A very good question and there are several answers:-
1) There's a general election and therefore nothing much happens.
2) The Probation Review has been pushed down the line and things have generally gone quiet.
3) People are on holiday.
4) The Civil Service has successfully silenced staff.
5) Morale is low, people can't get motivated to contribute and are leaving the profession.
6) Newer recruits have very different perspectives to those who've been around awhile.
7) I've been pre-occupied with other things.
Collectively, these may beg the question, has the blog had its day?
Many would certainly hope so, but I think not because we all know there's plenty of trouble coming down the line from a number of quarters and then, just like those very irritating hardy garden weeds, the blog will spring back into life.
This blog keeps me going as it makes me remember that I'm most certainly not on my own when Management dismiss my rather candid views on TR and the shambles that are the CRC's.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we should use this down time to put together a probation service that works both for staff and users. What do we want from such a service (and not a hark back to the good old days please as for service users probation has rarely worked in a meaningful way)? How might that be achieved/realised? For me it would start with practical help with finding accommodation and jobs before release. All too often people leaving prison end up homeless because there simply is no support. I've also found from polling those I know who have been released that a staggering number of OM's are very resistant to people on licence working. In fact I only know of one person who has had active support from their OM to get and retain a job. Why do so many OM's prefer their clients to remain on benefits rather than becoming employed? I've read in several places that it's seen by OM's as further punishment and a way of controlling despite the fact that it has been demonstrated ad infinitum that working is one of the ways to prevent reoffending. I'd like to see probation working with HMP to develop proper career plans from the moment someone ends up inside to release and beyond, with decent qualifications at all levels available and apprenticeships/work experience rathe than the awful mickey mouse slave labour stuff that goes on at present. A real culture shift in both prison and probation to actually turning lives around with tailored practical help rather than lip service and 23 hour lockdowns. So thoughts people?
ReplyDelete11:15. I am really shocked to read that this has been your experience amongst probation staff - ref licensees taking a job - It isn't something I've come across in my part of the probation world in my 20 odd years and wonder where it came from? Admittedly some forms of work aren't compatible with the requirement to be at the same address each night (ie long distance lorry driving), but by and large - unless there is a major risk factor around approving a particular job the benefits of working clearly outweigh the costs ( one being that I might have to offer an evening reporting appt). As to it being viewed as an extra punishment - that is outrageous and highlights a complete failure of understanding of the criminal justice process - probation doesn't 'punish'- the courts 'punish' - we rehabilitate through the administration of the sentence.
DeleteDeb
Also (just remembered) that when I started in 1997 I was told probation worked to a Home Office Probation Instruction that we could not put any barriers in the way of a probationer taking and/or maintaining a job. Hence for this reason we offered late night reporting and evening as well as day programmes, and staff had to willing to accommodate this (evening work). Am not aware of any subsequent PI that has rescinded this requirement.
DeleteDeb
Hi Jim keep the blog going. It helps to know you are not alone in this crc shambles.
ReplyDeleteI am voting for a properly funded NHS, Education and Justice systems. Also a proper affordable housing plan and decent paying jobs. I hope that Probation colleagues will vote for the same things.
Jez we can.
Good to hear from you Jim. We were beginning to worry that you might have been touched by the dreadful events in Manchester.
ReplyDeleteAnnon @11.15
ReplyDeleteYou ask many questions, that in my opinion only, relate to the core definition, and purpose, of probation services.
In much the same way that the always unanswered question of imprisonment has grown, should it be for rehabilitation or punishment, the Probation Service, unfortunately has fallen into the same dilemma.
Is the Probation Service about the monitoring and supervision of those serving part of their sentence in the community, or is their role one of assistance, resettlement and support?
As with the prison question, many would argue it's both, but I'm not convinced,not at least because the current operational models don't really allow for both to happen in unison.
I'm increasingly coming to the opinion that not all those on supervision need probation services, and not all probation need to be involved in supervision.
Perhaps probation should go back to being an advise assist and befriend service, and the monitoring and supervision aspect taken over by another agency. Those identified that would benefit from probation services could be referred to probation before release independently from a supervision agency.
'Getafix
I've just returned after maybe a year or so - I've been out of the service for a couple of years now, but have remained in criminal justice (and suffering issues with privatisation and large security firms running social care projects...).
ReplyDeleteIt was really good to see things still going, see the updates from around the country (and see them in line with the experiences my probation colleagues locally are having).
I still mourn the loss of my career.
I hope we can bring about change
When people undermine your dreams, predict your doom, or criticize you, remember, they’re telling you their story, not yours
ReplyDeleteProbably you could start a constructive thread how probation ought to be. My memory may be fallible, I think it was back in the 60's a more progressive time, the newspapers were full of stories about Probation Officers taking disadvantaged youths on outdoor adventure holidays. The evidence was that this vastly reduced re-offending but the minister was not for it. Commit a crime and get a holiday so he stopped it. Perhaps there are other enlightened interventions that work but are politically incorrect.
