As you are aware, ownership of London CRC transferred to MTCnovo on 1 February 2015. Since then, my senior managers and I have worked closely with MTCnovo colleagues to develop plans to transform the way probation services are delivered in London. This has focused on developing:
- A Through the Gate service to support offenders leaving custody
- An Offender Cohort Model to enhance the quality of offender engagement
- New approaches and opportunities to work jointly with partner organisations such as yours to reduce reoffending.
You can read more about these changes in the following pages.
Also in this newsletter, gain an insight into two new directorates we are launching to support our new ways of working and to free up offender managers to spend more time face-to-face with their offenders. See pages five to seven for an insight into the Operations Directorate and the Rehabilitation, Partnerships and Stakeholders Directorate, plus profiles of new Deputy Directors Donna Charles Vincent and Iain Anderson. We also cover some recent Community Payback projects and a story about the positive impact a Restorative Justice intervention had on a victim of crime.
An insight into the new ways of working that are being introduced to transform the way probation services are delivered across the capital.
Since ownership of London Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) transferred to MTCnovo on 1 February 2015, a lot of work has been done to develop a fresh approach to delivering offender rehabilitation services across the capital. Read on to find out more.
A RAR sentence specifies the maximum (and not minimum) number of activity days an offender must complete. In RAR terms, a day doesn’t mean 24 hours: an activity that only lasts for two hours counts as one day, and if an offender is required to complete more than one activity in a day that also counts as one RAR day.
Since ownership of London Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) transferred to MTCnovo on 1 February 2015, a lot of work has been done to develop a fresh approach to delivering offender rehabilitation services across the capital. Read on to find out more.
Our new Offender Cohort Model
From 7 December 2015, London CRC will adopt a new approach to delivering rehabilitation services.
Rather than providing generic, geographically based services as they do now, offender managers will work with groups of offenders who have similar rehabilitation needs. This will allow us to deliver tailored services that tackle the underlying causes of offending. Service users will be assigned to one of the following cohort groups:
- 18 to 25 year old males
- 26 to 49 year old males
- 50+ year old males
- Mental health and learning disabilities (as the primary presenting need)
- Women.
Community Payback will remain as a distinct service delivery arm. The way we work with each offender cohort will be slightly different and based on evidence of what works best to maintain high levels of compliance. For example, we will adopt an outreach approach – based on visiting service users in the community – to working with men over the age of 50; whereas for female offenders, we will be developing a number of local hubs where services will be delivered to groups of women. Building on our commitment to evidence-based service delivery, we will closely monitor the rehabilitation outcomes of each of our interventions.
Our new ways of working at a glance:
Our new ways of working at a glance:
- An evidence-based approach to rehabilitation
- Working with cohorts of offenders who have similar rehabilitation needs
- Tailored interventions that tackle the underlying causes of offending
- Partner organisations deliver rehabilitation interventions for specific offender cohorts
- Rehabilitation Activity Requirements provide structured activities to address personal offending triggers.
One of the key drivers of the Transforming Rehabilitation agenda was to open up the probation market to a diverse range of rehabilitation providers. As a result, MTCnovo has engaged a number of partner organisations that specialise in working with specific offender profiles to provide tailored rehabilitation interventions for individual cohorts. For example, St Andrew’s Healthcare (the UK’s largest charitable provider of specialist mental healthcare) will support offenders with mental health needs, and Penrose (an organisation that provides a range of person-centred rehabilitation services in prisons, ‘through the gate’ and in the community) will work with 26 to 49 year old male offenders.
London CRC’s 12 Probation Engagement Workers (PEWs) will also be assigned to the cohorts to work alongside our offender managers. Having previously been subject to probation supervision or in prison themselves, the PEWs – who are employed by London CRC – are able to engage particularly well with offenders who are more resistant to working with Probation.
London CRC’s 12 Probation Engagement Workers (PEWs) will also be assigned to the cohorts to work alongside our offender managers. Having previously been subject to probation supervision or in prison themselves, the PEWs – who are employed by London CRC – are able to engage particularly well with offenders who are more resistant to working with Probation.
The National Probation Service (NPS) is responsible for allocating offenders to either the NPS or CRC based on its assessment of risk and rehabilitation needs. London CRC staff are therefore working closely with their NPS colleagues to define a new process for allocating offenders to our cohorts.
