What Future for Probation? 2

Yesterday's rousing plea from Frances Crook has nicely kicked off a bit of a debate, but with the sham probation consultation cleverly running during a period when many colleagues, especially those with children, are focused on holidays, returns to school, university etc, I suspect numerous pleas for ideas and views are going unheeded. Here's one from the Probation Institute:- 

Dear readers

The Probation Institute Fellows and Directors met on 14th August to consider the consultation "Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence".

Our response will be developed in full in the coming weeks, it will address the majority of the questions, focussing on some particularly key issues which, in headline terms will include 

• An 8 week timescale set away in mid summer is too short for this consultation
• The review must clearly state the purpose and the goals of changes needed before determining more new structures
• Re-integration of offender management should be applied across England and Wales
• We believe the proposal for a Professional Register should be more ambitious, wider in scope and driven by professional development for all practitioners as well as the conduct issues
• The challenge of re-thinking post release supervision for under 12 month sentences should be a consultation in its own right and is critically important
• A better balance between speed and time for a thorough assessment is needed in pre sentence reports

We are developing our thinking about performance/payment measures and about "intelligent commissioning". Our response will also include our views on professional training and the need for clear definition of roles. We are concerned that the consultation could destabilise probation training.

We would like to receive views of members on the consultation as early as possible to help us to develop our response. Please send us your views.

Helen Schofield
Acting Chief Executive

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Thanks to the reader for forwarding this from their Napo branch regarding rather short notice of the event yesterday at HMP Askham Grange when Sonia Crozier and Ian Poree were due to put in an appearance. Can anyone who attended please tell us what transpired?  

Have your say - Strengthening Probation Building Confidence

Probation – What now?

Members will be acutely aware of the impact Transforming Rehabilitation had on both the service we provide and staff well-being. As we move towards what effectively amounts to TR Mark 2 it is imperative that members have their say on how to repair that damage and strengthen probation services.

Napo believes that Probation has no place in the private sector and should be brought back under public ownership. You will have your own views on what is required. Don’t miss this very important opportunity to have your say. You can register for this event or any others on the list here https://intranet.noms.gsi.gov.uk/news-and-updates/notices/probation-changes-invitation-to-staff-engagement-events

For members in the CRC please pass your comments and suggestions to your LDU colleagues who may be attending the event.

You can also attend in your own time.

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On the subject of Police and Crime Commissioners, I'll end with this reminder from the archive dated 5th February 2016:-

Political Corruption

According to the latest edition of Private Eye, SEETEC is the latest of the probation privateers to be in special measures for failing an audit, but Home Secretary Theresa May has a cunning plan for probation - give it to PCC's to sort out.

Now those with long memories will recall that Police and Crime Commissioners was a concept floated a long time ago by the right-wing think tank Policy Exchange to replace Police Authorities. It was an idea that had no public support and their election three years ago recorded the lowest ever turnout with hundreds of thousands of spoilt ballot papers, a fact that the government and Theresa May has conveniently swept under the carpet. This comment from yesterday summed it up nicely I thought:-

Democracy all round, then, as probation services and the modern version of borstal schools are handed on a plate to politically sponsored individuals who, at best, were shoe-horned into something like £65,000 a year PCC roles on the back of 30% of the votes from an average 15% turnout by the electorate. I'm not a statistician, but doesn't that effectively mean these quango's are being run by one person on the basis of getting the nod from just 5% of the electorate?

Like much of government policy nowadays, it was cooked up on the back of several fag packets and during her speech yesterday, even she admitted that at one point she felt it had all been a ghastly mistake. But only three PCCs have so far significantly disgraced themselves, none of them Tories, so relief all round and in fact completely unbeknown to the public, the decision has been made to give these barely-elected officials even more power over the Fire Service.

In a very sneaky move last month, departmental responsibility for the Fire Service moved quietly from the Department for Communities and Local Government, back to the Home Office in readiness for what will effectively become a merger of police and fire service functions under the joint control of PCCs. But clearly Theresa May feels suitably emboldened in her empire-building to now actively consider adding youth justice, probation and education to her portfolio:-

"But in the future, I would like to see the PCC role expanded even further still. Together with the Justice Secretary, Michael Gove, I have been exploring what role PCCs could play in the wider criminal justice system. This is something that I have long believed in and which a number of PCCs have shown interest in. As they say, there is a reason that we included the words “and crime” in PCC’s titles.

So after the May elections, the Government will set out further proposals for police and crime commissioners. Because as a number of PCCs have argued, youth justice, probation and court services can have a significant impact on crime in their areas and there are real efficiencies to be had from better integration and information sharing. We have yet to decide the full extent of these proposals and the form they will take, but I am clear that there is significant opportunity here for PCCs to lead the same type of reform they have delivered in emergency services in the wider criminal justice system. 

And there are other opportunities too. As Adam Simmonds has argued, I believe the next set of PCCs should bring together the two great reforms of the last Parliament – police reform and school reform – to work with and possibly set up alternative provision free schools to support troubled children and prevent them from falling into a life of crime.
And alongside the expansion of PCC responsibilities, the development of powerful directly elected mayors provides a fantastic opportunity, where there is local agreement and boundaries make sense, to bring together policing with local transport, infrastructure, housing and social care services under a single directly elected mayor. I know many PCCs have engaged with local proposals, and I would encourage them to continue to do so - because I am clear that PCCs’ consent is a prerequisite for the inclusion of policing in any mayoral deal."

Now there's another funny thing - mention of 'Elected Mayor's'. I seem to remember the public were not too keen on them either. When John Prescott floated the idea years ago up in Durham and the North East, it was roundly rejected in a referendum and similarly where I live, electors comprehensively gave it the thumbs down. So how is it we're getting one imposed on us by George Osborne and Central Government anyway?

So lets get this right. The public didn't want PCCs, didn't turn out to vote for them and many that did, spoilt their ballot papers. The public don't know who they are, what they do or who is standing for election because candidates do not qualify for a free mailout. During the election for PCCs there will be no mention of the proposed new powers, that will only be decided after they are get elected.

What was the title of Theresa May's speech? Why, 'Putting People in Charge' of course! Oh how the English language has been utterly corrupted by politicians.