ReplyDeleteI think you might be alluding to one of many enlightened projects, aimed at young men and that went under the slightly misleading and alarming title of 'Intermediate Treatment'. The Daily Mail played its part in having it stopped by deriding it as "Treats for naughty boys". That paper has a lot to answer for.
DeleteMany years ago (mid 90s?), I worked with Surrey Probation Service who, at that time, were sending groups of offenders to Romania to work on the appalling orphanages that were being reported about extensively at the time. The men involved were all working 14+ hour days painting, decorating, cleaning, building etc etc for a week or two at a time. The results, in terms of reoffending, were profoundly impressive with only around 1 in 10 of those who were involved returning to offending (I cannot recall the exact statistics and this is my recollection, not a scientific dissertation). Despite the positives, this was the Michael Howard era and sending offenders on 'foreign holidays' was seen as politically unsatisfactory and the whole initiative was shut down. I have often thought that the biggest problem with the CJS was the inclination from the politicians to want to be seen to be tough. In my experience, the most effective interventions are those that show compassion, thought, insight into the human condition etc. Humiliation, fear, deprivation etc, whilst easy to sell to Joe Public, simply doesn't cut it. The problem is, it doesn't matter how ill-informed the 'public' are, the need to keep them on board is, to my mind, militates against the most effective practice methods.
DeleteJust because Joe doesn't comprehend the value of talking therapies, doesn't change the fact that they are the best means of securing change. I just wish politicians would have the courage to say this.
Thank you very much for your thoughtful comments. I am neither a Probation Officer or a Psychiatrist but I have an anecdote I would like to share. I have observed in a small fishing village in Newfoundland, how quickly the “Standard Silly School Boy”, changes into a responsible adult man once he starts what the Newfies call walking on the water, they might be saying working but it sounds like walking. Working offshore in their small wooden fishing boats, is dangerous (check the casualty list) and very uncomfortable. This is the environment Out Word Bound courses create.
DeletePeople desist from crime as they mature, perhaps the intervention could be called Accelerated Maturing.
I think things have gone quiet because many of us have been in a truly awful position recently and basically watching what is left of the service going down the drain. It is truly shocking to see how we are all being treated, all staff at all levels, our service users and the wider public whom we are trying to protect. When you know things are not working but are told to get on and make it work it seeps away at your morale and makes you feel that you are a small and unwilling cog in part of a much wider and corrupt social, economic and political system. You want to speak out but there is no one else to listen. The union reps, the 'bolshy' staff you could rely on to speak out and get away with it because they were respected and had manybyears of good service under their belts have all been pushed out, taken early retirement or just left if they can afford to do so or are able to get other jobs. No one is able to speak thectruth anymore and that is a dangerous situation. More staff leave or go sick and still we are expected to make a weak, demoralised and broken system work. We cannot trust the people we should be able to rely on fir support anymore and are owners are basically corrupt and only in it for the profit. How has this situation ever come to exist? This may go some way to explaining the silence.
ReplyDeleteThe blog doesn't serve any useful purpose except for being a conduit for staff discontent and for lamenting the loss of pre-TR days. Probation staff are a compliant lot and management know this. Vocal protests and the odd strike day did nothing to stop the Tory and Liberal Democrat juggernaut. It's funny how crime isn't an electoral issue and not a word about reunifying the profession. We remain fucked and even with the best will in the world, Jim's blog has had little impact and has not saved one job. I'm amazed he carries on.
ReplyDelete21:00 seems to be stating the obvious & replaying the same old argument that completely misses the point of the blog, at least from my perspective, i.e. it has:
Delete1. Documented in great detail the experience of a venal government's ideological butchery of a successful & well-regarded public service, namely the Probation Service;
2. Given a voice to the many practitioners who were subject to gagging orders during the orchestrated destruction of their chosen profession;
3. Contributed to the exposure of abusive practices, dodgy appointments & questionable decisions by the politicians, their tame civil servants & the shameless collaborators within probation;
4. Allowed individuals to process their bereavement - grief, anger, disbelief, etc.
That's not an exhaustive list, but its pretty fucking impressive. Its value will be realised in the coming years...
Thank you, Jim Brown.
I am glad this forum remains to share experiences and publish matters that would otherwise remain largely unknown.
