Pick of the Week 56

The biggest reason for the lack of diverse representation is the change to the qualifying route under PQiP. Recruitment is organised nationally, most of those who get on PQiP have criminology and/or psychology degrees courses which attract a disproportionate number of white young females as opposed to other groups. We need a new training route which can be accessed by other staff already working in probation (PSOs, admin) - it has become incredibly hard for existing staff to get on the training, yet we have more diverse staff especially at lower grades already in the service with valuable experience. 

Targeted recruitment campaigns, advertise in publications and websites which attract male, black and disabled viewers, outreach activity, have a presence at community events,  look at how other organisations improved diversity and follow similar strategies. All of these options are possible (even under civil service control) but we really need to address this imbalance. I think it is actually a form of indirect discrimination not to have a training route which recognises educational disadvantage faced by black people, the barriers to getting a degree are much greater if you are black or poor. We can be more representative of the communities we serve but it takes recognition and analysis of the problem first, then a strategy to address it.

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JB nails it viz-'probation is dead' with that simple exchange. NPS & those who perpetuate it are completely happy with the current situation, albeit they add the odd caveat here & there, e.g. "I haven’t got the figures to hand but we have got a way to go." But then they say "We’ve been working on it for as long as I’ve being involved with trainees in 2005."

Perhaps the 'awkward question' should be... Q: So you clearly haven't got it right yet, even though you've been involved in that aspect for 15 years? So why the fuck are you still in the job? Either someone should have booted you out or you should have walked years ago. Perhaps YOU are the problem?

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I'm no fan of NPS senior management but even I think you're all being unreasonable here. AC acknowledged that a lack of gender diversity was an issue and asked for suggestions on how that could be tackled. JB mentioned things like research, innovation, salary erosion, etc, which whilst all important issues, don't seem to be directly linked to a lack of gender diversity. Unless you're all suggesting that women are attracted to professions where research isn't carried out, where there is little innovations and where salaries have declined?

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It would help if AC actually appeared to have some direction or knowledge and researched base for the feminised recruitment process. If men are wanted but do not apply for roles perhaps they realise they are not actually wanted. The structure of this women dominated profession says it all to would-be applicants.

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The image says it all. Amongst the abundance of females, the first apparent male is hiding at the back and the second is billy-no-mates with daylight between him and the rest of the group. It’s a surprise this did not compute to Angela Cossins, Deputy Director National Probation Service South West, South Central, but the gender minority worker is not featured on diversity training.

All Senior Management, including Angela Cossins, know very well what the recruitment issues are. Some of the bigger issues are; The main wage earners in most households are still men – probation jobs simply don’t pay enough and there are many other justice and graduate jobs that pay better.

Except for negative media, not much is known about probation, and both it’s roles and progression opportunities are limited - it needs to raise awareness of the roles in the profession. There are no government-set targets to ensure that sufficient funds are allocated to recruitment drives, including to recruit more men. With a female dominated workforce, male role models in the sector are limited but essential to recruit more young men and males into probation.

There are other potential issues too which require research; Males are more likely than females to be ineligible to apply due to previous convictions. This may be more of an issue in the NPS due to vetting. Probation previously tended to attract administrative staff who wanted to train as probation officers - usually female. Probation training programmes now tend to attract graduates - predominantly those with criminology degrees. Similar to care professions, is it possible the more female dominated probation is the more difficult it will be to recruit males?

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But don't despair - "We’ve been working on it for as long as I’ve being involved with trainees in 2005."

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Clearly probation still tends “to attract mainly female and mainly white graduates in their twenties (NOMS 2013)”. So we have a white and ethnic diversity of male hardened criminals aged 18-100 years old that will continue to be mostly supervised by young white girls who know more about hair and nails, university and living with mum and dad, rather than having any real life skills, experience and common sense. This problem has been building since 1993 and the article about suggests it is intentional. As probation senior management bury their heads in the sand (or smile and carry on as it is dominated by now middle-aged white women who have helped create the problem), it is unlikely probation recruiters will acknowledge they’ve got it very wrong.

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Those bloody women hey! Surely we can agree a more diverse workforce would be a positive thing without having to degrade female staff! Your misogyny is showing.

