Wednesday 25 October 2017

MoJ In Damage Limitation Mode

Even before the BBC Panorama programme airs tonight, there are clear signs that the MoJ is seriously rattled and engaged in a 'damage limitation' exercise. This from the Guardian published earlier this morning:-

Ministry of Justice apologises to mother in child murder case

The Ministry of Justice has apologised to the mother of a five-year-old boy who was murdered after probation services failed to warn her that her partner had a string of convictions for violent offences against women and children. After the death of her British-born son, Liliya Breha was warned she could be deported because she no longer has a family tie to the UK.

Alex Malcolm was beaten to death by Breha’s former partner Marvyn Iheanacho after the boy lost one of his trainers in a park in November 2016. After Iheanacho was found guilty of murder, Breha, 30, was horrified to hear that he had a string of previous convictions for violent offences against women and children. “It took them 15 minutes to read out all his previous offences. My mouth literally dropped open and I felt so sick,” said Breha.

A MoJ spokesman said: “We apologise sincerely to Alex’s mother, Liliya Breha, for the unacceptable failings that have been identified. As a direct result of the initial review, we have suspended two members of staff who were involved in the supervision of Iheanacho. Additionally, we have put in place strict procedures, both within NPS [National Probation Service] London and nationally, to help prevent a tragic case like this from happening again.”

According to the terms of Iheanacho’s licence, he was not supposed to have unsupervised access to children under 16 and probation officers were supposed to monitor any new relationships with women. Two of the officers involved in the case, an offender manager and the head of a local team, have been suspended pending an internal disciplinary investigation.

Iheanacho’s previous offences included beating a former girlfriend with a belt. The 39-year-old broke the jaw of another partner and tried to strangle her 13-year-old son. Until the day he attacked Alex, Breha had no idea her partner was violent.

It was only then that she discovered that the probation service, which was supposed to be monitoring Iheanacho, a high-risk offender with a history of violence dating back to 1994, should have warned her about him but had failed to do so.

Iheanacho sometimes even used Breha’s phone to call his probation officer and Breha had spoken to the officer herself – but she had never been given a warning about how dangerous he was. While Breha knew that Iheanacho had recently come out of prison, she was unaware of the terms of his licence relating to children and new relationships with women.

“If anyone had told me about Marvyn’s violent history I would have run a mile from him and would never have allowed him to be anywhere near my child,” said Breha. As well as trying to cope with the loss of her son and the disclosures about the serious failings of the probation service, Breha has been dealt a further blow after finding out she may no longer be able to remain in the UK.

She is on a path to settlement with the Home Office based on having a British child, but has received legal advice that she may no longer have the right to reside in the UK when she updates her immigration status next June, because she no longer has that child. Breha has lived in the UK for 10 years, first arriving on an exchange programme at 20 while a student at National University of Water Management and Nature Resources Use in Ukraine.

She said: “This country is my home now, the country where my son was born and where he is buried.” When the Home Office was asked what happens to the immigration status of people like Breha if their child dies, a spokeswoman declined to comment. She said: “All visa applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the immigration rules. We do not routinely comment on individual cases.”

It is understood that an internal investigation into the failings of the probation service has highlighted that not enough was done to tackle Iheanacho’s irregular attendance at probation appointments, that there was a lack of planning for his release from prison in 2016 and that there was a failure to liaise between probation and Breha’s local social services about the domestic violence risk. Probation also failed to enforce the licence conditions that he should not have unsupervised access to children under 16 and that any new relationship with a woman should be monitored.

Breha said she first met Iheanacho when he was in prison. “A neighbour suggested I write to him,” she said. “I wasn’t looking for a relationship but when I met him he was super-shy and super-polite. He seemed really nice and I felt sorry for him. I didn’t know what he had been in prison for, he just told me he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I thought, ‘well, anyone can make a mistake’.

“When he came out of prison he got a job as a roof installer and was working really hard, he didn’t go out much, he wasn’t involved in drugs and at weekends he would play football or go to the gym. He seemed really normal and he was able to present himself in a charming way although now I know he’s a selfish, manipulative liar.”

