Pick of the Week 3

So what is the answer? I am embarrassed to say that having returned to working as a PO following a long 'break' doing other work and family related stuff, I have yet to make a decision about joining a union. I was a Napo member previously for 10 years and am a firm believer in trade unions. Choice is Napo or Unison. Do Unison really understand what we do? Colleagues of mine seem to have little support when they have had issues! And what of Napo? Not very tempting from what I read. I don't think we even have a union rep where I work and it's not something I would want to take on as I feel stressed enough with my own issues, never mind other members of staff! I don't know what the answer is and I'm still waiting for a persuasive statement!

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Unison did nothing to support strike action. You can't join them that is obvious they weakened us and the Unison position kept all offices open. They destroyed our action. They spent zero money on supporting Napo in the JR and avoided any dispute that may cost them a pound. Napo are broke all but and yet not a contribution from Unison despite that they won't even rent Napo a cheaper conference facility. It is probably because they can't stand the GS as most of the people I speak to say he's not appropriately able in the testing we have seen. Still, for all the inabilities from the leadership they have tried some things and Unison did nothing. So your choice is Hobson's, but Napo it should be in my view.

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Some good commentary, but we are hearing he has already surrendered national collective bargaining, so the end of Napo is obvious.

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Yes it probably is. Part of the problem is we are a small 'organisation'. The public don't really know what we do and don't feel it is relevant to them. They understand what junior doctors, GP's and teachers do, even social services to a degree; but probation officers? I think we need to raise our profile in the media. For example there has been a lot of publicity about domestic violence recently, so why doesn't this include something about the vital work done by probation? If people understood our role in public protection maybe they would care more? Can't we all take action via this blog? Perhaps a statement or petition that we can all sign up to that can be sent to No.10 and copies to BBC/other media. If the unions can no longer do anything, then we need to take matters into our own hands. A vote of no confidence!

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I agree, but if our own managers and employees don't care what we do, I doubt the public will? Our admin staff have to cover reception now and have been amazed at what we deal with all day and everyday!

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Look around your workplace; we're mostly automatons grinding away through meaningless guff. Unquestioning in fear of the consequences, beholden by debt and an illusion of security or even affluence. The majority aren't interested in the union other than as an insurance policy and they seem to think paying subs is enough for the union to function. Even amongst the more active there's little or no commonality or consensus, it's herding sheep.

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No-one gives a rat's arse about probation except when probation staff are blamed for the heinous act of some unfortunate, much like social services & children or carers & the elderly/vulnerable. It aint sexy, it aint glamorous but its a vital public service; when its done right its invisible & taken for granted, but heaven help you if there's a problem.

The CamFamScam is far more newsworthy. Even Labour have been drawn into making Dave more important than he really is. He's simply a posh, spoilt, priveleged boy who's life chances were significantly enhanced by Daddy's wealth, meaning he went to the right school & learned to play by the right set of rules, to grasp every rung of the ladder as if it was his by right, & to believe he is right in every sense.

Dave doesn't give a rat's arse about probation except when a tragic series of events threatens his own prospects. The same applies to all of his chums. And even if a tragedy occurs that can be undeniably attributed to the TR farce, it will be covered up or deflected or 'spun' in such a way that the truth won't emerge for many years to come.

The TR battle was lost when NOMS et al made hay while Ledger was distracting himself - and everyone else at (not so) Chivalrous Road. Napo's eye was well and truly off the ball and the cute opportunists at Petty France set their trap. Napo charged blindly into an ambush: "NOMS to the left of them, NOMS to the right of them..." It was a charge of the Lightweight brigade where terms, conditions & careers were cannon-fodder.

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I quote one sentence from this Guest Blog: 'I think most would have struggled to lead Napo in the face of the TR extinction event.' I think this is true and why it's pointless to keep blaming the Napo leadership, who were not responsible for the demise of old probation.

Napo, instead of raising expectations with slogans like 'resistance' should have sounded the dirge. There was no groundswell of resistance, the membership was apathetic. It was a union in name but not in character. And without solidarity you lose. There was too much stupid optimism that TR could be defeated and unions get trapped in having to appear to be doing something, spinning hopes. The leadership would have been better employed pointing out how weak they were to do anything, especially negotiating a framework agreement – which only paved the path for the predators. The powers of trade unions to influence events, with the rare exceptions, have declined as neo-liberalism has risen.

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Exactly my point, and if Napo would just be honest about this and stop asking for our subs/direct debits under false pretences. We can't fully blame Napo for TR and we know unions have been trampled across the board. But as long as it remains our union (not mine per se as I'm no longer paying subs) we should expect it to take responsibility for its failed campaign and inability to turn the union around. There are many services in a similar predicament, but I am in awe of those whose union still is effectively a union and has purpose. In our case we have a union that is not doing anything.

Perhaps Napo need read the War of the Worlds; "But it's only on the brink that people find the will to change. Only at the precipice do we evolve. This is [Napo's] moment."

