Thursday 24 January 2019

A Disconnect at HMPPS

Not a week goes by without further damaging evidence of the utter failure TR has been for the probation service, a former gold standard service before it succumbed to the ministrations of disgraced minister Chris Grayling. 

Much of the negative attention has tended to focus on the privatised CRCs, but the civil service-run and now thoroughy bureaucratised NPS part has no grounds to feel smug. Today sees publication of a joint thematic HMI report into the treatment of sex offenders and I love this bit:-
"At a national level, inspectors found a disconnect between how Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) described its work with sexual offenders and what was happening in practice."
This from the press release:-

Management of sexual offenders misses the mark and must improve

Significant improvements are needed to ensure sexual offenders are managed effectively in prison and in the community, according to a new report out today.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons conducted a joint inspection into the management and supervision of men convicted of sexual offences in England and Wales.

Inspectors found:
  • much of the work delivered with sexual offenders in custody is poor
  • the National Probation Service is not doing any work to address the sexual offending behaviour of four in 10 sexual offenders on probation
  • in one in three inspected cases, not enough was done to protect children
  • assessments of offenders were not completed to a good standard in a third of inspected cases, and were sometimes seen by staff as “a box to tick”.
Chief Inspector of Probation Dame Glenys Stacey said: “Sexual offence convictions are increasingly common, yet despite evidence that we can reduce the risk of these individuals reoffending, little if any meaningful work is being done in prisons. With many probation staff unsure what to do for the best with sexual offenders under probation supervision, the public are not sufficiently protected. This makes no sense.

“There needs to be a renewed national effort to make sure all reasonable steps are taken to protect the public. Prison and probation staff need better training and support, and the opportunity to work with offenders in ways known to reduce the risk of reoffending.”

At a national level, inspectors found a disconnect between how Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) described its work with sexual offenders and what was happening in practice. Inspectors found HMPPS had an incomplete picture of this group of offenders, and had not analysed their collective risks and needs. Inspectors have urged HMPPS to address this gap, as the missing information makes it difficult to manage sexual offenders effectively.

The inspection looked at the work of the National Probation Service (NPS), which supervises 106,819 people. Sexual offenders make up around one in five NPS cases. Inspectors found probation staff did not always have the knowledge, skills and support to work with sexual offenders. Inspectors found some staff using outdated tools and techniques in their work, and concluded electronic training and guidance was “largely ineffective”.

Some NPS staff have reported struggling with stress and anxiety, and have found it difficult to switch off after challenging conversations or viewing distressing content. Our national survey of NPS staff showed 60 per cent of employees were ‘not so’ or ‘not at all’ satisfied with the emotional and professional support they receive at work.

On a more positive note, inspectors praised NPS Victim Liaison Officers and the work they did with victims of sexual offences. These officers often went above and beyond in their work to ensure the needs of victims and children were taken into account.

The report found work in prison with men convicted of sexual offending was “poor” overall, and staff were not trained and supported sufficiently well to deliver a service that protects the public and reduces the risk of harm.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke said: “We found too many cases in prisons where little, if anything, was done to reduce the likelihood of reoffending. This is serving neither the public interest nor that of those prisoners who need help to change their behaviour before being released back into the community.”

Inspectors found difficulties with the movement of sexual offenders in custody and as they prepared for release. Moving sexual offenders around the prison estate hindered the ability of some men to access support to address their offending behaviour. Moving men from prison to the community was also managed badly; planning for release was nowhere near good enough, and “too little, too late”. Inspectors found communication between NPS staff in the community and prison offender management teams was not effective in many cases, resulting in poor risk management and release plans. This was compounded by a lack of suitable accommodation for sexual offenders.

Accredited programmes were under-used in prison and in the community – even though they can help to reduce the likelihood of reoffending. Inspectors found some men on probation had practical barriers to attending programmes, for example because of work commitments or long distances to travel; others were unable to access suitable provision, for example men with learning disabilities. In some cases, individuals did not have a court order to complete an accredited programme but they could have benefitted from the work; probation officers are not using their professional judgment to put men forward. The situation was no better in prison. Inspectors visited five prisons and found two were not running accredited courses at all, despite holding a large number of prisoners convicted of these crimes.