BBC1’s Panorama programme highlights this case on Wednesday evening, along with others and investigates wider failings in the probation service. “The probation service failed me and failed my child. Alex didn’t deserve that,” said Breha. She is certain that had she received warnings about Iheanacho’s violent history, her son would still be alive today. “Instead,” she said, “I’ve joined the worst possible club for the rest of my life.”

“Alex was a genuinely perfect child and we had never spent a single day apart. He always played nicely and never gave me any trouble. He was polite and always said thank you. But now everything’s been taken away from me.”

After Iheanacho had beaten Alex severely in the park he brought him home unconscious and told various lies about what had happened to him. Alex was given emergency treatment but died two days later.

“I sat by his hospital bedside singing Ukrainian songs to him. When the doctors said they couldn’t do anything more for him I literally dropped to the floor,” said Breha. “How could Marvyn have done this to a little boy who had no chance to defend himself against this big guy? Each day it gets harder and harder and I miss him more. The worst thing is to wake up every morning knowing that your son is dead.”

42 comments:

  1. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5014597/Number-offences-criminals-supervision-rises.html

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  2. From todays Times. Pay wall so just a snippet.

    Criminals are missing appointments with their probation officers without any action being taken, according to an investigation.

    Staff working for the private company MTC Novo, which monitors 25,000 offenders in London, failed to take action on more than 15,000 missed appointments over 16 months, according to internal documents seen by the BBC’s Panorama, whose findings are broadcast tonight. Offenders failed to carry out unpaid work and missed appointments with probation staff at which they would have been expected to discuss problems and progress.

    Earlier this year staff in London were told to clear up a backlog of missed appointments and many were written off as acceptable, according to the investigation. A whistleblower who works at MTC Novo told Panorama: “About six months ago we got…

    Want to read more

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    1. I imagine the figures in Wonky Links CRCs would be equally as bad. Overwhelming caseloads mean we have no hope of following everything up, and the broken operating model means when staff are off sick or on leave, no-one is available to cover for them. The message is clearly getting out that if you miss an appointment, you've got a better than even chance of nothing being done about it.

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  3. MoJ, HMPPS, Daily Hate, etc... Look at the root cause, not the symptoms.

    This whole catastrophic mess was brought about by impatient, incompetent, over-ambitious ideologues, i.e. Justice Secretary Grayling & his political lickspittles including Michael Spurr, Jeremy Wright, Dame Ursula Brennan, Antonia Romeo, Probation Chiefs who collaborated for handsome cash rewards, etc, etc.

    The taxpayer & general public have been financially & morally ripped off by the whole TR/privatisation fiasco, and have paid a high price. Any failing or incompetence by staff has been fostered by the inherently abusive organisational approach e.g. overworked, unqualified, exhausted, bullied.

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    1. TR was to be wonderful. Bringing together the best of the public sector, private sector, and the third sector to work in perfect harmony and help those poor souls who are released from prison with only £46 in their pocket to try and rebuild their lives.
      TR would private offenders with accommodation, an all inclusive wrap around support system, advice and guidance at every juncture. People would even have their own mentor to guide them through troubled times.
      There would be resettlement prisons where you would be moved to prior to release and have your issues and problems met by the new and wonderful Through the Gate Services.
      The truth is non of it happened.
      TRs only success was to hand shit loads of tax payers money to private companies.
      TR reduced the the level of support extended to those leaving custody, and the fallout between the third sector organisations and the private companies ment that many agencies that would have previously extended their services to people leaving custody won't anymore if you're on a probation supervision order.
      I'm looking forward to tonights Panorama, but it can't highlight many of the problems TR has caused in half an hour.
      I agree completely with the comments above.
      It's important to highlight the failures, but it's even more important to show 'why' those failures have happened.
      I hope that tonight's programme can point in that direction a bit.