Rehabilitation Activity Requirements: structured activities to reduce reoffending
Rehabilitation Activity Requirements (RARs) were introduced by the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 to replace Supervision and Activity Requirements (SARs) for offenders sentenced to Community Orders and Suspended Sentence Orders. As the name suggests, the purpose of RARs is to provide offenders with structured rehabilitation activities to help them address their personal offending triggers. This could include helping them to find secure accommodation or advising them how to disclose their offences to new employers. For others it could involve referring them to a substance misuse awareness programme, or supporting them to complete a workbook aimed at helping them adopt alternative approaches to aggressive behaviours.
It is the responsibility of NPS Court staff to propose the length of an offender’s RAR based on their assessment of rehabilitation need. However, CRC offender managers decide what activities the offender needs to complete and therefore how many activity days – up to the maximum term specified by the sentencer – are required to meet this need.
We are developing a range of rehabilitation interventions that could be delivered as part of a RAR and will be briefing NPS Court staff to ensure they are able to make appropriate recommendations to sentencers.
Introducing Helga Swidenbank London Community Rehabilitation Company’s new Probation Director
Helga Swidenbank joins London Community Rehabilitation Company as our new Probation Director from 30 November. Find out more about her background and immediate priorities.
Helga Swidenbank joins London Community Rehabilitation Company as our new Probation Director from 30 November. Find out more about her background and immediate priorities.
Helga has extensive experience of leading organisational and cultural change in complex organisations in both the public and private sectors. With a BA in Sociology and Social Anthropology plus a Masters degree in Criminology, she has worked in custodial settings for many years – latterly, as Director of HMP Bronzefield Young Offenders Institution while at Sodexo. More recently, Helga’s role at Sodexo has been to lead a large-scale Facilities Management contract for a corporate client.
As someone who passionately believes that providing the right support and motivation can help offenders turn their lives around, Helga developed a number of health and education interventions while working in the Prison Service. And as a firm advocate of adopting multi-agency approaches to reducing reoffending, she also established partnerships with third sector organisations and instigated community engagement initiatives.
Helga: “I joined the Prison Service as a freshfaced 23 year old and, since then, have seen firsthand the impact that providing the right interventions at the right time can have on offenders. It’s the opportunity to help people make positive changes to their lives that attracted me to this role at London CRC. The Cohort Model gives us great scope to deliver evidence-based, tailored interventions to work with groups of offenders with specific needs.
“We will continue to deliver high levels of service as we embed our new ways of working.”
“In terms of my immediate priorities, I’m under no illusion that it’s been a turbulent time for Probation so I’ll be focused on reassuring staff, the offenders we supervise, and our partner organisations like you, that we will continue to deliver high levels of service as we embed our new ways of working. Key to this will be working closely with London CRC and MTCnovo colleagues to ensure the changes are implemented safely.
“I’m really looking forward to building on London CRC’s great track record of offender engagement to develop new and innovative rehabilitation interventions. I don’t get out of bed in the mornings to do a mediocre job. My ultimate goal is to significantly reduce reoffending across the capital and for London CRC to be the bestperforming CRC in the country.”
“I’m really looking forward to building on London CRC’s great track record of offender engagement to develop new and innovative rehabilitation interventions. I don’t get out of bed in the mornings to do a mediocre job. My ultimate goal is to significantly reduce reoffending across the capital and for London CRC to be the bestperforming CRC in the country.”
Oh look Jim deletes criticism. What a surprise.
ReplyDeleteNow now children stop it!!!! There's good and bad probation officer's just like good and bad PSO'S. I'm a PSO and I have very good PO and pso friends. Let's cut out the bitchiness cos that's what these private companies want 'the old British adage 'Divide and rule comes to mind'. Let's not give em the satisfaction!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI suspect tonight's prolific Anonymous commenter was neither a PO nor a PSO...
Delete"Oh look Jim deletes criticism. What a surprise."
ReplyDeleteI delete crap.
Jim, I'm always surprised and impressed by how much of the time you leave the comment moderation facility off - if it were my blog attracting such frequent 'difficult customers', I think I'd get fed up very quickly
DeleteIt's actually a bigger pain having the moderation facility on because it destroys free-flow discussion and I have to keep tuning in to look at every comment. We've had a very good run and the trouble-makers will move on because I just delete all the crap.