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Most probation officers I’ve seen either look like grungy teenage girls or Essex girls readying for a night out, and do not really have much of a clue what they are doing. When people on probation say “my probation officer knows nothing about me and cannot help me”, they are right? Are male offenders asked whether they want to work with women probation workers.

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As a middle aged, middle class, white female who has been in probation since the mid 80s I can assure the collective this problem has been building a long time; especially in London. The main structural problem is the very poor pay; looks good whilst you are footloose and fancy free but you cannot build a professional life style on the public sector pay scale. Historically this has meant the men have left to take better paying work. Due to dreadful property prices this has been a bigger problem for longer in London than anywhere else, but other parts of the country are now experiencing the same problem. Just do something about our dreadful pay!

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There is a notable shift in culture following what above is described as a change to a ‘feminised’ Service. The number of conversations I have had trying to convince colleagues that they should take an interest in male issues such as mental health and the appalling male suicide rate which is often linked to separation and family matters. There’s little interest with a common retort that the ‘patricarchy’ in fact privileges all men so they shouldn’t complain. If you have no interest in the needs of over 90% of your client base perhaps this isn’t the right job for you.

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For the past decade the whole CJS has suffered from shambolic Conservative policies and ideology. Their coalition with the Lib Dems was really in name only. The Conservatives have been at the helm since 2010. They've opted for a DIY approach, ignoring professional knowledge, advice and research, and allowed a string of incompetent Ministers to make whatever unqualified decisions they feel like. It's now all a total mess with no aspect of the CJS fit for purpose and costing far more to achieve far less.

I personally see no way back anymore, it's to broken. It's all going to have to be torn down, and a 'newbuild' is required. As much as the previous decade is to be lamented so too is the next decade to be very concerned about. No doubt our 'special' relationship with the USA will see a lot of CJ imports coming across the pond post Brexit, but America's CJS is in a worse state then ours. It's hard to work out whether to be shocked by the last decade or frightened by what's to come.

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The complete demise of the Probation profession is but one example of the ease with which the nameless, faceless powers that-be can manipulate & engineer whatever outcome they want, regardless. It shows how readily & easily those who are offered a taste of honey will sell themselves out for a slightly bigger pot of honey.

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I have just read the revisionist nonsense from Napo & it leaves me irritated, uninspired & concerned. "On May 16th 2019, a date which must surely feature forever in the annuals [sic] of Napo history; we saw a remarkable U-turn in the form of an announcement that 80% of the roles associated with OM work would be transferred to the NPS from the private sector along with the staff undertaking these functions, once the termination of CRC contracts had taken place."

What about the date when Napo silently but firmly held the privateers' cutlass while hundreds of Probation staff were made to walk the plank into professional oblivion? The date when Napo signed off on TR, transferring thousands of staff to the private sector on the most flimsy of terms & conditions in the knowledge it would lead to inevitable & PRE-PLANNED job losses. Oh, and of course there's TR2...

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How could we never forget the Napo signing of our demise. That the transfer measures in 2015 that should have secured members pensions, terms and conditions would be so instrumentally sold off later by an ignorant narcissistic Trade Union leader purposefully failing to ensure members had legal representation when agreeing the measures at the time and thereafter to protect them. The demise of Working Links was the work of Dino. Napo's achievements are the demise of their members terms and conditions, employment status and pensions.

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It's absolute nonsense for NAPO to claim the credit for any of this. They did nothing.

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Is that entirely fair ? They attend meetings or some I am told. They have produced some reports although not very good or useful. They are amateurishly gaming around the membership and employers pretending they know what they are doing but when all is considered Napo is only potentially effective if their combined abilities and talents in the leadership is able. When examined more closely the standard of reporting their self indulged in crowd gravy train wanna bees and their inept response to anything important we must start to realise Napo are just not relevant anymore are they?

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It is the performance of the private companies and inability to make Probation work from the hemorrhaging effects of TR that has led to the contracts terminating and transferring to NPS. It's hysterical to think Napo believes it was their work. Government had no time for Napo, that was very clear when they walked away from national collective bargaining in the knowledge Napo would never take that fight on.

