Friday 17 August 2018

Cultural Reflections 2

I notice that in parallel with yesterday's discussion there was some similar introspection over on Facebook:-  

Someone close to me was explaining about a friend who had got into trouble and was sent to prison. How was her Probation Officer I asked? She said ‘the lady at Court was nice’ and then ‘her Probation Officer is about 21 and awful’. So - stereotypes of any type are odious. This is not about age per se, this is not about anyone individually, but I think this reflects a new cultural attitude, a pride (as in lack of humility), a lack of awareness of privilege, a lack of curiosity, a lack of wonder about people. There are too many frankly unkind and slap dash POs coming through. There is a culture that rewards this. Someone said to me once (probably when I was young and they could see a certain arrogance in me) - ‘you have to earn the right to speak into someone’s life’. It’s true, you do. If you don’t bother with this, you become ‘awful’ - which not a good look.

Nicely said. ‘‘Twas ever thus.


Oh you mean that The Probation Service does NOT reflect our communities and is filled with university educated and upwardly mobile, young, white females? Surely not?

Perhaps this is a manifestation of the culture of probation practice. However, I know some young POs who are considerate and caring and go above and beyond in their work with those serving sentences. Maybe she was unlucky as there are always bad apples!

Is this about making younger or inexperienced officers feel bad? There are POs of all ages and experience who are not very good at their jobs. I know a huge raft of younger officers who are doing an incredible job in challenging circumstances. Also some of our clients often take a dislike to their officer because they are actually doing a good job! Sometimes it can take weeks or months of mutual relationship building to reach a good understanding of the purpose of the whole thing, and having to carry out tasks such as enforcement can impact on this, but it doesn't always mean that the person is doing a bad job.

No I was at pains to say it’s not about age it’s about the relationship between professional experience/culture of the organisation. And the relationship between maturity and professionalism. I want to know if something has changed in the organisation as many have observed it - I’m not the only one who sees it. But how to go beyond sense and into evidence I don’t know. User voice is no more in London.

I was a PO for over 10 years. Temping for the last 4 years. I had my temp contract terminated because an offender I had inherited from a female PO put in an official complaint about me for being intimidating and the SPO terminated my contract without an investigation! The offender in question is a sex offender who was annoyed at me because I didn't change his appointment because he wanted to go on a date! I had already changed his appointment due to his employment. He said his previous PO would have allowed him to go on his date and I was being unreasonable. He missed his appointment so I sent him a warning letter. He showed up to his next appointment and then refused to engage in the supervision session, didn't wanna take his sun glasses off, refused to answer any questions. He was on licence and was refusing to engage in the ARMS assessment. I reminded him of his licence conditions and the part about recall. Then he claimed I was intimidating him had upset him so much he was going to go home and get drunk and do drugs. Btw, I was his first male officer! The SPO said that I should have been more understanding. Understanding of what? I reminded her of his licence conditions and the possibility of an SFO because no ARMS had been done before and the previous PO had never enforced any missed appointments or enforced his licence.

I had only been 21 for 2 months when I started in the Probation service in 2014, and I found it tough with some older male service users, as they took one look at me and judged my ability and knowledge as they had children older than me. Now I’m 25 and I still regularly get asked how old I am, which is very frustrating when you are trying to be taken seriously. However, sometimes it is professionals in Probation and other services that seem to judge my ability more than the offenders. This job has taught me not to judge a book by its cover, and I would hope that my colleagues do not judge me by my age, but by my practice.

Absolutely it’s all about the practice and that is what I care about. I really didn’t mean to offend and just want to encourage all new POs who care and are doing a great job. I remember well being a new trainee and it was very stressful and very rewarding, it’s an extraordinary job.

No offence taken, just wanted to highlight how this job can be extra tough on young PO’s! 

Very very true!

I think the process of how we no longer look for the welfare aspects reflects how people are trained. I don’t think age comes into it if you really do care and want to make a difference. I think as individuals our lives shape us and as such some youngsters coming through have some real life experiences. So your right age is not the factor it’s about the care of what happens inside and outside of probation. If this could be on the training agenda then I think we’d have some pretty good officers to keep the service going forward.

