So, Who'd Be a Probation Officer?

Once again it's that time of year when NPS senior management are keen to drum up new recruits for the training programme, especially men as the advert is full of them. Unfortunately the campaign coincides with desperately sad news emerging from the inquest into the Conner Marshall case. It's not so much a case of an opportunity to "Guide. Advise. Inspire." as Watch. Worry. Weep. This from the Guardian:- 

Probation officer supervising Conner Marshall killer was 'overwhelmed'

A probation services officer broke down in tears during an inquest as she described being “overwhelmed” by her workload in the months before a serial offender she was supervising murdered a teenager in an unprovoked attack. Kathryn Oakley said the Wales Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) was chaotic and short-staffed at the time she was supervising David Braddon, who went on to kill 18-year-old Conner Marshall at a caravan park in south Wales.

Oakley said she “was thrown into the deep end” and was juggling 60 cases at the time. She was forced to stay in the office until midnight sometimes to try to catch up. Managers came and went frequently and oversight of her work by her seniors was often ad-hoc, Oakley told the inquest in Pontypridd. “It was a very difficult environment,” Oakley said. “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. You’re talking about an impossible task.”

The inquest was told that Braddon, who was being supervised after being convicted of assaulting a police officer and drugs offences, missed a string of appointments and admitted that he was drinking and had come off medication that helped his mental health problems. A barrister for Marshall’s family, Kirsten Heaven, suggested to Oakley that she could have taken firmer action against Braddon. Oakley replied: “If I had more time I would have made more checks and had a more investigative approach.”

Braddon, who was 26, had been staying at the caravan park with his estranged partner and their children when a row erupted over an ex-boyfriend. He had taken a cocktail of drugs and alcohol and he armed himself with a kitchen knife, announcing that he was going to look for the ex-boyfriend and kill him.

Mistaking Marshall for the former boyfriend, Braddon launched a frenzied attack on him, striking the teenager with a pole and repeatedly punching him before stripping him naked to humiliate him. Braddon, of Caerphilly, south Wales, fled and was eventually arrested by police in Scotland. He pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life with a 20-year minimum term.

Asked by Heaven if she had thought of whistleblowing about the situation at Wales CRC, Oakley said: “We were all in the same boat. We just got on with it. We tried to do the best we could in the environment.”

The Wales CRC was set up under the controversial 2013 probation reforms led by the former justice secretary Chris Grayling. Thirty-five probation trusts were dismantled and replaced with 21 CRCs to manage low- or medium-risk offenders, while the National Probation Service looked after those posing a higher risk.

Oakley said: “It was the government who decided to split the probation service. I can’t answer for what the government did to probation. It needs to be answered at a higher level.” In her witness statement for the inquest, Oakley said staff were encouraged by managers not to take action against offenders if they breached their licence conditions unless absolutely necessary because the CRC lost money if this happened.

In court Oakley said the “paid-by-results” issue was “rolled out” by the press and unions and added that officers were encouraged to engage offenders rather than enforce breaches. 

The inquest continues.

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This from BBC Wales online:- 

Conner Marshall: Murderer's probation officer 'did her best'

A probation officer who had been monitoring a serial offender when he went on to murder a teenager told an inquest she did the best she could under the heavy workload.

Conner Marshall, 18, was beaten to death at Trecco Bay in Porthcawl in March 2015. Killer David Braddon, who was 26 at the time, pleaded guilty to murder and is serving a life sentence. Braddon was subject to two community orders at the time.

A Pontypridd inquest into Mr Marshall's death heard Braddon had repeatedly missed appointments to supervise his behaviour. During the hearing, probation officer Kathryn Oakley broke down and said she had been given an impossible job. The court heard she was new to the role and Braddon was her first case. She was employed by Wales Community Rehabilitation Company.

The barrister for the Marshall family, Kirsten Heaven, asked Ms Oakley if she told the probation service when Braddon, who was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, had stopped taking his antidepressant medication without talking to his GP. Ms Oakley said she had encouraged Braddon to speak to his doctor. She was then asked whether she would have handled the situation differently. Ms Oakley broke down and said: "In an ideal world I wish I had. But I did the best I could under the heavy workload.You're talking about an impossible task."

The inquest heard that Braddon had drug and alcohol issues. He had missed a treatment appointment and was still drinking. Ms Oakley said she was unaware of the missed appointment because she was on holiday in Mexico at the time. Ms Heaven asked her: "You were told he was drinking four cans a night and you were told alcohol led to an increased risk of harm. Why were alarm bells not ringing?"

Ms Oakley said she "was a bit concerned about that" but said because of the pressure of the workload it meant she did not investigate this further, which she would have normally done if she wasn't having to deal with 60 separate cases. Ms Oakley told the court she felt let down by her employer.

The inquest continues.

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Our heart goes out to all those involved, especially the officer and we all earnestly hope she is being fully supported.