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If Ian Lawrence has been reading any books it's the Wizard of Oz. Pretend to be something he's not, claim to have power that do not exist and use tricks and cons to fool the membership. Many people ignore that unions are not just about strikes and resistance, which Napo couldn't achieve because it wasn't built that way. What Napo could have provided is solidarity, shared experiences and support for members. This is what the membership of the past decade since Trusts should have been built on. Instead Napo tried to be the big-dog and lost all its members and friends in the process and now is out to rip off and cash in on what's left. This is the point we all bow out unless Napo changes course, which is too late anyway. "Ding-Dong! Napo Is Dead!"

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I think we should try and stick together and not resort to pulling each other apart. Whatever union we belong to or otherwise, we need to pull together now more than ever. Yes I'm angry and disillusioned too but there are still moments when I love my job and feel I am priviledged to be able to do a job that uses so many skills and still allows me to a degree to work with individuals in quite a holistic way. When I'm stuck in a noisy open plan office I can feel trapped, but it lifts my mood when a service user is motivated and wants to make use of the support on offer. Mainly DV now, but many of these men are relying on me to help them avoid re-offending. It's a big responsibility for all of us and I hope in time things might turn around for the better. If we can support our colleages and not allow bullying or intimidation that can only help. We have to stay optimistic and try to find a way forward.

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I think constructive dismissal too, but Napo will shy away from it. The cohort model was never going to work. All we're doing is typing sentence plans to meet targets and there's a huge backlog because we don't have the staff. I find it wierd that at some MTCNovo CRC offices we have to physically carry our laptops to a printer to print documents. All that talk of new fangled state-of-the-art equipment. This actually means bad connections to the systems and queues at the printer because MTC is too cheap to install Bluetooth or buy the correct cables!

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BGSW CRC have now lost 'my HR'! I couldn't believe it! It was such a good tool for managing time sheets, leave, sickness and toil. We only had about 2 weeks notice and then it was all pulled and we are back to doing it all on paper like the old days! What a farce! 

On another note, does anyone know what is going to happen after the 40% cuts or whatever it is? We are already so short staffed before all the redundancies! Never get maternity cover or cover for staff on long term sick (which happens quite a lot) no idea how we are going to manage. We are told to cancel appointments to meet sentence plan targets! I am not happy about that because it could surely backfire if someone re-offended when they haven't been seen? Only way we can cope is reducing number of appointments which goes against what Working Links say about 'freeing us up for more face to face work'. Maybe we will end up 'seeing' everyone by so called 'remote management' ie. Over the 'phone! Working Links want this for all the green BRAG cases! I only have one of those in a case load of 50+ so not sure how this is going to work. To be honest if one more PO/PSO goes off long term sick or leaves in our team, we will sink!

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Same sorry state in Wales CRC. Experienced admin staff finding new jobs and leaving prior to the outcome of EVR. Corporate staff leaving one by one following their EVR decisions. Next few months, over the summer, will really show the impact of staff reductions. Like BGSW, cases BRAGGed and Operational Hubs in Cardiff and Swansea piloting the remote case management model. No news yet as to whether there will be an Operational Hub in N Wales. Talks of co-location of Working Links other staff in CRC/NPS offices. More localisation of services with partnership agencies in community hubs etc ......... everyone who's left waiting to hear what happens next, apparently in May according to Paul Hindson. This information is a available to all staff who have either the time or inclination to read weekly Justice News and Newsletters. Note to self - enjoy the weekend!

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BRAG = blue, red, amber, green to denote tiering of risk/need and resourcing. A proportion of green cases will have call centre contacts only.

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Blue is when they are in custody! Apparently there is zero risk! Well so long as they don't assault or murder anyone in custody! If they sever their own penis whilst high on spice that is apparently irrelevant. Same goes if they hang themselves in prison. A regular occurance so hardly worth even mentioning is it! Met with a Working Links manager and pointed out that most language is non verbal so how can people assess service users over the phone? They could be sat there in pool of blood and partner beaten to a pulp and someone would be saying 'have a nice day'!

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In April 2014, as reported on this very blog, Mr Douglas Charlton set out his innovative approach on being anointed into the hallowed higher reaches of the CRC:

"It’s a real chance to try out some new things with this hard-to-reach group which has a high reoffending rate. We will be working very closely with our partners to make the new model work.”

So after two years' brainstorming it seems they've just decided to use a simple control-and-restraint technique (GtO) and grip the little beggars by the throat. I thought that was the Met's job? In the meantime I see Dave has now coughed to a bit more over the dodgy money, just as predicted on this blog yesterday (ref the comment about those ancient rituals known as PSR interviews).

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Unbelievable corporate speak! Can no one speak or write plain English these days? Being of the late 70s/early 80s training then commencement of first job dinosaur and CQSW era, the simple task for a front line probation pracitioner was about helping people not to commit further offences. As Alexi Sayle once said, Don't call anything a workshop unless it's got tools in it".