Dame Glenys said: “Our report sets out a series of 15 recommendations for HM Prison and Probation Service, the National Probation Service, and HM Prison Service. We want to see urgent and much-needed progress in the management and supervision of sexual offenders – this work should be given priority in my view.”

--oo00oo--

Yesterday it was the turn of DLNR CRC with yet another mediocre report from Dame Glenys. This is the press release:-

Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland CRC – Organisational strengths, but quality of casework must improve

Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland (DLNR) Community Rehabilitation Company was assessed as requiring improvement, the second lowest rating, in an inspection which identified a mixed performance picture.

It was well led, with a committed leadership and some considerable strengths, including the supervision of unpaid work orders and good quality Through the Gate services on offer to those being released from prison. However, these positive aspects were undermined by some deficiencies in casework, particularly involving domestic abuse.

DLNR is the second CRC owned by the Reducing Reoffending Partnership to be inspected over the past year by HM Inspectorate of Probation. Its sister CRC, Staffordshire and West Midlands, also received a ‘Requires Improvement’ rating in a recent inspection. In individual areas of performance, though, DLNR achieved more Good ratings, and fewer inadequate ratings.

Dame Glenys Stacey, HM Chief Inspector of Probation, said there were some common themes between the two inspections.

“Resources are tight in DLNR. Tough decisions have been made by the organisation, including reductions in posts and premises. To make savings, the CRC opted to use a very basic approach to assessing individuals. As a result, the information that is key to effective sentence plans is much too scant. A few months before our inspection, this practice had been changed but it was too early to see improvement.”

Dame Glenys added: “The poor quality of assessments and reviews contributed to the risk of harm not being managed properly in domestic abuse and child safeguarding cases.” This was concerning, given the recommendations the inspectorate made in the 2018 thematic inspection on domestic abuse. That inspection included a visit to Leicester, part of DLNR.

“Key findings from that inspection have been seen again in DLNR. The CRC needs to act quickly to improve its handling of risk of harm, to protect victims,” Dame Glenys said. The report noted: “We found omissions in planning to address child safeguarding and child protection risks in just under half of the cases inspected. Worryingly, in domestic abuse cases, the level of care taken over plans to keep people safe was wholly inadequate.” There were not enough home visits to assess risk and information from other agencies was sought and included in assessments “far too infrequently.”

On a more positive note, however, Dame Glenys said, “we found unpaid work and Through the Gate services to be good. People are seen quickly after sentence and offered services matched to their needs. We saw real drive from all the Through the Gate staff and a recognition that, although outcomes need to improve, they will go the extra mile to provide a good service in demanding prison settings.”

Overall, Dame Glenys said: “Leaders in the CRC are committed and passionate. They aim to provide services that will improve the opportunities of people under probation supervision to move away from crime and rehabilitate. The organisation understands its challenges well… Its attention on quality assurance and continuous improvement has ensured that contractual performance is good, and now the challenge is to lift quality.”

24 comments:

  1. Moving men from prison to the community was also managed badly.
    Lack of AP places.

    https://www-independent-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sex-offenders-release-hotels-inspection-public-safety-risk-reoffending-prison-probation-a8743321.html?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&amp&usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk%2Fcrime%2Fsex-offenders-release-hotels-inspection-public-safety-risk-reoffending-prison-probation-a8743321.html

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    Replies
    1. Sex offenders being released from prison into budget hotels, watchdog finds

      Sex offenders are being housed in budget hotels after being released from prison in a move that could put the public at risk, a watchdog has warned. HM Inspectorates of Probation and Prisons found that a shortage of approved premises meant “unsuitable accommodation” including homeless hostels were being used.

      They warned that the risk of released sex offenders committing more attacks was also being increased by the failure to use rehabilitation programmes designed to change their behaviour.

      In one case, a probation officer put a man who posed “a high risk of harm” in an unnamed budget hotel because his booked room at a probation hostel was unsuitable for his disability. The sex offender, who had served four years in prison, was moved into another hotel after two weeks and was still there at the time of the inspection.

