This already feels like a very different Napo AGM. For a start we're not near the sea but instead a very green university campus at least a bus or tram ride away from the usual urban delights and watering holes thirsty regular attenders have come to expect. It will be interesting to see what the feedback is.
Happily, following last year's decision to amend the quoracy rules to a mere 150, there was no tedious and anxious wait before business could start and despite some fears, the hall looked comfortably-filled from the start. This is also a 'short-format' 2 day affair, borne of economic necessity and despite the prospect of a free glass or wine at the General Secretary's party, not everyone managed to stay the course until 7pm.
Without doubt the most sobering session of the day was from the treasurer and the facts are truly staggering. The union haemorrhaged 800 members in 2016 thanks to a combination of factors including the end of 'check-off' and redundancies, but also in my view the effect of widespread disillusionment with what many felt was a ham-fisted response to TR, something the top table still finds difficult to acknowledge.
Despite some attempts to reduce expenditure, the dramatic reduction in subscription income netted an annual deficit of an eye-watering £227,000, a situation that is clearly unsustainable and I can well understand why the current financial officer is keen to hand the baton over. Fortunately the sale of Chivalry Road brought in £2.1 million, but it's painfully obvious that the union only has a limited amount of time to find a solution to its economic situation, or it's history. And if the money is not used to purchase property within 3 years, HMRC rules will lead to a Capital Gains Tax bill of £300,000.
As always, some interesting speakers helped the day along and a vast amount of pretty uncontentious motions were passed 'nem con'. Fred Ponsonby, a labour peer and magistrate is clearly a 'good friend' of probation in the Upper House and shared some fascinating insights into the knotty problems faced by the MoJ with its determination to rollout online justice.
He cited the example of a person pleading guilty online to use of a TV without a licence and having a fine imposed. How exactly was the need for justice to be delivered publicly to be satisfied, but avoid the disproportionate effect of the result remaining online potentially forever? Possibly a special computer would be located in a distant courtroom but only having the results publicly accessible for a few hours before they disappear into the ether?
One of the stars of the day was undoubtedly a passionate contribution by a young woman and former prisoner regarding her painful journey through the criminal justice system. It was highly critical of probation and as such made compelling, if uneasy listening. I found the testimony raised many questions in my mind, subsequently confirmed by several conversations with seasoned practitioners, which I have to say reassures me that despite everything, the ethos and particular skills necessary for 'probation' are still very much alive.
And on that note, the Director of Probation at the NPS Sonia Crozier, as a former PO, in my view still manages to give some confidence that the spirit and ethos of 'probation' has a presence in the upper echelons of the MoJ. However, in answer to a spirited challenge from the floor as to the continual erosion of 'professional judgement', her response to being "willing to listen" did sound a tad feeble, but at least she's still there and we can only hope the tide will turn some day soon.
Which brings us on to the day being suitably rounded-off on an upbeat speech from the labour Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon. He said all the right things and as a consequence got some regular raptuous applause. But it's to be hoped that he really does have both a plan and the commitment of his colleagues to bringing probation back together under public control because I'm increasingly of the view that Labour could be in power sooner rather than later. I can see the Tories giving up with stalled Brexit negotiations and in effect deciding a period in opposition would allow time to regroup, refocus and let a Labour government get the flack from things going wrong Europe-wise and economy-wise.
Thanks Jim, for the update and pleased to hear you are enjoying the venue, all-be-it without the usual diversions of slot machines and pub crawls! Just winding you up there! I hope you are right in your final prediction, I really do! I have been feeling a keen loss of my profession recently..it feels like a bereavement when you started out as a PO with Social Work qualification and values. However I gain strength by knowing that this has always been the correct qualification for our job, as it was with 'probation option' attached.I was so fortunate to have that level of training and variety of placements. I noted the earlier comments about incoming staf and their poor level of training etc. I must say from own stance there are some brilliant newly qualified PO's that I have encountered and some of them retain integrity, social conscience and zeal but a few have already moved on and going over to other professions as they feel their is not future and no professional status! This is so sad. Am hearing of admin being rushed into PSO posts with no training. Whilst admin staff have always traditionally had a route to advancement and move into either management or PO/ PSO role this was generally a lengthy process, with expectation of supervision and further training. Therefor I do find this very worrying for everyone, the staff and service users. We can pretend we are doing a good job tapping data into the computer, but that is all it is..pretence! Like the corrupt DSS assessor that does the benefits assessment before they have even met the service user!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, have spotted my typo errors! Lol!
