Guest Blog 62

It's all a mess. The worst thing is that decent hardworking and caring employees of both NPS and CRC have been highlighting this for months and now years. No one has listened and we have been subject to the usual political spin. I'm ashamed to be part of this - 2500 extra prison officers! What about the 10000 that have been lost together with the experience that evidence shows is now badly needed? Prisons Benchmarking and Fair & Sustainable - what a joke! TR and TTG - another joke. 

The reasons we are in this mess is solely down to this Government and the spineless managers who jumped aboard the gravy boat and stitched the rest of us up for their own means. Management in Probation at the moment is absolutely shocking - SPOs are now the new corporate people they have been morphed into where the 'needs of the business' come first. What about the needs of some of our vulnerable 'service users' as they seem to be called now a days?

Don't even get me started on those above SPO. What an absolute shambles - they run around kissing the arses of the nearest person that can offer the closest sniff of career progression/pocket lining whilst stamping on the people below that are trying their hardest to fight against red tape and cost cutting measures that have been imposed on us. 

Amongst this absolute sham, we have offenders who need help, some want to be helped - some don't - that's part of the job. In the unfortunate world we live in at the moment, the ones that want to change don't get a look in. Why? because now we have to fire fight and deal intensively with those that do cause problems. Why again? Apparently, government spin and financial gain overrides the need to actually undertake our core role - this applies to both NPS and CRC. Unfortunately, the ones who want to change don't get much of a look in because my/our attentions are diverted elsewhere. Never mind though, so long as this government can spin things to their ends and forget about the ones who genuinely want to change as they don't cause problems. 

By the way, what really grabbed me over the last few days was Truss's amazing White Paper - clearly a lot of thought went into that and she absolutely knew what she was talking about. This is another area of bullshit - no fly zones! Has anyone actually pointed out to her that prisons are no fly zones already. Alternatively, she could say sorry, we have made a mess of things, we can give you 2500 prison officers, and I appreciate the 10000 cut already were through austerity cuts, but we are trying our best. 

As for TTG/TR, yes people have got richer to the detriment of vulnerable people who actually need the help. Shocking, absolutely shocking that these people should be allowed to get away with this and not even be held to account - cue Grayling. I haven't even started on the absolute bollocks that is E3.

I feel passionate about this. I love(d) my job and joined in 2006 with the sole aim of helping people. That's gone. Now it's all about corporate management and the 'needs of the business'. To me personally, surely the needs of the people come first! The people we deal with are just that - people! Not some corporate piece of junk that massages this governments figures when they feel the need to adopt figures to their suiting. 

I am employed in NPS and feel for my colleagues both in the NPS and the CRC's and feel passionately about this. Jim - I read your blog every day and don't often post through fear of my 'emotional arousal' becoming too high - after all, that's what we tell the 'people' we work with day in and day out. However, there comes a time when enough is enough. I fear that through publicly speaking, I will be culled as I have no doubt there are many more in the same position as me. 

I don't know what to do, NAPO have not been the greatest of helps. I have spoken to my line manager about my concerns and I get the 'spin'. I'm still loyal to my profession but there comes a time when my profession (albeit the government spin) are wrong. Anyone reading this could understand if it was weeks in the making, but this is now years in the making and will continue. Taking you back to my initial point - I joined the NPS (or COUNTY Probation Service as it was then) because I care - I still do, but how long will it be before the corporates within both the NPS and the CRC mould me into someone I don't want to be or not what I joined for. 

Contrary to popular belief, my colleagues are in the CRC and are being shafted just like the rest of us. I really hate the way good Probation Officers and Probation Services Officers are being treated on account of the high risk cases they held on one particular day - that is how the split had taken place in our county! 

This is a shambles, led by our government and the spineless management who bowed down for their own means. A Gold Star public service - reduced to this sham! Maybe the Government need to remind the public of that. They wont. Why? Because we needn't worry about this until next election when they can spin the figures and scream what a roaring success everything has been and how many more prison officers there are in the system.

However, they will forget to highlight how such prison officers were cut by 10,000 in the first place. Police will continue not reporting or downgrading violent/sexual crimes. Why? Because figures mean everything to this government. NHS, Education, Prisons, Fire Service, Police, Probation, Social Services - all of it - In a mess but all is ok because the figures and spin say so.

(Strictly speaking, the above is not a 'Guest Blog', but the author seemed to need little encouragement to add to an initial 'from the heart' rant yesterday and I suspect the resulting piece ably expresses the views of many.)