Grayling's Promises

Remember this from October 2013:-



Now we have this from the BBC website:-

Prisoner resettlement scheme raises concerns

A flagship government policy to support and supervise inmates leaving jail has been severely criticised by inspectors. The chief inspectors of probation and prisons for England and Wales said the "Through the Gate" scheme for offenders serving prison terms of less than 12 months was failing to find them jobs. In some cases the public was being put at risk, their joint report said.

Ministers said a review of the reforms set up by Chris Grayling when he was justice secretary was taking place.

The 2014 overhaul aimed to help provide short-sentence prisoners with a mentor, a place to stay and training or a job. All prisoners sentenced to terms of a year or less are now subject to 12 months of supervision on release. High-risk offenders come under the supervision of the National Probation Service, with the remaining work assigned to 21 newly-created Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs).

But of 86 offenders whose cases were examined in detail by inspectors, the report said only a minority had found accommodation through the scheme, just one had been assigned a mentor, and none had secured employment. "Public protection work around short sentence prisoners is weak, and this is a systemic problem," they said.

Inspectors said re-offending rates among the former prisoners were "concerning" and the risk of harm they posed was not always recognised, meaning victims - particularly in cases of domestic abuse - were not always protected. In one case, a registered sex offender disappeared after being released without anywhere to live. While the picture was more positive for women leaving prison, the report said many probation officers held "an almost fatalistic acceptance of the likelihood of failure".

The inspectors recommended ministers should review the contractual requirements to "better incentivise CRCs to develop their approach to the successful resettlement of prisoners". HM Chief Inspector of Probation Dame Glenys Stacey said: "There is still the potential for change that government and others wish to see. "But turning prisoners' lives around is difficult, and success in individual cases is not guaranteed, even when everything possible is done, particular for those with mental illness or addictions."

Justice Minister Sam Gyimah said: "We are already carrying out a comprehensive review of our probation reforms to improve outcomes for offenders and communities." He added: "Public protection is our top priority and we will not hesitate to take the necessary action to make sure our vital reforms are being delivered to reduce re-offending, cut crime and prevent future victims."

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Here we have a Napo press release:-

HMI Probation report on the provision of Through the Gate resettlement services

The largest union in the probation service in England and Wales has responded to the joint report by HM Chief Inspectors of Probation and Prisons on Through the Gate resettlement services for short-term prisoners, published today (Tuesday 4 October).

The report from Dame Glenys Stacey who addressed Napo's annual conference last week, covers the findings of her independent directorate into the impact of the government’s Transforming Rehabilitation reforms (TR), under which all prisoners sentenced to 12 months or less are now subject to 12 months’ supervision by probation services on release.

The TR reforms involved the break-up of the public probation service, with a large part of it handed to 21 privately-run Community Rehabilitation Companies who are now funded by the taxpayer to provide support for offenders who pass ‘Through the Gate’ from prison back into the community.

HMIP inspectors found that services provided by the CRCs were poor or non-existent with too many prisoners reaching their release date without their immediate needs having been met or even recognised. Inspectors were also concerned by the high rate at which people had gone on to reoffend and been recalled to prison.

The report indicates that of the 86 cases inspected, not one client had been helped into employment. More than one-third of prisoners were released with nowhere to live and insufficient assistance was available for people in debt.

Public safety

The report also reveals that victims were not protected, as the risk of harm posed by released prisoners was not always recognised. In 61 per cent of cases inspected, the Community Rehabilitation Company had taken insufficient account of public protection issues. This problem was particularly noticeable in domestic abuse cases.

Ian Lawrence Napo General Secretary said: “This latest damning report into the Transforming Rehabilitation experiment implemented by former Secretary of State for Justice Chris Grayling, accurately reflects the evidence from our members that an agenda which was supposed to reduce reoffending and make us all safer, is doing the opposite. The original claim that short term sentence prisoners would receive additional support on top of their £46 pounds is nothing more than a cheap soundbite. Through the Gate has failed to help people find homes and employment, failed to prevent people committing further offences, and failed the taxpayer by exposing victims of crime to even more danger.

“The HMI Probation report again illustrates what happens when politicians refuse to listen to expert advice and plough ahead with ideas that result in disaster. This reckless experiment with public safety, which Napo and many other organisations warned against, is a catastrophic example of political failure, and its impact will be felt for many years.

“I urge the new Secretary of State to rescind the CRC contracts with immediate effect without any additional cost to the taxpayer. The probation service needs to be reinstated to being the gold standard not for profit service that it once was, so that it serves the public and victims of crime.”

Successive reports consistently show the failure of TR

Last August, HM Inspectorate of Probation reported that the quality of probation work in Durham had declined since the Transforming Rehabilitation programme began. A similar report on services in Derbyshire, which reached the same view, was published the following month. These conclusions followed a highly critical report by the National Audit Office into the TR Procurement process.

Less than two weeks ago, the Public Accounts Committee’s report on Transforming Rehabilitation concluded that the government’s promised “rehabilitation revolution” was far from complete. Only last week, HM Inspectorate of Prisons reported that women’s services had deteriorated and were “under threat” following the implementation of the programme.

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This from the Independent:-

Privatisation of probation services branded a failure by two watchdog inspections

Inspectors have painted a devastating picture of the Government’s privatisation of probation services – warning that ex-prisoners are being failed and the public put at risk. Two watchdogs have sharply criticised the overhaul put through by ex-Justice Secretary Chris Grayling, concluding the help promised is not being delivered.

All prisoners sentenced to a year or less are now supervised for 12 months on release, increasing the number watched over by 50,000, or around 25%. Mr Grayling promised his “through the gate” services would prepare inmates for life in the community - including finding accommodation, employment or training and managing finances. But a joint report from HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Prisons concluded that nowhere near enough was being done to help prisoners.

Furthermore, the risk of harm to others was not always recognised, which meant victims were not always protected - particularly in cases of domestic abuse. In one case, a registered sex offender released without any accommodation has since disappeared, according to the report. Rates of re-offending were high. A quarter of the prisoners in the inspection sample had already been put back in prison for alleged new offences, or for failing to keep appointments under their licences.

Dame Glenys Stacey, HM Chief Inspector of Probation, said it had identified multiple failings after studying the cases of 86 offenders who had been jailed for less than 12 months. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: 

“One in three was released with nowhere to live. We also found that not one of our sample had had any help in relation to training, education or employment. Indeed, many of them had not had sufficient help across a wide range of issues that they faced - drug dependency, alcohol dependency, mental health problems and debt dependency.”

The 2014 shake-up created the National Probation Service (NPS) to deal with high-risk offenders, while remaining work was assigned to 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). It is the mostly privately-run CRCs, working on a payment-by-results basis, which are responsible for the “through the gate” services. At the time, campaigners labelled the changes a “reckless experiment” and urged delay, but Mr Grayling accelerated the timetable to get them in place before the 2015 general election.