      Dame Glenys Stacey, HM chief inspector of probation, told The Independent: “We found a very poor picture in prisons overall – prisoners being released with unacceptable accommodation is part and parcel of that.

      “It isn’t acceptable to have individuals put in accommodation that the general public will be using, unaware of the risk. I’m sure that hotel staff are not trained for the arrival of these people, they’re expecting the broad array of the general public and the risk is apparent.”

      Only two cases where budget hotels used were found in a sample of 53 examined for the report, but with more than 13,500 sex offenders in prison and more than 20,000 under National Probation Service (NPS) supervision, national figure could be far larger.

      “Unless they are effectively managed, with those sort of numbers we can expect risks to materialise,” Dame Glenys said.

      “Even if we lock people away, they are released, and so it’s extremely important that the best work is done to protect the public. We need a renewed national effort now, this work has got to be prioritised and we need to get it right from start to finish.”

      The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said hotels were only used temporarily in “exceptional circumstances”, and after a risk assessment by the NPS and the police.

      But while inside prison, risk assessments were not completed to a good standard in a third of inspected cases, and were sometimes seen by staff as “a box to tick”, the report said.

      Prison officers said they were often too busy “firefighting” other problems, amid a national crisis of drugs and violence, to work with sex offenders and often did not have adequate training or support.

      Accredited programmes designed to reduce reoffending were being underused, the report said, with two inspected prisons not running the courses at all.

      Chief inspector of prisons Peter Clarke said: “We found too many cases in prisons where little, if anything, was done to reduce the likelihood of reoffending. This is serving neither the public interest nor that of those prisoners who need help to change their behaviour before being released back into the community.”

      For four in 10 of recently released sexual offenders, the NPS was found to be doing no work to address their behaviour, and in a third of cases not enough was being done to protect children.

      Inspectors used their powers to demand immediate action on a man convicted of violence, sexual assault and drug possession with intent to supply after finding he was in contact with unprotected children.

      Around 14 per cent of sexual offenders commit another crime, of any kind, within a year of being released according to government figures.

      Separate research has the sexual reoffending rate at 2.2 per cent within two years of release or conviction.

      At a national level, inspectors warned of a disconnect between the prison and probation service’s vision of its work with sex offenders and the reality.

      They said the government had an “incomplete picture” of the changing mix of sex offenders, as the number of convicted groomers, historic child abusers and gang members rises.

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    2. The inspectorates made 15 recommendations to the MoJ, which said it would produce an action plan and is increasing probation hostel provision.

      “When sex offenders are released, they are closely monitored by police and probation and subject to strict licence conditions – and liable to be returned to custody for breaching them,” prisons and probation minister Rory Stewart said.

      “However, the inspectors raise very serious concerns – we will get to the bottom of the problems this report raises and tackle them one by one.”

      He said a new director general for probation was developing a dedicated approach to sex offenders, amid investment for training and the deployment of specialist probation officers.

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    3. We had all the right balance pre tr and needed some resources. Guess what grayling squandered billions and put work back a decade and now where are scratching heads .

      Delete
  2. Full sex offender supervision report available here

    https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/01/Management-and-Supervision-of-men-convicted-of-sexual-offences-2.pdf

    Full DLNR inspection report here

    https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/01/DLNR-CRC.pdf


    Also, SWM crc inspection:

    https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/inspections/staffswestmidscrc/

    Midlands NPS:

    https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/inspections/midlandsnps/

    TV crc:

    https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/inspections/thamesvalleycrc/

    Northumbria crc:

    https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/inspections/northumbriacrc/

    And SWCentral NPS:

    https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/inspections/southwestsouthcentralnps/

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  3. Chief Inspector of Probation Dame Glenys Stacey on Radio 4's Today talking about our report 'Management and supervision of men convicted of sexual offences'. Interview starts at 2:10:10:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00025bt

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  4. Just think how many times fresh assessments are needed due to the lack of continuity of probation worker contact.

    What a costly waste of time and energy and a bar to practitioners expanding their personal experience and knowledge.

    However, many of those criticisms could have been written back to 1967 when probation workers took on responsibility for work with all prisoners.