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This may all look like complete nonsense but the MoJ are incredibly impressed by it all because for a number of years they were meeting with the Trusts telling them everything is jogging along and staying the same or gradually improving. Lots of work was being done to work with local communities and a probation officer working in Cornwall could move to a probation job in Hull and hit the ground running because we were all more or less working in the same sorts of way. All that was dull as ditch water and no ministerial careers were likely to be enhanced by it. Now the probation service is broken, no one can keep track of what is going on as there seems to be little regulation but all those involved are desperate to appear that they are a safe pair of hands because what they really want are the prison contracts. Meanwhile probation goes down the pan. It's a recipe for disaster.

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MTCnovo kept a lower profile than most of the other owners as they took a long time to reveal their plans. Napo could not do much because in fact nothing much changed until quite recently when it was realised that in fact unlike other areas the owners received Napo as a real threat to their business. Most staff were lulled into a false sense of security even though they were being told by Napo to prepare for change. Many of those same staff are now close to panic as they have seen nearly a quarter of staff who were temps leave and caseloads are completely out of control. Some of the most experienced staff have gone and people are leaving left right and centre. Some of these staff were the ones that kept things together but there is very little sense of team or common purpose. It is just chaos and anarchy and if they offered a half decent redundancy scheme then a large number of staff would take their chances elsewhere. 

The cohort model is a mess no doubt dreamt up on the back of a sick bag on a transatlantic flight. Caseloads are through the roof. Personally I never ever ever wanted to work for a faceless US corporation otherwise I'd have applied to join one. If I get a chance I'm leaving after 30 odd years working in probation. Maybe I can do something useful in the 13 years before I retire. It is really hard now to look clients in the eye because I just feel my heart is not in it any longer. There are people who have taken advantage of the situation and are making money out of this whole debacle and I hope when the whole thing crashes and burns that they are firmly strapped into the burning wreckage with no golden hand shakes like the former Chiefs and don't make a single cent of profit.

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Is it just me, but I feel quite sickened reading all this corporte speak. It seems they just hide behind ridiculous soundbites. Do they actually have a clue what we do on the 'coalface'? The situation in the CRC's is reflected in the wider community and economy. Why are offending rates increasing among young people?! Ask someone working with that group. Here in the South West the homelessness situation is worsening. Every week men and women turning up having been made homeless. We club together to buy sleeping bags and food to hand out but it's never enough. Send them to the Town Hall knowing they will be told they are not priority. Surely having somewhere to at least sleep at night should be a basic human right. There is no homeless shelter in what is a large town known to have high levels of poverty and social exclusion. People exit prison with nowhere to live depite the government promises. 

Many young men have significant mental health issues, depression and anxiety or dual diagnosis, drug and alcohol problems. Suicide rates among our service users seems to be increasing, but do we even keep records? Many offenders not engaging with mental health providers so left to us to try and support them in our multi-tasking role! very high percentage of our service users appear to be on the autistic spectrum and require staff who are well trained in this issue in order to work with them effectively. Training seems to have ground to a halt. These are the real issues that the pen pushers at the top need to deal with. 'Gripping' the real issues, rather than squeezing the remaining life out of the offenders' would be preferable.

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These days when I come across the word 'charity' I don't think of a higher human attribute, but of greedy, grasping CEOs who are on 100k plus, pursuing an aggressive business model that would make the robber barons blink hard. I think of the chuggers who like double-glazing salesman are driven by their commissions to get the mugs to set up direct debits. I still give to charity, but only those very local and non-corporate.

And they sprout up everywhere, entrepreneurially filling the spaces left by the shrinking state. As for TV commercials, sometimes it takes a while to determine whether it's a bank or a cancer charity advertising, as they go to such great pains to emotionally manipulate us by showing how well-intentioned they are.

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"There appears to be a terrible dysfunction in the civil servants understanding of the real world of charities." It's worse than that, they don't know what Probation do!

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One of the most depressing things I ever heard: "We are not really expert in domestic violence work, but we went for the bid* as a loss leader as we are after the SARC market in your area." (*successfuly displacing a stunning womens charity.)

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I have not posted on here before and I'll apologise in advance for going off topic, but I'm wondering if everyone else is experiencing huge problems with NPS shared services? I've found that they hardly answer the phone but that when they do, they usually provide duff advice. I've had letters from them going missing, payslips turning up late and emails going unanswered. I have been told that the staff working for shared services have no training in personnel issues but that they just regurgitate info found on some kind of database whether it's accurate or not. There is no individual support anymore, you never get to speak to the same person twice. I now save myself time and trouble by just going directly to google. Another fine example of outsourcing.


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I treat my union dues in the same way as I treat house insurance. I hope I am wasting my money. If I am scapegoated for some perceived failure, if my competence is questioned, if I am to be "Managed out" of the organisation because of my sick record, if I am on the wrong end of some malicious grievance, then I want to be supported.

I have been on the fringes of all of the above. When these things have happened the unionised have been ok on the whole. The none unionised, not so much. The less secure you are the MORE you need a union. Trainees, new appointees, returners need the security.

At a time when costs are to be cut, at a time when stress levels and sickness are very high, at a time when managers will be directed to reduce staff to meet the budget, at a time when SFO's will increase due to lack of resources and organisational chaos, we are all targets. To not be in a union is to put a blindfold on in a minefield.