ReplyDeleteI am glad Jim Brown has recommitted to continue & I thank him or her for a great deal of commitment to the principles of probation that get lost amidst service user & offender and OM gobbledygook, meaningless jargon that detracts from the spirit of the principles behind the 1907 Act of Parliament that continues in force in Ireland
I am glad this Jim still has the enthusiasm to keep the blog going.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree Anon 21:34 and not sure how 21:00 thought that Jim's blog was going to bring down a Government and their decision to introduce TR - maybe 21:00 your comment was based on total frustration at the lack of impact any of us have been able to have on all of this - I wake up evey day and have to peel myself out of bed as I dislike working for a CRC with all their ridiculous policies and targets ( far removed from working with people as individuals as was why I joined the Probation service 20yrs ago)but I cannot leave due to finances - all I can say is Jim Brown I salute you and this blog which I read every morning which gives me that support I need to continue
ReplyDelete21.49 I can entirely relate to that. On top of that I still feel a committment to our service users and try to take something from this. Still get positive feedback from many of them despite my.personal frustrations that i don't have enough time or resources. So that is what gets me out of bed when i am feeling pretty crap, that andvthe obvious..most of need to support ourselves and our families like everyone else..there are other jobs out there that i would consider doing..pay less but far less stress and more time to really support people so in next few years could consider that. NPS are still recruiting and taking CRC staff but not sure about the frying pan v fire thing. I do believe once the spectre of long term sickness ie. Stress related looms it is time to move on. These companies are not looking after our welfare and failing in their duty of care. Surprised no one has taken them to court yet. The blog should go on and when this is all out in the open they cannot deny that they were not told because they all look at this blog. Believe me..managers and individual CRC's all look at this blog!
ReplyDeleteLizzie Dripping is still alive! In the aftermath of the BBC debate La Truss tweeted that Corbyn isn't "fit for purpose". Rich... coming from a bloody useless justice sec & embarassment of a LC. She and her predecessors, Grayling & Gove, have been the least 'fit for purpose' ministers that the criminal justice system has ever known.
ReplyDeleteAs desperate as this news article is, it clear that the current model of probation services aren't delivering the services needed by service users, nor representative of the of the service model sold to Parliament and the public by Grayling.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/homeless-mans-cry-help-sees-83458
'Getafix
Homeless Darren Sharpe was so desperate to find somewhere to live that he set up his tent in central Cheltenham. The 46-year-old claimed he had got nowhere with the local authorities, especially the Probation Service, in his search for a suitable home.
DeleteSo fed up with living on the streets, he headed to Gloucestershire Live's offices in St James’ Square and set up a tent. It meant he was able to talk to our editorial team members as they came in to work this morning and make his plea for help.
Darren, who is from Cheltenham, admits he is no angel and said he had spent time in prison, mainly for dishonesty offences such as shoplifting, in the recent past as well as down the years. He said he was kicked out of his Bishop’s Cleeve home by his girlfriend, because of his heavy drinking, last summer. Missing his four young children, who he said live with her there, he said his drink problem had got even worse since.
He said: “I’ve asked probation for help. I’ve been staying in St George’s Road by the Probation Service’s office but they told me to move on or get arrested. I’m really desperate. I’ve got mental health issues and they won’t address it. I just come up against brick walls all the time.”
He said he understood why his girlfriend, who was particularly worried about how his drinking could affect their children, had forced him to move out. Admitting that he couldn’t always remember what he did when heavily under the influence of drink and drugs, he said he needed professional help and felt he was not getting it. He claimed he was doing his best to help himself but needed support.
“I’ve managed to overcome my addictions. I’ve been going to AA every night. It’s probation mainly, they’re pretending they want to help but they’re not,” he said.
He said he had been offered accommodation but it had not been the kind he needed to get his life back on track. “They’ve offered me supported housing but I don’t want to be around people drinking and taking drugs,” he said.
Since 2014, low to medium risk offenders have been dealt with by community rehabilitation companies rather than the National Probation Service, which still handles high-risk offenders. The Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire Community Rehabilitation Company said it could not comment on individual service users.
But a spokesman said: “We work with all relevant authorities and partner agencies to support our service users in finding suitable accommodation.”
Perhaps I shouldn't be commenting after a long, difficult day wrestling with shite IT and inane management directives, but the following quotes jump out at me from the article:
Delete"he said he needed professional help and felt he was not getting it. He claimed he was doing his best to help himself but needed support."
versus
"He said he had been offered accommodation but it had not been the kind he needed to get his life back on track. “They’ve offered me supported housing but I don’t want to be around people drinking and taking drugs,” he said."
I'm sympathetic to his view about supported accommodation - I don't doubt it would be a difficult environment for someone in recovery - but it's a bit rich to say "I want support" and then turn it down and go to the papers.
Its soul destroying when working with people that are homeless and unfortunately for whatever reasons there are countless - we in CRC's and Probation are helpless as we have no seat with housing - there isn't enough social housing available due to practically everything being privatised leaving what we can access being horrendous, expensive and providers being extremely picky as to whom they will accept - again this is for our Government local and otherwise to address rather than something else we get blamed for again for which we in CRC's / Probation have no control over
ReplyDeleteI agree! Our hands are often tied!
DeleteNearly 4.5 mil hits on this blog shows that It is needed. Thank you Jim.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/02/privatisation-has-so-much-to-answer-for
ReplyDeletea new starter as a PSO in our office is looking to leave already - they knew the starting salary scale was 22,500 -27,000 but didnt realise it's take 15yrs to reach the top.
ReplyDeleteCarry on jim you do an outstanding job with this blog and it reaches out to many - not just those. Who post but many others who simply like to read!
ReplyDelete