We don't often quote the Hindustan Times on here, but yesterday's piece on targets and measures brought an interesting reflection and a challenge. Since Blogger decided on a pointless 'upgrade' to the dashboard I've heard posting images had become more difficult, so if you can't see a picture of Everest today, the rumours are indeed correct.
The futility of targets
There’s a photograph from last month that I can’t get out of my head — of hundreds of humans jammed in a queue, waiting to summit Mount Everest... you may want to ‘conquer’ Mount Everest. But what happens after you scale it? You feel euphoric. For a few minutes, maybe a few hours. Then that starts to dissipate. Until you find a new goal... Why not be a mountaineer instead? A mountaineer doesn’t feel the need to clamber up a popular mountain to prove a point. Climbing is part of who they are. The goal doesn’t overwhelm. It does not subsume identity.
"Neither HMPPS nor CRCs understand the difference between stacking everyone up in a queue and valuing identity, skills, experience, knowledge, etc. My probation career ended when, after 25+ years of working as a committed professional, I was packaged and sold to a private company for £1.My employment was ended when the private company cleared the decks to improve their chances of profitability, turning that £1 investment into £millions of taxpayer handouts which were syphoned off to shareholders & senior management."
(it would be good if you could get that picture on the page somehow, Jim. It's an extraordinary sight to behold).
Has anyone been able to access SOP yet? Still isn't working today. If i was a gambler I'd be lumping on it staying offline til Friday at the earliest.
ReplyDeleteIt was meant to go back online 8am yesterday. What a surprise it goes down stopping us from seeing if our long overdue increment is being paid as promised by our "glorious leaders" up high.
SOP will be back on line 1pm today according to myHub
DeleteSOP is crap.
DeleteThe pay rise is a pittance.
COVID-19 is rising and like sheep, most of Probation continent business as usual.
I got a wage slip in the post a week ago, but as I am top of the scale, I wasn’t expecting any pay increase and therefore wasn’t disappointed.
ReplyDeleteWell, that’s not really true. I am disappointed to say the least, that a pay rise which should have been paid in April is still being negotiated a couple of days short of November.
Once this one is in the bag, better get round the table for next years if our negotiators are to hit their targets!
Negotiators and the current fiasco hardly any good are they.
DeleteSome not all Heads got the 1500 bonus for one month providing they could evidence hours appx 60-70 per week. Most heads went into office like everyone else 1 or 2 days a week, except those shielding
DeleteHa ha. Where I work hardly any heads went into the office and ALL got the £1500 per month bonus.
DeleteAnd you know this as fact? I am talking from a London perspective as my mate is a HOS and was regularly going into work
DeleteSOP is working again actually. Been on and back pay is being paid this month.
ReplyDeleteWe just need a cost of living increase backdated now......
Don’t ya just feel like Oliver Twist. They’ve given us a pittance of a pay rise, made us wait months for it, and we’re expected to be grateful when it’s far below what many other public services are receiving. Teachers, prison officers, judges, MP’s, they all get a lot more than we do. Even our own probation head of service leaders received £1500 per month bonuses in the lockdown for sitting on their backsides at home, while those of us doing the work in dirty Covid-infested offices had to beg for £150 danger money.
Delete'Please, sir, I want some more.'
'What!' said the master at length, in a faint voice.
'Please, sir,' replied Oliver, 'I want some more.'
'Mr. Limbkins, I beg your pardon, sir! Oliver Twist has asked for more!'
'For MORE!' said Mr. Limbkins. 'Compose yourself, Bumble, and answer me distinctly. Do I understand that he asked for more, after he had eaten the supper allotted by the dietary?'
'He did, sir,' replied Bumble.
'That boy will be hung,' said the gentleman in the white waistcoat.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-horrified-domestic-abuser-rehoused-22916581.amp
ReplyDeleteSo who's going to defend the indefensible here?
DeleteA man who subjected a woman to violent domestic abuse has been rehoused close to her home.
After she was attacked and harassed by Daniel Jackson, Maria Chadwick has suffered from anxiety, panic attacks and PTSD.
He was locked up in March this year for his crimes, which included smashing into her house and beating her up, the Derby Telegraph reported.
Upon his release last month Jackson was housed by court services within a five-minute walk of his victim.
She said: “On Monday I took my dog for a walk. I went over the road and he was there, walking down my road.
“He definitely clocked me and gave me a sarcastic smile.
"I went back inside so he definitely knows where I live now.”
Following his release from prison Jackson was housed by the Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland Community Rehabilitation Company.
A spokesperson for the service said it is taking steps to move the offender now it has been made aware of her address.
Ms Chadwick claims she told them in August that she had moved. "They knew, they knew because my domestic violence worker told the probation officer who was working on his case while he was in prison," she continued.
"My domestic violence worker has now also been on them for three weeks trying to get him moved, and they've been told again and again but they've not moved him."
The relationship deteriorated with Jackson becoming increasingly violent, she said, until February 29 this year.
Miss Chadwick said: “He brutally smashed into my house, broke two windows and beat me up.