      'Getafix

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    2. Don't let the media off the hook - they failed to report let alone investigate - I am seething at the post about the death and best not comment.

      It is grievous that probation staff should have been set up to fail by HM Government backed by HM Parliament.

      I am very glad I am long out of it.

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  4. The case of Marvyn Iheanacho's supervision is a reminder of the heavy responsibilities that fall on probation staff – and the consequences of alleged failures by individual staff. Maybe tonight's programme will clarify, but given Iheanacho's history of domestic violence and his high-risk status, I would expect he was the subject of multi-disciplinary panels, with an agreed risk management plan, which would have mandated agencies to take specific actions – and thus not leave decisions about disclosure to the sole discretion of individual staff.

    Iheanacho was sentenced in July, but as yet no inquiry has been completed.In fact it's taken the MoJ three months, since conviction, to apologise. Contrast this with the murder of John Monkton, a well-connected financier: Hanson and White were convicted in December 2005 and by February 2006 HMIP had published their report. This case also led to the dismissal of chief probation officer. It would be reasonable to think, in light of the disruptions of TR, that there would be a similar urgency to investigate this case to identify the factors that contributed to this tragedy.

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    1. Wasn't it the Sonnex case that led to the (forced) resignation of the chief officer? But yes, both were swiftly and thoroughly reviewed by HMIP.

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    2. Thanks... it was the Sonnex case, and can I correct Monkton to Monckton.

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    3. Shambolic supervision.

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-41748185

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    4. There's an interesting article here about through the gate services in Scotland. I don't know if privately or publicy run but it appears to be very different in contrast to what's happened in England.

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41733721

      'Getafix

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    5. Hopefully Panorama will reference probation work in Scotland and Northern Ireland & maybe also The Channel Islands and Isle of Man which have systems initially developed alongside those in England & Wales and are also in the BBC broadcasting area.

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    6. A woman whose son was battered to death by a man on probation has described changes to the way offenders are monitored as "shambolic". Nadine Marshall's son Conner, 18, died following a brutal attack in Porthcawl, Bridgend county in March 2015. She was speaking to BBC Panorama which found one private company failed to take action on more than 15,000 missed probation appointments.

      The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it was "right to reform the system". Three years ago the MoJ handed the supervision of low and medium risk offenders in England and Wales to private companies. Twenty-one companies secured government contracts worth nearly £4bn over seven years.

      When David Braddon, a 26-year-old man from Caerphilly, murdered Conner he was being monitored by probation workers after being convicted for drugs offences and assaulting a police officer. He had missed eight probation appointments. A report by the National Offender Management Service found there were times staff could have "monitored his community order more robustly" but it concluded staff could not have known he would go on to commit such a violent act.

      Braddon is now serving a life term for Conner's murder. Mrs Marshall, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, said: "Conner was attacked and murdered in March of 2015. It wasn't until August 2015 that we had a standard letter sent from the probation service just letting us know that the offender that had been charged was already under probation care for two other separate orders. "It was just devastation... it was just horrific to learn he was known and the whole case was a shambolic state. "[Conner's] murder was preventable in our opinion because of the eight missed appointments... had the processes had been followed David Braddon wouldn't have the opportunity to be in Porthcawl."

      The MoJ said public protection was its top priority and while probation needed to "work better" it was absolutely right to reform the system which has led to 40,000 previously unmonitored short-term offenders being supervised.

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    7. A scheme that offers inmates extra support as they prepare to leave jail has been credited with cutting reoffending. An independent evaluation found that 78% of prisoners who received Throughcare support in the past two years had not returned to custody. The scheme was introduced at 11 Scottish Prison Service sites in 2015. It aims to ensure inmates have arrangements in place for housing, medical provision and benefits.

      Throughcare Support Officers (TSOs) continue to give guidance after prisoners are released from custody. Prison officer Julie Cree, who has been working as a TSO at Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow, believes it has helped reduce the "revolving door" of reoffending. She said: "Two and a half years ago, when I started this role, coming into the community I realised how difficult it was for people to get a roof over their head, get their benefit sorted. Everyday life was so stressful for people, it was actually easier to be in prison. I think the benefit is there's somebody there to support the guys coming out of prison, somebody there who believes in them, who can give them a bit of guidance."