    Things went up a level with the hastily introduced and massively under resourced sex offenders registration act in 1997 which was a last ditch attempt of John Majors Government to keep Tony Blair's Official Opposition Party from winning a general election.

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    Replies
    1. CORRECTION *Sex Offenders Act 1997.

      https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/51/contents

      Delete
  5. From Independent piece above:

    "Inspectors used their powers to demand immediate action"

    So La Dame DOES have teeth... seems like she rarely bothers to put them in though. Has anyone checked the glass on her bedside cabinet lately? Try Dentafix, Glenys.

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  6. She was far too busy patting management / " leaders " on the back

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  7. Isn't it the truth that there's a disconnect between rethoric and reality in every area under our current government?
    What they say happens in the CJS or NHS or welfare or transport is a million miles away from what actually happens at the coalface.

    Just for personal indulgence and off topic, but I love the fact that someone is paying such close attention to Graylings expenses.

    https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/01/why-is-chris-grayling-spending-so-much-money-on-telephone-bills/

    'Getafix

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    1. He'll be on the blower to his Russian stockbroker ensuring his secret stash of backhanders, bribes & any other filthy lucre is well & truly hidden somewhere safe as we inexorably head towards a 'No Deal' exit from the EU.

      Delete
  8. BBC NEWS.

    A police IT system is "unfit for purpose" and causing some criminals to escape justice, officers have told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

    Nine forces in England and Wales use Athena, which promised to speed up the detection of crimes.

    But officers say it regularly crashes and is overly complicated, meaning some cases are not built in time or dropped.

    Developers Northgate Public Services apologised for problems "in small areas", which it says it is fixing.

    A joint response from the nine police forces said Athena - which has cost £35m over the past 10 years - had been "resilient and stable, although no system is perfect".

    The system was introduced following a government directive for forces to share intelligence after the Soham murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, in 2002.

    Officers say the intelligence-sharing function works well but problems arise when they use the system to build cases for the Crown Prosecution Service.

    The delays it causes means officers can struggle to get the information together in time to charge suspects or the cases are not up to a high-enough standard and are dropped.

    Serving officers at Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex told the programme the process could now take up to twice as long.

    We have not named the officers because they could face disciplinary action for speaking out. Their comments included:

    "The first two weeks it was brought in were the worst two weeks of my entire career. It's overly bureaucratic. It doesn't understand the police investigative process at all. From day one, it malfunctioned. Four years on, it is still malfunctioning"
    "It often requires information that is totally irrelevant and if you miss just one data entry point (like whether a solicitor is male or female), I have to reject the whole case and send it back to the officer"
    "Even for a simple shoplift, I probably have to press about 50 buttons, with a 30-second minimum loading time between each task"
    "There have been incidents where charges have been dropped because of the inadequacies of the system. There have been cases of assaults, albeit fairly minor assaults, but these are still people who should be facing criminal charges"
    "It slows the whole criminal justice system down. At the moment, it is not fit for purpose. This is the most challenging time I have come across. We're at breaking point already. This has pushed some officers over the edge"
    "When you've got detainees in a custody block who've got various illnesses and ailments, medical conditions that are all recorded on there and they need medication at certain times - it became very dangerous because we were unable to access the records"
    The nine forces - which also include those in Cambridgeshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Warwickshire and West Mercia - said in a joint statement that they had been working with the supplier to identify and correct issues as they arose.

    "Over the 12 months up to November 2018, there have only been 72 hours of total downtime and there are detailed plans in place of how to manage business when this occurs."

    Northgate Public Services, which created Athena, said 40,000 officers accessed the system and benefited from improved criminal intelligence.

    But it said it was working to make improvements to the "complex system".

    "We recognise there are a small number of areas of the solution where improvements can be made and we apologise for any difficulties this has caused.

    "We are working hard with the customer and other parties to make these improvements as a priority."

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  9. Just seen this. Seems relevent to today's topic. But with IT up the wall, shortages of staff, high caseloads and many other problems, I feel sorry for this person, but not sure how others may react.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-46989024

    'Getafix

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    1. Not enough information to judge - but probation workers are very vulnerable being allocated responsibility to supervise dangerous people when their resources are often inadequate.