DeleteReturning to the subject of the original post - what's that line from the Scottish play? "All sound and fury, signifying nothing" - how is it possible to use so many words to say so little?
ReplyDeleteJust like the nps bulletins. Everything is being "driven" here there and everywhere on a road to f%cking nowhere.
ReplyDeleteThis model might look shiny and well thought through, but experienced practitioners will know that it will run into logistical problems very quickly and they will either end up turning it into a crass 'lumping everyone into the same groups regardless' model regardless of their presenting issues or demographic, or they will be sensible and pragmatic and go for the most flexible and effective method of all - having practitioners with their own caseloads performing excellent individual practice as in good old fashioned probation practice (It's what all the evidence of good practice points to and is also the most efficient).
ReplyDeleteI always find it funny that people try to reinvent previously failed models and up back with a wheel, and I don't really find it that much of a problem because we all need to go on our own little journeys. But just as long as at the end of it they have a wheel, and not a train crash. Problem we have is that there are some over enthusiastic and ambitious people with very little experience designing new systems while valuable experience is lost. It's actually quite difficult getting a beaten up wheel back into shape, and lets face it were delivering a pretty good service before TR. It will take some effort and resource to get things to work nearly as good as that again.
' Problem we have is that there are some over enthusiastic and ambitious people with very little experience designing new systems while valuable experience is lost. '
DeleteSpot on !
The bigger problem is that these shiny new systems are now written into legal documents. In the good old days, when management realised that a model wasn't working (or that a model developed in one part of an area didn't translate to a very different setting), we could all go back to the drawing board fairly easily. Now there are lots more people with their fingers in the pie (snouts in the trough?) who can, quite rightly, kick up a fuss about their contractual agreement if anyone tries to change things too drastically. That pre-TR pretty good service is getting further and further away.
DeleteSo based on this all over 50's need home visits because they're past it, unemployed or retired, and all women need to get out of the house to be part of a knitting group. Ok maybe I'm exaggerating but I'm not sure what "evidence-based service delivery" this is based on.
ReplyDeleteIs it not wishful thinking that Penrose aims to supervise 4000 males in the community "after" their licence period ends? It doesn't seem Penrose is providing the expected service to those currently on licence. I wonder why are we contracting out the compliant offenders to another agency, and whether Penrose might just become the new London CRC?
It's all very strange that such new company was even allowed to taken on London probation which holds the most offenders and the most complex. MTCNovo Ltd was registered as a private limited company on 28/10/2014 (company code 09284837).
Transferring all the PSS cases to Penrose after their licence period finishes might just be a smart idea - after all this group are the most likely to re-offend, so it shifts some of the risk off MTCNovo's books and passes it onto a Tier 2 organisation. Though I wonder if the senior managers say "Believe it or not, I care" to each case as they wave them off to go see yet another person?
DeleteActually no it's not very smart except in the financial sense. Check the figures and you'll see a lot of PSS licences are disproportionate and these are the cases currently going to Penrose. You know the compliant ones that got a week or month in custody and then strapped with an 11 month licence, and yes they (MTCNovo) are asking the "less likely to offend" goto Penrose. Why anyone is talking about "transfer" of cases is beyond me as their licence is COMPLETE and contact with CJS at an END. If the support couldn't be achieved during the year of a disproportionate licence then we should question why the said agency would be seeking to further drag out the "supervision" period. As usual payment is the key and they'll be applying for the European Social Fund millions or equivalent for providing this additional/voluntary "support".
DeleteYou don't need to be good at managing a functioning probation organisation well because they no longer exist. However, you do need to be skilled at looking as if you are managing organisational and cultural change NOMS/MoJ style (ie badly) because you can just keep reorganising and restructuring in perpetuity as everyone knows the Trusts were in reality dodgy dinosaurs full of people in anoraks who needed a good boot up the jacksy and a bit of good old fashioned discipline to reduce stubborn reoffending rates -especially amongst those sentenced to 12 months or less. Trust's!!!! Well no one was ever seriously going to give them an award or even comment favourably on those pathetic lefty organisations. Obviously what London needs now is an ex prison governor at the helm to show them how to really do probation. No talk of tortoises or soft furnishings anymore. No more cosy wosy desks by the window whilst drinking tea with your mates. I mean who could ever criticise those who have run private prisons that as we all know shine so brightly with organisational excellence. Thank you thank you MoJ for giving us all this once in a lifetime opportunity before we are downsised and taken over by low paid housing association staff to experience constant change and chaos before being blamed for the whole shambles when it finally collapses in a heap or disappears up its own fundamental. You've never had it so good, peace in our time, never in the field of human conflict. Good night
ReplyDeleteAll you need to know is that London CRC know what there doing. Top dogs leading the worst practice organisation I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteSurely you mean their, not there?