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"In intensive and complex negotiations around the transfer of Offender Management work to NPS Wales and beyond." Spell it out. What are you talking about Complex? Rocket science is it? This is a short hand report to keep readers off the detail of Napo doing nothing.

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Methinks Napo's paid "elite" live in the same distorted, Stalinesque universe as Trump where the 'truth' is whatever you say it is in press releases, blogs or on twitter.

"our impressive campaign which has exposed the folly of the Transforming Rehabilitation disaster"
"Gauke & Stewart sent some important signals that they wanted to do some serious business with Napo"
"Ministerial top cover had been approved for senior MOJ/HMPPS leaders to engage in exploratory discussions with the unions"
"a date which must surely feature forever in the annuals of Napo history"
"a significant victory"
"the most remarkable media engagement that this union and professional association has ever seen in our history"

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Napo is in intensive care, on a life support machine. The disease is within and can only be cut out by removing the current leadership who can only claim apocalyptic disaster for its members.

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"Attacks on staff, false allegations, inappropriate and failing disciplinary procedures. Sickness absences and Grievances at record highs in my 36 years service. Staff leaving in volume and dissatisfaction across the board. Favouritism, nepotism and cronyism the centre of the Working Links way and those enablers... We disagreed within the union internal national ranks many times as their weak and short sighted agents wanted to form inappropriate agreements. This included most other union officials. I have been complained about from all sides and many times over from them... It is a tough role and at one point I had to take my own national union to the Certifications Officer for their gross incompetence... In my view we are now travelling a different journey and at the least a renewed direction. The General Election outcome will have sealed the future contractual plans for TR2 and a further split for interventions."

As ever Dino provides a warts-&-all account of events which is far more palatable than rainbows & unicorns.

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Dino is an amazing rep and been working hard for many never giving up on issues our branch could not have done a fraction without his leadership.

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Dino has been an amazing unyielding force in achieving the best for his members. His resilience has seen off the most unbelievable and undeserving nasty attacks not just from the employer but from Lomas, Lawrence, Rogers and the rest of the leadership team of 2018/19. They should feel ashamed as should others for attacking their own colleagues in the workplace for self rewards.

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A warts-&-all account I think that should read WARS with what is said in this report. It was once said this branch was led by a controversial character. Courting trouble perhaps? However, their accomplishments in the SW branch has remained the go to place for information strategy and can do approaches than those of the can't do or won't do brigade. Not heard the SW saying the best that can be achieved as an excuse for failing. 

Controversial perhaps but they do appear to achieve in that branch. They have not let up in the years of TR. I did a search and this blog is prolific with vitriolic reports and assertion of their trade union position. That has to be a good thing when you read the awful account of the several Murders. Those SFOs happening while the known failing Working Links exposé by that chair has been on-going. These tragedies and failings of the privatised management of services are clearly to blame and this branch had the foresight it seems to have registered their formal dispute. 

It is clear no one in authority was prepared to heed the NAPO branch chairs warnings. It might also be a record in running a dispute for the years Working links tried to hold onto government funding. It would have been a phenomenal fight against TR had this confidence or tenacity with the strategic outlook. Had that been deployed nationally to all branches what might have been?

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What an astonishingly hard working and resilient NAPO SW Branch Chair! Perhaps National Officials should take a leaf out of his book. I am proud to have witnessed the incessant work rate and the torture endured by this shining light for the rights of SW NAPO employees. Despicably attacked by the hierarchy of NAPO (alleged colleagues) who were then to their cost found wanting by the Certification Officer. Despised and alienated by the Working Links Company who then collapsed into administration. Countless representations for NPS and CRC members amid unprecedented grievances, disciplinaries, overwork, sickness absences.

Tirelessly travelling across all corners of the south to support the needs of members.
Instrumental in now repairing the damage caused by the incompetent previous contract holder and its unable and wanting senior management (some still present) to provide a forward thinking and innovative system to support and protect the needs of the employees in TR2. To you Dino Peros and the SW Exec Branch which you have led with passion and integrity, I hold you in high esteem for what you have achieved and for the advice and information you give.