      I recall one or two people who I had concerns about who one wondered if more could have been done - the biggest challenge was usually insufficient time and unavailable agencies to share the responsibility though things improved after MAPPA came in at the end of my career when one did not feel so exposed as long as the dangers had been identidied in advance.

      Delete
    2. A probation worker has been sacked for gross misconduct after a convicted sex offender raped and murdered a woman, the BBC has been told.

      Leroy Campbell, 57, raped and strangled Lisa Skidmore, attempted to murder her elderly mother and then set fire to a property in Wolverhampton in 2016.

      It is understood another probation worker involved with Campbell has been demoted to an administrative role. Both were suspended in September after a damning watchdog review.

      The review into Ms Skidmore's murder found the probation service should have acted to protect the public from Campbell, who was released from prison four months before the attack and had told probation workers he was thinking of raping again.

      He killed Ms Skidmore just weeks after those conversations, the review found. Between that review and December, a supervisor who worked with Campbell was sacked for gross misconduct and a probation officer found guilty of serious misconduct was demoted to an administrative role.

      A report published on Thursday found more needs to be done to protect the public from sex offenders. Inspectors for the prison and probation services found the public were not sufficiently protected and much of the work in custody to address sexual reoffending was said to be "poor".

      Ms Skidmore's sister Alison told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his lack of rehabilitation was "unbelievable".

      "When Mr Campbell was released from prison he only had a strict curfew for a week," she said.

      "Really, that curfew just for a week was unbelievable, and then he was reduced down to nothing. Any rehabilitation he should have had, he never had in prison. The government aren't supporting the criminals out in the community at all because they don't have the resources."

      The government has promised to tackle the "very serious" concerns raised in the report.

      Delete
    3. What's the difference between a probation worker and a probation?
      It's uncomfortable, but there is a difference.

      Delete
  10. Going off at a tangent, I heard a tale today which is utterly scurrilous and clearly has no grounding in truth.
    A CEO went to a team meeting ( see, it already sounds far fetched) and began to grill staff as to why they hadn’t applied for jobs ina prison. ( There has been a murder in one of her majesties establishments in the same region this week by the way).
    The CEO, not liking the response they were getting went round the room pointing at people individually with a pen and asked them to explain themselves!
    The said leader (!) is reputedly a diversity devotee and a CBE. No conflict of ideologies there then, and clearly believes they live in the days of the empire.
    It couldn’t be true, it’s too outlandish.

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  11. A reminder of one past IT mess up that cost £millions

    https://www.computerweekly.com/blog/Public-Sector-IT/What-went-wrong-with-234m-C-Nomis-IT-project




    The reminder came from here on Twitter

    https://twitter.com/John_Podmore/status/1088548471647469568

    AND before that there was CRAMS and I think maybe at least one other.

    Crams prompted comment from the National Audit Office

    https://www.nao.org.uk/press-release/the-implementation-of-the-national-probation-service-information-systems-strategy-2/

    They just could not get rid of CRAMS

    https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240057334/Probation-Service-may-be-forced-to-extend-use-of-troubled-system


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    1. Probis. Oh my lord the money that has been squandered. Good old private eye covered it at the time.

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    2. I believe there are off-the-shelf customer contact database things that would enable us to keep a track, keep a record (and then get on with the WORK)

      Delete
  12. Not our job to house them. The PO who allowed him to live in a budget hotel almost certainly balanced the risk against him being on the street and likely this would have been much less safe. Also. Would have almost certainly had SPO approval. Probably on account of housing not beong able to house him because of the strict policies laid down by councils. As a consequence of? You guessed it. Tory cuts. Or. As I have seen with my own eyes. Council housong workers not wanting to help "the dirty bastards." Common theme amongst organisations. Raising risk of course.

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  13. Plus. Not enough AP places which tbf Dame Glenys acknowledged on the Tiday Prog.

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  14. There were arguements about wasted money on computer schemes in Probation back to 1995 - at least - with this from the Probation Journal that June, in a bitter article by a retiring staff member.

    https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/026455059504200214

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