DeleteThe recent prison inspector report focused much on the the delapitated conditions prisoners are being forced to live in.
ReplyDeleteRichard Burgon has rightly raised the issue that prison maintenance has been outsourced in lucrative contracts to Carillion and Geo Amey.
Again government outsourcing and private companies are failing to deliver within the criminal justice system, and the cost of that failing is significant in financial terms to the tax payer, and enormous in human costs to those living and working within the prison system.
https://m-huffpost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/m.huffpost.com/uk/entry/uk_59df7992e4b0eb18af06ad67/amp?usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D
As an aside, the galleries of justice is a good vist in Nottingham, but the caves located beneath the Broadmarsh shopping centre should not be missed if time allows.
'Getafix
Labour Aims To End Tory Privatisation Of Prison Maintenance After Damning Report Exposes Squalid Cells
DeleteCockroaches, filthy toilets, litter-strewn cells and electric wires hanging above shower cubicles - prisoners are living in “utterly appalling” squalor in UK jails. That is the conclusion of a damning report from Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons, as he warned the violence plaguing UK jails will not end while inmates are held in such poor conditions.
Images from Clarke’s damning report, released his week, show exposed broken windows, poor ventilation, graffiti, damp, exposed wiring and vermin in the UK prison estate. One depicted a handprint of blood left on the wall of a cell filled with smashed-up furniture.
Now, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon has told HuffPost UK he will launch a review of private sector contracts for jail maintenance with a view to bringing them back in-house. He said said British prisons were “approaching an emergency situation”, adding: “The outsourcing of facilities management, maintenance and repairs has had a predictable impact on services.
"When there are reports of prisoners remarking it is easier to get drugs than clothing, or when prisoners go for long periods without properly functioning showers, it does nothing to build institutional trust.”
He called for ministers to listen to the prison officers facing the “explosion” of violence on the frontline.
The private sector contracts for prison maintenance in England and Wales, worth around £500m, have so far failed to deliver the £115m savings promised. The Ministry of Justice entered into the five-year deals with Carillion and Geo Amey in 2014.
The prisons watchdog sounded the alarm on the contracts in August, with checks on fire equipment, CCTV and tests for legionella not being carried out while broken showers left unrepaired for months.
Prisoners have been using clothes to patch up broken windows, while rat infestations have been discovered in some jails.
Burgon said: “In addition to ruling out any more private sector prisons, Labour will undertake a review, working with governors and others, to identify those private service contracts that can be brought back in-house over time that would both save the state money and at the same time improve prison conditions.”
How long before there is a disaster and a prison catches fire? This is a major disaster waiting to happen, with prisoners locked in squalid cells and hardly any staff to keep tabs on the situation. If fire breaks out in one of these hell holes such as Cardiff, Liverpool or Bristol prisons how will people escape? These maintenance companies are raking in the profits and putting lives at risk. Meanwhile there are empty government buildings that are going unused because private companies move staff to cheaper unfit for purpose premises to save money. When prisoners released they face further indignity of being seen by a harassed PO in a booth in some crummy old place without any privacy! The whole thing is outrageous and this is why Panorama have been threatened with legal action if they put their expose out on Monday. For the public good I hope they show it anyway!
ReplyDeleteBob Neil saying he wants to see "Robust alternatives to custody" made me want to scream with frustration. Thirty-odd years of hearing this but being shafted by successive governments. Pah! Great that he said it, great that he means it, and even better his invitation to contribute to the Justice Select Committee Review, and his promise to champion staff who speak out when they see wrongs. I hope he means both
ReplyDeleteGreat. I would love to see robust alternatives to custody, such as more approved premises that CRC can use that are staffed by qualified staff and 24hr cover. Sadly even if current Gov. Put something like this in place it would likely be run by G4S or some other scum company and would only exiat to fleece the public of hard earned cash rather than help to protect them! I would love to see a residential alternative for DV offenders for example, where they can engage in therapy and BBR programme and re-learn what a healthy relationship. I'm sure we could all come up with some brilliant ideas but do they ever listen to us? No, another knee jerk reaction from a jerk of a minister or civil servant and off we go again.
ReplyDelete