      Colin McConnell, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service, said the aim was to return inmates to their communities as citizens. He added: "We are confident that by developing the capacity and capability of TSOs and embedding a focus on continuous improvement, these actions will lead to better outcomes for those in and leaving our care."

      Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said he was pleased the prison service was now looking to develop the service further. He said: "Reducing the churn of short-term sentences will create more opportunity for prison staff to focus on interventions and support that will assist each individual to address their problems."

      Throughcare has been piloted at the following jails: Barlinnie, Cornton Vale, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Glenochil, Grampian, Greenock, Low Moss, Inverness, Perth and Polmont. The independent evaluation was carried out by Reid Howie Associates.

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    8. Colin McConnell, CEO SPS26 October 2017 at 15:39

      I note that earlier a colleague had asked whether the TSO service was being delivered by private contractor. Absolutely not.
      This is service offered by Prison Officers (who have benefited from additional training and support), working alongside other professional and third-sector colleagues to guide and advocate for people serving short prison sentences as they transition from custody back to the community. As the evaluation report identifies, over a two year period 78% of those who have engaged with the service have not returned to custody. We intend to expand the service, developing better links and integration with other community-based service providers.

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    9. Thanks for clarifying that - clearly much is different north of the border.

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  5. 15.43 so that is Working Links. No surprise there then!

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  6. glancing at twitter I see Richard Burgon MP criticising the performance of Justice Sec David Lidington at Justice Select Committee today, also Justice Committee tweeting that MoJ budget is <1% of national expenditure. Blimey I cant keep up with this shitstorm

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  7. To steal a line from The Thick of it.

    I'm standing in a factory that makes fans, and someone has just walked in with a giant shit spraying machine.....

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  8. So Panorama? Jesus - if only they knew the half of it. It was all bang on the money, but they barely scratched the surface. It's much much worse on a daily basis than portrayed in the programme

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    1. Lol..look at what I posted at the same time as you! Exactly..it is much, much worse but working links lie and cover up. They are dishonest and cannot be trusted to put the public first. Money is their.only priority..simple as that. Why are we being left to swim in a stinking cesspit of working links bullshit whilst they prance around spending taxpayers money on their sad jigsaw puzzles for PR excercise.

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    2. Working Links lie all the time and from complicit actions of many Probation staff. Sad to see Panorama illustrate its a cash grab game. This is peoples lives. Worse the lies of Working Links saying they will move the systems to include more offender face to face time. Oh no they will not. That is a lie and they have no skilled staff to deliver anything safe. GOV. UK you fund a call centre on billions of pounds what a racket the Aurelius company think they won the lottery every week until the contract ends.

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  9. NAPO must support the brave whistleblowers that took part in the Panorama programme. It is never right to bully whistleblowers and try to prevent the truth coming out. Panorama programme was good and explained the situation quite clearly. However itnis only the tip of a large and unstable iceberg. Working Links CRC's are at crisis point..put simply..it is going under. Dame Glynis is very honest about the sitiation but fails to give any sense of urgency..what would it take for her to show some animation and state that MOJ must intervene NOW! Same with Ian Lawrence. Come on..show some fighting spirit. We are in the shit NOW and need more than a stick to keep us afloat in the Working Stinks stench.

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    1. The NAPO Leadership bends like a Flip Flop. No real talent and certainly not able to challenge this situation because he wants to appear intellectual and considered. Instead a book to focus on trade union strategies might help but too late for him now.

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  10. Probation Institute like to comment?

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    1. ** ** ** Tumble weeds ** ** **

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    2. Lol! Probation institute still think TR is a 'roaring success'. Suckers!

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    3. Not the word I would use sub the s. As for the blog on that outfit still no comments . Schofield ex Napo what does that say !