DeleteActually I think he means they're - as in they are
DeleteSorry.
A. Pedant
Delighted to find another grammar pedant!
DeleteAnd the purpose of London CRC’s 12 Probation Engagement Workers (PEWs) is? Is there actually any real evidence that persons previously subject to probation supervision or been in prison themselves, 'engage better with resistant offenders'? If this were true wouldn't it be more cost and quality effective to just use 12 CRC PO's or PSO's with past criminal records?
ReplyDeleteNot such a new company! They are big in America as who they really are is Amey. In this country they are called Geo Amey and run the prisoner transport service with that Bastion of all that is good ( Serco ) and they Aamey have just been caught fiddleing the figures for that contract. In America they run some very questionable prison establishments. So not new they just were smart enough to use another name.
ReplyDeleteSaw an advert recently for a "target driven" individual - what kind of individual is that, FFS.
ReplyDeleteThis so-called evidence-based model of service delivery is handed down like tablets of stone – non-negotiable. And then the scramble to try and work out how all this theory will work in practice and how existing working practices will be forced to change. It's a startling power imbalance in probation.
ReplyDeleteSo it was refreshing to see Jeremy Hunt blink first, withdraw his threat to impose contracts on junior doctors and allow meaningful negotiations to take place. The power of the junior doctors ultimately derived from the 76% turnout in the ballot.
As individuals doctors would be weak to resist any management change and likewise in probation individuals just have to either leave or grin and bear it. There are complaints in probation about differentials eroding, but less about the fact that wages have been in real decline for several years.
Why did doctors unite to fight their corner and profession and why did probation fail to unite to fight? Now probation are united – as victims in one way or another.
Off blog topic but in advance of this week's likely sojourn into yet another war, can I offer the following fron Wikipaedia as a resume of the growth of the most active militant group in Iraq/Syria, etc. I had not been aware of much of this 16 year history from UK parliament briefings. Assuming its fairly accurate it makes interesting reading as a potted history, especially the bit where its claimed that al-Quaeda felt that ISIS were too difficult to associate with:
ReplyDelete"The group originated as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999, which pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004. The group participated in the Iraqi insurgency that followed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq by Western forces. In January 2006, it joined other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council, which proclaimed the formation of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in October 2006. After the Syrian Civil War began in March 2011, the ISI, under the leadership of al-Baghdadi, sent delegates into Syria in August 2011. These fighters named themselves Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahli ash-Shām—al-Nusra Front—and established a large presence in Sunni-majority areas of Syria, within the governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor, and Aleppo. In April 2013, al-Baghdadi announced the merger of the ISI with al-Nusra Front and that the name of the reunited group was now the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). However, Abu Mohammad al-Julani and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leaders of al-Nusra and al-Qaeda respectively, rejected the merger. After an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with ISIL on 3 February 2014, citing its failure to consult and "notorious intransigence". "
... And the relevance to probation is?
DeleteThe "relevance"? Well, for the last 12 years we've been involved in conflict in Iraq and now its looking like we're going to extend that conflict geographically and chronologically. A decision promoted by the same Govt that decided to dismantle probation as it was & replace it with privatised alternatives run by global corporations who, it must be recognised, are not shy of profiteering during times of war - indeed, war can prove very lucrative for well-connected global business.
DeleteSo you might find your CRC shareholders are also investing in & profiting from this escalation of conflict. Transport, catering, security, weaponry, electronics, air traffic control...
That, I would argue, IS relevant.
Search engines sort by relevance and so a search on 'probation issues' will not display links to ISIS or Syria. Syria is a hot topic, as it should be, and is clearly relevant in the eye of the beholder/poster. But if such subjectivity prevails then it's at the expense of the identity of On Probation Blog, which its audience turns to for discussion of probation issues, not other issues however worthy they may be.