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You'd really like to hope that the family of the victim and the officer are all being appropriately supported! Reading the evidence by the officer made me realise I made the right decision to resign as I had many sleepless nights worrying about what I might have missed that day and if I would be walking into an SFO the following - I constantly felt we were not effectively managing risk with ridiculously high case loads and ridiculous unproductive models/targets that we were expected to meet regardless of extremely low staffing levels. I hope the officers' strategic management team and office level management take responsibility as we've seen far too many case managers (PSO/ PO) thrown under buses to save the skins of those who have been complicit in TR/TR2.

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These are the observations of a worker in crisis:

“Some days I wouldn’t leave my chair all day. One week I was seeing 15 to 20 people all day. Sometimes I worked until 12 at night. It was very difficult to keep a tab on things. Sometimes I didn’t have time to sit down or even have lunch..."

And now we have the comments of a very modern manager:

"Her caseload of around 60 offenders was appropriate for her level of experience... [she] required support and confidence building... I was aware from the data there was enough items outstanding to be concerned and tools were put in place to help officers... in my view she was well supported".

Can somebody please help me out here & clarify who had what role? Everybody seems to be a 'probation officer'. Is that right?

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Does it matter. The buck belongs and stops with the complacent Chief Officer team who supported the failings of the Working Links programme for case management. They allowed the abusive unmanageable cases. The lack of training, failure to support, recognise and do anything about work pressures. They take a salary, yet failed in all aspects of public safety and yet somehow absent from account. Wales senior management did this as they helped Working Links damage the service they must have known could only fail. Working Links need to be held to account. They know what they did and who they are.

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Totally agree. This Officer and many others are left out to dry when SFOs occur with Seniors shifting the blame and trying to come out looking like the efficient Manager only doing their job. The reality is the same stuff time and time again on this blog highlighting Officers being overworked, not enough staff and Seniors passing the buck. This profession needs 100's of more staff, but strip the qualifications needed to apply and get more people with life experience, critical thinkers and staff who know what life is like. 

These people are not stupid because they don't have relevant degrees it's the other way round. There are thousands of people out there who could wipe the floor with obnoxious staff who think they are better than others in this service. This poor Officer and all the Officers who go through SFOs have our sympathy, because no one else is going to support them in the CRC or NPS due to job worth's in Senior Management.

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My heart goes out to you Kathryn. It feels like you are the scapegoat and I would hope if I had been your manager I would not have said your caseload was 'appropriate' and would have supported you. As been said, the CRC culture has been to be over lenient with enforcement as money talks! I am not the first person to comment that you can't make money out of peoples misery! Of course those senior managers and politicians will not be held to account as to do so would fuel further debate on the CRC/NPS split. Yes, SFOs happen and individuals should not be singularly held to account for systemic failure. No other criminal justice organisation would expect an employee to manage 60 cases and get it right all the time. Best wishes and take care of yourself.

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I would not wish this so-called career on anyone in the current climate. The reality for many is to consistently work unpaid overtime to avoid poor performance by trying to meet the ridiculous workloads and targets. Staff being exempt from the values they spout in relation to diversity issues and safety issues. A lack of professional respect and experience not valued as you are just a disposable number to them. Huge impacts on your mental health, family relationships, quality of life with stress and burnout and constantly justifying your every move to protect yourself. Scapegoating and a culture of blame. The list goes on and yes you could leave if you don't like it, but quite frankly it should not be allowed to go on and this treatment and attitude leads to high staff turnover. I feel for that poor PSO as per usual blame is aimed at her rather than the organisation or business as they like to be called. It's shameful. Where is the duty of care to staff and acknowledgement that the workload and lack of proper training and support [are] huge factors.

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Oh how I agree with what you say.  As an experienced PO my practice is mainly focused on covering my back. This is not what I joined for and I have personally witnessed wonderful professional colleagues being thrown under the bus by managers. We have not had a consistent manager for the past year. I am actively seeking an out for sure and it makes me weep with frustration and despair for a job I am good at, those whom I try to help better their lives and the loss of a gold standard service. I am tired of attaining meaningless targets set by civil servants who have no clue and ineffectual management.