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  11. I wonder if this will hurt MTC, Amey and Working Links share holders?

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    1. And ingeus

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    2. And interswerve

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    3. Is it just the companies is it time we looked at the individuals for their negligence ?

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    4. If you can manage 75-100 cases remember all their names and details of each client and their issues and which ones you have seen this week and what they have said and what you have to do to help them which referrals to fill which targets to tick which meeting to attend remember which clients have been seen enforce and then record everything above because its all a priority. I wouldn't see anything missed as an individuals negligence more systematic failures which would make me look at the companies. YES IT IS JUST THE COMPANIES.

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  12. Panorama this evening was shocking as a Mother and Grandmother it was chilling to see what might happen to our innocent family members on our street this was so unsettling. How on earth has this service been allowed to be outsourced to outfits like Working Links? this is selling murder and misery to the highest bidder. I feel so sorry for these grieving Mothers and their families. Ian Lawrence came over as out of his depth he will have to do a lot of work to hold these private companies to account. Where is the public protection he should hold his head in shame

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  13. At least it's good to know that 'public protection is our top priority'. if I had a quid for every time I heard that, I could just about pay enough to Steria to get Delius working properly.

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  14. Protecting the public, MY ARSE. Disgraceful shower of twats. Never mind suspending staff the MOJ should be prosecuted for murder.

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  15. We should all tools down and strike. Working conditions are unsustainable, staff morale low, new technology (laptops) making staff feel they have to work 24-7 due to fearing disciplinary action if targets are missed, stress levels high, staff made to feel that if they can't cope or don't like it they are told they can leave and the list goes on. COME ON UNIONS TAKE ACTION NOW. We have to do something, no panorama or news articles and evidence of failing companies will stop this mess as is evidenced by the Gov just throwing more money at the failing CRC's even after all the inspections and reports showing their failures. WE have to take action.

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  16. Well, if NAPO is going to be effective, now is the time to say "job done" on making the point that TR is a carcrash. Short window to get evidence into the justice committee review, but I hope they are investing energy into thinking through where it should go from here, and getting ahead of the curve, cos sure as eggs is eggs, in the blink of an eye there will be a whole pile of ministers and civil servants who know eff all about it, coming up with some half-baked proposals against a ridiculous timetable, so that some ambitions MP can they've Sorted It.

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    1. oops, can SAY they've Sorted It. Night night Jim

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  17. How the hell can we work in a totally flawed system. The few cases that are escalated to nps it then takes a few weeks to be allocated. So you then end up with a high risk offender not being seen due to bureacracy. We've probably all got cases that are not managed as well as we'd like just praying they don't commit a serious crime. It's ok as long as you don't miss a target.

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    1. This is just a indictment of repeated failures across all organisations with a wide body of evidence to support poor practice and lack of quality information sharing. Private organisations are economical with the truth and more into hitting relevant targets, promoting failure ( central hubs being typical examples) providing a distinct lack of specific and meaningful training and genuine understanding of staff needs. Unless you have a shared understanding of required goals, accountability top down(desperately needed) experienced and well trained staff with infrastructures to support....not systems that repeatedly fail...then failure will continue to be the norm. Public protection and confidence in what we do us fast becoming a distant memory, but we'll have the comfort of knowing share profits will continue to rise with any additional MOJ monies being used to support wider organisational failure's. In essence an absolute shambles.....

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  18. Right. Can we all agree on ONE point? The top priority of these private companies is NOT public protection. It is making profit, simple but not pure. I have felt this very much as a Working Links employee for the last 3 years since they took over. Or rather Aurelius,the real employer, hiding behind Aurelius. That was not mentioned in Panorama was it! That MOJ allowed Aurelius to buy them up because WL were broke! So in my mind the real culprits are MOJ and the Government who should be there to protect the public. About time MOJ took them back into public ownership. Dame Glenys is too polite to say it but Aurelius are a corrupt and shameful company full of greedy bankers who know nothing about offenders or public protection. This is not working and MOJ must now step im fast.

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