Just spoken to a new PQIP recruit who explained the new NPS selection process and he said it’s resulted in a far more diverse intake. Great! But I still don’t see the absolute need for a degree.

I was having a discussion about this very thing this week. Sadly, I think with the split, many amazing experienced officers have gone and have been replaced with new who can then be moulded into the new way of working, hitting targets, paperwork takes priority, 10 minutes per service user, call centres and not understanding the relationship between NPS and CRC or between the service users across the board. You can quite easily have a person on NPS now and never know that their cousin, brother in-law and partner may all be on CRC. I think it's a sad reflection of how the Government have broken this amazing service.

Great discussion. I agree that there are good and bad officers of all ages. I think that the managers are an important part of the Equation.

A manager who does not meet probationers face to face tends to see issues in terms of enforcement and this rubs off on younger officers. Also we have some managers who appear to have put themselves up for the SPO role because they do not want to work with our client group. It worries me that some senior staff lose sight of the fact that a good quality relationship with a probationer is the most effective tool we have!

21 comments:

  1. Guardian today:-

    Prisoners are to face a fresh crackdown on drugs, violence and smuggled mobile phones as part of a £10m drive to turn around 10 of the worst-performing jails in England.

    Rory Stewart, prisons minister, has announced a package of measures designed to lift standards at the 10 jails, which have “acute” problems, saying the project will pave the way for a “new ethos” across the estate in England and Wales.

    About £6m has been earmarked to bolster physical security with drug-detection dogs, body-scanners and improved perimeter defences, while £3m has been set aside to improve the fabric of the jails such as mending broken windows.

    The third strand of the drive will see £1m spent on bespoke training programmes to help staff deal with violent and disruptive behaviour.

    Stewart said: “With more than 20,000 prison officers, 84,000 prisoners and over 100 prisons, it is vital we set challenging standards so prisons are places where offenders can turn their lives around.

    “We need to make these prisons calmer, more orderly places and in the end that comes down to challenging and managing prisoners consistently, firmly and fairly.”

    The 10 prisons selected for the programme are Hull, Humber, Leeds, Lindholme, Moorland, Wealstun, Nottingham, Ranby, Isis and Wormwood Scrubs.

    The Ministry of Justice said these jails had struggled with problems such as high drug use, violence and building issues.

    Officials said the scheme would be up and running in all 10 prisons by the end of the year, with “tangible results” within 12 months.

    It is the latest in a string of steps aimed at tackling the safety crisis that has gripped the prisons system in recent years.

    Figures published last month showed self-harm incidents and assaults in jails were at record levels, while finds of drugs and mobile phones increased by 23% and 15% respectively in the year to March.

    Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “The governors of the 10 prisons will be pleased to have a little more money, wherever it comes from.”

    He said Stewart “must concentrate on the job only he can do – matching the demands on the system to the resource parliament is prepared to make available for it”.

    “It was a catastrophic failure to provide that balance which caused the collapse of prison safety after 2012 – trying to tell governors how to run prisons is not going to put it right,” Dawson added.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A 'crackdown' dosen't solve the prison problem. A 'crackdown' for example won't solve the high number of people being sent to prison with mental health problems. AA'crackdown' won't solve being released homeless or solve addiction issues.
      The prison crisis starts in the wider society and needs to be seen in the whole. Fix society and you fix the prison crisis.
      Todays Independent.

      https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homeless-chocolate-prison-help-wayne-dillon-wigan-a8494606.html

      '

      Delete
  2. Rory Steward announces that if he can't reduce the drugs and violence in prisons within a year he'll resign.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45214414

    'Getafix

    ReplyDelete
  3. NPS staff are being asked to prove that they are qualified to be a PO. WTF?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It’s a joke! In my office most of us don’t have a clue where our certificates are another reason to get rid of us along with visor vetting !

      Delete
    2. Is this a bad time to ask if you can evidence your continued professional development?