DeleteTo be fair, whoever raised the Syria issue started by saying it was off blog topic. If you don't want to discuss it, don't.
DeleteOff blog on probation blog is an oxymoron.
DeleteCurrently doing a SDR on someone convicted of a Terrorist Act offence, the nature of which has its origins and his grievance very much associated with our Foreign policy and the injustice and oppression he believes his religious group experience as a result of western policies! So, it was relevant to me - a bog standard PO!
DeleteI've been feeling that what's happening to probation and the courts IS just a small part of an overall agenda of destruction of public sector , erosion of civil rights and liberties, and ultimate control of the legal and criminal justice system by determining who and who does not have access to legal representation and protection from corruption. Those who profit will be the powerful private corporations who are served by our political elite.
DeleteI've been around long enough to remember the days when we didn't work with 'politically motivated offenders'. All changed now. I've heard of a college lecturer being required to 'report' any students who may show 'islamist' sympathies. Well, one persons 'potential terrorist' is anothers devout muslim. Probation (in its various guises) will be required to 'report' also so the more education the better it seems to me.
DeleteAs ever, JB has brought balance to bear.
ReplyDeleteJB. My manager names and shames those that miss targets by putting the monthly missed target list on our canteen wall. He calls it the wall of shame. Is this behaviour prohibited anywhere in policy?
ReplyDeleteThat is horrible, tell the manager to do one.
DeleteI would slap him with a bullying grievance. Completely unacceptable.
DeleteThey tried this in my office but it stopped when we listed managers mistakes in similar vein and their list was soon longer than the other one
Deletehttp://www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot/2015/12/meaning-jeremy-corbyn
ReplyDeleteRight wing propaganda.
Deletehttps://twitter.com/thisisinsider/status/670292961666580482
ReplyDeleteActually it may be very relevant, given that tories cut our budget over austerity then use the money to fight a war ehich will ultimately cause the death of many civilians.
ReplyDeleteAnon 21:00 managers can put these lists on walls. Get together as a team and all raise it in a team meeting together and request the practice stops, or at least is no longer called a 'wall of shame'. You missed a target so what? If you missed a target and there's good reason then don't be ashamed, we all miss things when we're busy. They shouldn't be making reference to "shaming" staff though. There's probably something in the grievance policy that would cover the shaming bit.
ReplyDeleteOn the other stuff above, be honest, this isn't the place for a Syria discussion, and posting text from Wikipedia is not actually a discussion nor always accurate. Anon 18:13 I'd suggest against trying to learn about this issue from an anonymous blog post, particularly if using to trying to understand another's experience in relation to religion/terrorism.
So would argue in response to anon 08:41 that the 'most active militant group in Syria' is in fact NATO and the US. We've all read the conspiracy theories that they actually armed the very same groups they're now at war against, or you can believe the counter-conspiracy-theory that those weapons were provided by Russia, Iran and China. We (the UK) are about to join in too thanks to a gung ho David Cameron and a weak Jeremy Corbyn that crumbled when it got a bit too difficult.
Whether we like it or not, spending of our taxes on missiles at £100,000 a pop is about to make us all 'investors in war'. Whereas I was pro-Corbynism until yesterday I'm now wondering if he's just another Labour-let-down since his own cabinet bullied him into supporting another unnecessary war by his inaction and allowing of a free vote against the wishes of the proletariat.
God help us all.
According to @bbclaurak:
DeletePM urged his MPs not to "walk through the lobbies with Jeremy Corbyn and a bunch of terrorist sympathisers"'
.....
Whilst a YouGov survey for The Times suggests the proportion of people in favour of strikes has slumped from 59 per cent to 48 per cent.
.....
Tomorrow will be an interesting day.
I am anon 18:13, I didn't say I learned anything, just that the post was relevant- never look to Wikipedia for anything, but value hearing others perspectives!
Deletere yday 2100 - I am now a retired PO but for a while in our office, our manager had admin posting a chart on wall in general office, by the door so you couldn't miss t, listing OASyes review deadlines, Our individual admin officer would check every Friday for anything at risk of being missed. There was no shame, and I think most of us found it to be a good help, as it meant we didn't have to check the dates ourselves. Indeed I personally found it quite satisfying to see all the ticks by due date. This went on until admin found the task too time consuming, given all the other things they did to help us.