“He got arrested and got 26 weeks in prison suspended for two years, and a two-year restraining order in court on March 10.
“Then just four days after that court case he came banging on my front door and shouting his mouth off.
“I called the police and he was arrested and went to a trial in May which I had to attend.
“He was found guilty and given 51 weeks in prison, plus an extra year on the restraining order.”
A Reducing Reoffending Partnership spokesperson said: "Protecting domestic violence victims is of utmost importance to us and checks are carried out before offenders are relocated.
"As soon as we were made aware that the victim had moved house we began reviewing this case.
"Domestic abuse offenders who breach restrictions that prevent them from contacting their victims can be recalled to custody."
Wonder what HMI Probation would say about the 'excellent leadership' & risk management in this case?
Delete1. DV conviction - suspended sentence + restraining order
2. Breach restraining order & further harassment within days - taken to trial - victim has to testify - 51 weeks imprisonment
3. 25 weeks later CRC relocate the DV perpetrator just around the corner.
The response from their excellent leadership?
"Protecting domestic violence victims is of utmost importance to us and checks are carried out before offenders are relocated."
Never mind, it'll be someone who goes on to be a senior leader in NPS with a fatter pay cheque & more DV victims to terrorise.
This is the problem with probation, too quick to throw each other under the bus.
DeleteSo what, the offender was housed 5 minutes away from the victim. Based on the average walking speed a five-minute walk is represented by a radius measuring ¼ of a mile or about 400 meters. The victim claims she told a DV worker of her new address, who claims to have told the probation officer.
Probation is not a housing agency, but nobody is blaming the housing department for not housing the offender in the first place. The sentence did not fall under the victim contact scheme, but nobody is blaming the courts for not passing a longer sentence.
Stop blaming each other.
Oh yes, we should just believe what the victim told the newspaper.
DeleteOh, and of course that DV worker told the probation officer the victims new address.
How incompetent of that probation officer for trying to do the job of the local housing authority, while dealing with the ramifications of bad sentencing.
Had that probation officer not worked for the shoddy CRC, Mr Jackson would have surely been transported to the colonies.
Blame ?? Another cluster Fu** by the wannabee PO claimed intellectuals instead the underpaid over criticised VLO in place and in their skilled judgements specialists this would have been avoided.
DeleteSorry never met a skilled specialist VLO. The sentence is under 12 months so no statutory VLO service.
DeleteBlame the judge for not sentencing to longer. Blame the CPS, victim support and the DV worker for not getting a geographical exclusion added to the restraining order. Blame to MoJ for not extending the victim service.
Not sure why this makes the PO a “wannabe”. The offender was housed a quarter mile away. Sounds like a job well done.
A little intellect from the po could have looked should have looked at the placement and considered the wider limplications. Low skills training just shows here.
DeleteThe service user was housed a quarter mile away.
DeleteProbably all that was available and better than being homeless. With licence conditions in place. Probation doesn’t own housing.
If you can’t understand that...
It's a lack of professionalism.
DeleteIf you can't understand that...
You have an agenda to discredit this probation officer.
Delete... that’s your lack of professionalism.
DeleteIf you can't understand that...
Probation are supervising the offender not the housing. If you really believe it's acceptable to house the offender in this case 400 metre from the victim without any prior warning given to that victim then there's little point in discussing the concept of professionalism with you.
DeleteHave a nice day.
Correct, Probation are supervising the offender, not the victim.
DeleteIt is acceptable to house an offender a quarter mile from the victim.
The offender was subject to a SSO, so could in fact live wherever he wanted.
If location was a problem, the judge could have imposed an exclusion.
There was no victim liaison contact so the PO would not be informing any victim.
Stop blaming the individual. If there are failings then blame those that legislate.
24,701 - Daily number of new people tested positive reported on Wednesday, 28 October 2020.
ReplyDeleteTotal confirmed cases - 942,275
**UK set to hit 1M positive covid-19 cases this week**
Do not be surprised when the testing capacity hits 500,000 just in time for Wancock's 31 Oct deadline. Its been steadily increasing day-by-day for the last week - not that it will stay there once the 31 Oct deadline has passed, much like evry other "target" that's been set, hit & forgotten about within minutes of the press release going live.
761 — Weekly number of deaths where COVID-19 is mentioned as a cause on the death certificate, registered during the week ending Friday, 16 October 2020.
The Total the media never quote - 58,925
Total number of deaths where COVID-19 is mentioned as a cause on the death certificate, registered from 1 March 2020 up to Friday, 16 October 2020.
That's 58,925 deaths in 35 weeks; or 1,684 deaths a week for the last 35 weeks where covid-19 is identified as a contributory factor to each death.
That would equate to 87,500 deaths in a year; but at the current rate of infections/hospitalisations/deaths we're going to exceed 100,000 before April 30 2021... maybe even before 2020 is over?
FranK.
p.s. hope y'all get your pay rises & your expenses & your cost of living backdated & your covid bonuses.
London to be raised to Tier 3?
Delete