      Delete
    3. *smiles through gritted teeth*

      Delete
  4. Fascinating. So whilst this blog - & others - debate, mourn or otherwise contemplate values, professionalism & the efficacy of nurturing humanity, the poverty-stricken MoJ/HMPPS launch a £multimillion campaign based upon control, constrain, eradicate.

    Prisons Minister (for Probation is no more) then says "if I can't crush the life out of it in 12 months, its someone else's turn." Rory, love, give up now. It won't work, it'll be the catalyst for further & even greater catastrophe, you'll have blood on your hands, it'll all end in tears for some poor bastard & you'll be summarily elevated to 'another place'.

    This kick-it-into-shape approach indicates what chances there are of any MoJ/HMPPS body taking heed of the faux consultation around TR2 - NIL.

    The dumb arrogant motherfuckers just refuse to listen & will never, ever learn.

    They don't give a crap if someone who loses their father/ brother/ sister/ mother/ son/ daughter /partner. And some poor member/s of staff will be nailed to the wall because they didn't tick Box A or B.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, 'fascinating'. No one excels like probation in contemplating its own navel – as long as it doesn't involve doing something collectively. Will the last one switch off the lights when there is no one else to talk to.

      Delete
  5. Still awake & raging about a recent unexpected encounter in a supermarket with an ex-colleague who was a manager, TR apologist & facilitator. Their enthusiastic, revisionist & unsolicited account of how they "tried to fight the split" & how they "tried to protect my staff" was stomach-churning. The idiot doth protest too much. I've still got copies of their emails directing everyone to "embrace change", telling us "it is what it is", that "it brings new & exciting opportunities for everyone" & to "get with the programme to make a difference".

    That probably means I'm off to the Tower of London - or Belmarsh at least - for data protection crimes, while the human chameleon carries on telling & retelling lies of epic proportions with impunity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And yes, I can hear the distant sound of singing - "Let ItGo"

      Delete
  6. So Napo have registered a dispute on Probation vetting staff. Good!

    ReplyDelete
  7. There's supposedly a consultation about probation in progress. However, in the mean time all NPS staff are to undertake VISOR vetting, and now also evidence they are qualified.
    These are obstacles that the MoJ are fully aware can cause difficulties for some staff. They're also obstacles that are totally unnecessary unless they already have an agenda.
    What might that agenda be?
    Push people from NPS to CRCs? Shrink the NPS? Restructure the NPS into different divisions?
    I don't know, but I just can't understand the sudden need for Visor vetting and evidence of qualification if there isn't already some agenda to be pushed.

    'Getafix

    ReplyDelete
  8. "Push people from NPS to CRCs? Shrink the NPS? Restructure the NPS into different divisions?"
    Think you may have something there Getafix.
    All vetted PO's working in HMP's, all community work regardless of risk transferred to CRC's.
    There has to be an agenda, there always is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i think it was always the intention for probation as a whole to be sold to the private sector.

      Delete
    2. yes once they had a foot in the door the companies and the government could pretend that they could do it they would transfer the rest apart from courts work. then that would be scaled back automated and put online.

      Delete
  9. I hear there was a service design workshop last week and 4 staff events on the 29,30,31 August and 10 September so all will be clear soon

    ReplyDelete
  10. If they're pushing all the community work to CRC's, why would we need vetting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Because the NPS becomes the administrative arm of probation services.
      They do the risk assessments, OASyS,, recalls, MAPPAs, etc etc from some mysterious office, while CRCs do the supervision and field work.
      Thats why NPS need vetting and evidence of qualification.

      Delete
  11. Just PO's I assume then? What about
    PSO 's/VLO' S?

    ReplyDelete
  12. They may be looking to other parts of the world. For example the Canadian system works that anyone sentenced to 2 years or less including all Probation orders etc ends up in the provincial system ( in this case CRCS) where as anyone sentenced to above this is in the federal parole system in this case NPS) . Due to the long periods on remand the two year sentence is often equivalent to 4 years plus so the cut off point in the UK could be anyone sentenced to under 4 years goes to the CRC .

    ReplyDelete