DeleteIt was quite a clever subtle push to keep up to date without the humiliation.
I've had the Parliament channel on TV since noon, now 6pm and the Corbyn v Cameron argument is becoming very tight.
Just wish we had admin
DeleteOur huge national debt, and therefore austerity, was created by UK fighting wars. Wars solve nothing and kill vast numbers of civilians but we're still at it. If the country can't be rehabilitated, how on earth are we ever going to rehabilitate offenders.
ReplyDeleteInteresting & familiar echoes from the pro-bombing lobbyists during today's patliamentary debate:
ReplyDelete"It is what it is"
"We are where we are"
"You need to leave the past behind & move on"
"The world has changed, its time to do things differently"
The familiar war cries of the JFDI brigade, if I'm not mistaken.
Jim. This is shoddy practice and poor hosting. Get writing a new blog topic fool. This one has been going for days!!!!
ReplyDeleteJB blog makes me happy. There is always a knob head or two on here with a sense of humour. Where are the Conserative TR is a runaway success and free market boys. They been quite recently.
Deletere 1910 - I feel sorry for you that you feel unable to do anything but fling shabby criticism at someone who gives up so much of their precious time, and has done so for several years, to provide PO staff with a safe place to vent their anger, confusion and despair, or bring a bit humour into the despair. If you read it properly, you would have seen that Jim constantly invites Guest Blogs. Jim has never intended to sit writing Blogs on a daily basis, nor felt it necessary to have to check the vindictiveness of some comments..
DeleteI have written a few blogs and know how long it takes just typing it up, never mind researching or planning what I am going to say.
Jim has a lot of support from regular users and we know how much it can intrude on your private life. It is not a get rich quick ruse, this retired PO gives up their time willingly, to provide a shoulder to lean on. But trolling vulgar insults at someone you don't even know, and certainly don't understand is not your brightest idea.
Try again with something constructive. You might find it very satisfying. Get a life and allow our Jim to have one too.
The Justice Select Committee has decided to hold an inquiry into restorative justice. The Committee welcomes views on any aspects of the current and potential use of restorative justice in the criminal justice system.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have any update on how the Pre-sentence RJ Pathfinder Programme is going? Pilot areas were to be: Cardiff, Bristol, Truro, Wood Green, Croydon, Manchester, Preston, Lincoln + 2 more.
From memory, the pathfinder was going to use volunteers to facilitate restorative justice pre-sentence and then prepare a report (pre sentence) to the Court who will decide on sentencing.
If Probation Officers are to be removed from all Magistrates' Courts (is this what the plan is with E3?) then what is to say that RJ volunteers won't replace PSOs?
Would it be beneficial for Probation Institute and / or NAPO to contribute to the Justice Select Committee inquiry making it clear that whilst RJ has it's place it should not replace PSRs?
Do you work for the probation institute or Napo?
DeleteI'm sure I read somewhere that the PI was to volunteer a written submission to the committee. The PI and Napo could instead start supporting probation by condemning E3 and its diluting of probation practice. It's time to speak up for the professional role of the qualified probation officer.
The problem is the PI is unable to speak against TR and E3, and Napo's "press officer" has gone missing.
Has the PI got a PR/Press officer? It is a pity Harry Fletcher was not properly replaced at Napo HQ at such a critical time in the fight against TR instead they seem to have employed someone who is still being trained to do the job. They must be currently in no doubt that they fllled the Assistant General Secretary post with the wrong guy (anyone heard of him) who's greatest achievements so far are to cause national reps to resign in disgust at his alleged incompetence and for an encore snubbing their chair alienating the biggest branch in the union. Now we hear that NAPO HQ is waging financial war against its most solvent branches to fund its own vanity projects. It is a shame as there are obviously stronger talent around in its branches who's good will was lost long ago so NAPO HQ continues to be the weakest link arrogant and aloof from the members. Instead of rolling up their sleeves and looking to support branches they think they can dictate to them and replicate NOMS by issuing instruction after instruction.
DeleteOff topic query: what year did POs start getting a Dip. PS instead of a Dip. SW or CQSW? Can anyone remember? It's surprisingly difficult to find the answer on-line.
ReplyDelete1997
Delete