet Office that Napo were a special case"

    https://www.napo.org.uk/blogs/napo-standing-all-our-members

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    1. Yeh, but that's what you do when you are out of your depth; you focus on the lesser things you can do and ignore the big stuff.
      Deb

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  16. Jim - just to add my thanks for your blog and all the work you do in getting the information out. Without it I would feel very alone. With it at least I know that the pain and problems we are experiencing locally are (unfortunately ) mirrored nationally. It also gives us ammunition and information to use locally when dealing with crc owners and our own managers who seem to think we are idiotic sheep! Thanks again, a nonny mouse!

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  17. Interesting articles here! Can any of you experienced probation officers explain why an inmate has not yet had his sentence plan done and has been inside for 6 mths now to be told there is a back log. How can this be helping them? Is it not a breach of their prison rights? Its totally unacceptable.

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  18. Probation Officer23 July 2015 at 13:43

    Responsibility for sentence plans can vary. Is it the responsibility of the prison or the outside probation office? Whichever it may be, which can depend on type of sentence and risk classification, that is the place for you or the inmate to be asking this question. If the latter holds responsibility then there is no set target date for completion (off the top of my head) but ideally it should be completed ASAP following sentence and contact should ideally be at least 1x per year. I wouldn't, therefore, call it a breach of prison rights at this point, and does not stop the prisoner applying for interventions and applying to contact the relevant person in the meantime. If they've already done this and been told the delay is due to a backlog, as suggested, then I suspect this is down to MoJ cuts in prisons and probation. If the prisoners progression is affected by the delay a future option would possibly be a complaint to the prison or probation ombudsman.

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    1. Probation Officer23 July 2015 at 14:06

      Nb. I'd encourage they speak with the PO before resorting to complaints as it's possible the progression issue would be understood as a reason to prioritise this prisoner.

      Delete
    2. Hello thank you for your reply. It is the probation officer within the prison and he is serving a 5 yr sentence. He is classed as a cat c and in a cat B prison.

      Delete
    3. he spoke to his wing manager and got an app back from the po saying there is a backlog and will be dealt with in due course. What kind of response is that?

      Delete
    4. Probation Officer23 July 2015 at 14:21

      This sounds like it is the responsibility of the offender management dept within the prison. I'd suggest query how long is "in due course" and he also speak to his outside probation officer (write or phone) and see if they can help.

      Delete
    5. Response to Anon at 00:28

      By all means use the complaints procedures but also consider asking your member of parliament for support and consider seeking help from one of the various organisations working to improve matters for prisoners. Some undertake individual casework.

      I think it is free for prisoners and their families to join The Howard League for Penal reform - they have useful information - and my favourite is the Prisoners newspaper 'Inside Time'

      As well as supposedly being freely available to every prisoner it is freely available on-line - there are other sources of help - no longer would I personally consult NACRO for advise - though they may well have useful information available in their leaflets and website.

      http://insidetime.org/

      The prisons are run under the ultimate direction of The Secretary of State for Justice who in the final analysis is only answerable to the person who appointed him (there never has been a her) - the Prime Minister and Parliament and individual members of parliament - in the House of Commons or House of Lords

      To find your elected member of parliament check: -

      http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/

      Delete
  19. Well i spoke to the outside prob officer and was informed they cannot do anything its out of their control?

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  20. Response to 14:12 & 14:24

    I should have added - it is also worth following & commenting and asking "Prison UK: An Insider's View " - it is written by a recent prisoner who was supporting prisoners before he was released and he gets responses from others who work inside and have been prisoners -

    The issues raised by Anon 14:24 are some of the sorts of things mentioned in his blog at times BUT his object is to alert the ordinary folk of the realities of prison life - so some of his stuff is 'grim' - to put it mildly

    I find him the best writer about prison life right now and he almost always responds personally to individual comments - but fortunately does not get as many as this here On On Pbn Blog does.

    You will find it at: -

    http://prisonuk.blogspot.co.uk/

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  21. Thank you. Ive been informed a solicitor can sort his plan and oasis but why should we pay?

    To me its another way of making money out of the vulnerable.

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    1. Response to 15:04 - unless you are in a position to pay without limiting the money you have available for your family needs including visiting the prison I suggest you consider beginning any conversation by saying something like - I cannot afford to pay - can I still use your services?

      Any solicitor - may not be the best person unless they are up to date with prison law - the regulations have changed several times over in recent years - which is why a good place to start seeking help is with reputable organisations - who will not charge but may refer you on to specialist organisations -many prison law solicitors advertise in 'Inside Time' - they are used to dealing with folk who can afford to pay almost nothing & even if they cannot take a case on they may be able to advise where best for you to go, in your local area.

      Delete
  22. Probation Officer23 July 2015 at 18:55

    Anon, just to respond to some of your responses. It's correct outside probation has no control if not responsible for the sentence plan as this falls under prison offender management. As the outside probation officer still retains case responsibility they could still visit and complete a sentence plan regardless, particularly if it is relevant for progression. But they've chosen not to, which is within their remit, so that door is closed. My advice is the prisoner identifies the interventions and activities he wants to complete, which would ultimately be on his sentence plan, and apply for these interventions now. Ideally he will then be placed on them, put on a waiting list or the response will be that he needs them to be on his sentence plan. If it is that latter, which can be the case for popular activities, those with long waiting lists and that requiring a transfer, and if the delay remains then it is at this point he writes to both the prison go inter and the manager of the outside probation area (if this is already done then the prison and probation ombudsman) stating the situation as affecting his progression. At this stage I would not advise using a solicitor as all they will do is charge you to write the very same letters which can easily be written by the prisoner or his representative.

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