Friday, 19 February 2021

A Debate Anyone?

It seems to be increasingly difficult to have a serious debate about probation at the moment and I'm not at all sure why that is? I remain ever-hopeful though and this from a day or so ago seems to be as good a discussion starter as any:-  

To borrow from the new business vernacular: there's a single source of 'truth' which defines where we go next. But when you hold the power that 'single source' is whatever you choose it to be. The revisionistas in power are working hard to rewrite everything for future generations. For the Probation Service that has meant being rubbished, dismantled, dismissed & re-invented.

I think anyone trawling through this blog from start to present day will find regular references to the politicians' perennial folly, i.e. reinventing the wheel. Some things can be reimagined, many things can be improved - but the disingenuous, dishonest, despicable act of destroying the whole & replacing with less while proclaiming there's more has surely had its day?

So how stupid are we? Even more stupid than they imagine we are, it seems. But the clever manipulation has been the forty year fishing expedition. Forty years of dangling bait, of fattening up the appetite, of developing dependency upon the tasty morsels. And now? Now they are reeling in, and many cannot unhook themselves from that dependency - mortgages, credit card debt, expensive cars, regular holidays in exotic places, overseas property or generally excessive lifestyle choices.

For far too many others the dependency is more fundamental - food, warmth, shelter, healthcare, childcare. How many probation staff could leave next week? Probably a handful. So there are a vast majority who are reliant on the job. And consequently a vast majority who dare not utter a word of criticism. Add in the civil service code of silence... and they achieve pure, unadulterated command & control.

--oo00oo--

But then there's this:-
Just found a pay slip from March 2010 which was about when l hit PO max. My current income is £170 more than then. This is why we cannot retain staff.

--oo00oo-- 

There are differing views on how things are going. This a recent response on Twitter:- 
From my view point I have greater confidence in senior leadership nationally. There is more energy being spent in creating the right culture and ethos. Putting some of that responsibility and power in the hands of front line staff to shape what it looks like. Also a desire to take the best from both organisations to shape the new one. For me (personally) feels more positive that previous changes and I have optimism for this being a great organisation once more.

--oo00oo-- 

But there remains widespread concern regarding the direction of travel:-

As I retired Probation were not addressing social need and were just becoming enforcement officers, I did not agree. If Probation is to be successful again it needs to address social need of offenders as well as ensuring the order is managed appropriately. What its ethos was originally to care about the people on orders/licence/in custody.
I'm a former PO now a criminal justice Social Worker in Scotland. Having worked in both systems, there is no doubt in my mind which approach is better, more coherent and effective. My SW training improved and made sense of my practice in ways I never thought possible. The CJSW system in Scotland is far from perfect but, IMO, works 100% better. We understand and manage risk very well but within a more coherent framework of professional knowledge and compassionate values. When they took the SW out of probation they very seriously undermined it. The abandonment of SW training in England was purely ideological and an obvious attempt to toughen probation up and gut it of its core values. Genuine probation work is social work, in my humble opinion. Always has been. 
Agree. I'm a social work trained PO but my greatest hope would to be to come out from beneath the 'dead hand' of the Civil Service. My only caveat is that nothing greater can be achieved until we have adequate resources in terms of trained probation officers, newly trained alongside experienced officers; with more than the bare minimum in each team so there is some resilience at times of staff leaving, maternity leave, sick leave etc, otherwise we are constantly in crisis / reactive mode, involving endless reallocation of cases. The problem is not that we do not know the best ways of supporting change, whilst also protecting the public, but it takes time and consistency and until we have more resources, I question the degree of change possible. Of course in order to assist in the rehabilitation of offenders, we need access to ancillary services: Mental Health, accommodation, drug and alcohol services, supportive education and training services, Social Services, etc, etc
Probation should follow the ethos of youth offending teams with multi-agency approach where welfare concerns are balanced with risk - having left probation for YOT I feel like I am back doing the probation role I originally trained for.
I think a holistic approach is probably needed. Yes we have to manage risk, but surely one of the best ways to do that is to improve the protective factors like accommodation, employment, health, emotional wellbeing, relationships etc. Building a relationship of trust is also important, rather than saying no straight off the bat to a lot of things, we should investigate more and try to build their faith that they won't reoffend.

--oo00oo--

I'll end with the following private observation via email:- 
I have to admit that it puts me off reading the blogs to see a string of one-dimensional rants from “Anonymous” (how many of them are there?) which sometimes seems little better than trolling. It’s very sad because I’m sure there’s also a much wider and more rational and engaging audience out there.

18 comments:

  1. Well after much thought and in order to try and encourage some decent debate, comment moderation is now in place. It's unfortunate and tiresome, but things had degenerated so much there is no alternative.

    Just to be clear, I have absolutely no problem with differing viewpoints as long as there is some cogent explanation and civility.

    We've always entertained a degree of 'thread drift' and I anticipate this continuing, especially if it's felt to be of current relevance. We will have to see how it goes and as always, I welcome observations and even guest blogs on whatever people feel might be of interest.

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  2. By email:-

    I'm sorry the way the blogs gone of late Jim. I feel recent comments have highlighted that there are many in probation today that are there not because of what they feel they can contribute to the service, but for what they can get out of it for themselves.

    I've genuinely been disgusted by some of the attitudes displayed of late, and am concerned that people who hold such attitudes are actually allowed to hold influence and powers over others. In my opinion there's just too many in the service now that are there because it pays more then Lidl, and not for any social calling.

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  3. Trying to work holistically with clients, there are no thanks. All management is interested in is meeting targets. Trying to do both leads to burn out. The never ending duplication, crap IT systems, the never ending referral forms, just never enough time. Spending time with clients is bottom of the agenda. Fed up with continuously carrying dead weight of colleagues that have no conscience.

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  4. Hi Jim. Thanks for your unstinting work on the blog. During its time, twitter has emerged and done its thing, and political debate has - there and elsewhere, but there is a link- become polarised and toxic. I think the poor standard of a lot of comments on your blog just reflect this. Trouble is, this blog, and as "Anon" is one of the few safe places to voice unhappiness with the sorry state of probation, given the Civil Service gag. So I try not to be an abusive moron, but will have to stick with "Anon".
    Leading up to and through TR we felt there was a bit of a "movement" or resistance. We have now been assimilated/onboarded. It might feel futile, and expending energy trying to persuade the current incumbents in the MoJ and their political masters to embrace a new philosophy is definitely futile and an exhausting waste of energy. But there is an awful lot to be said for publishing, lobbying, alliance building, with those that are apposed to the current state of affairs, and who might be in power further down the road.

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  5. Update on loved ones lost to covid-19 - govt figures for today show touching distance of 120,000 (actual = 119,920)

    Hancock is in trouble over covid contracts
    Patel is in trouble over everything she says & does
    Gove has been nipped by Jack Frost (ex-brexit man)
    Williamson is just as fucking useless as ever
    Whitty is being less-than-witty about Johnson's school plans
    Johnson doesn't know who to please next
    Rees-Smugg is keeping his head down

    All probation staff will have been re-programmed by end of June 2021

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  6. Yes, anon 20:37 you are quite right. And its a well known tenet in political circles, that the moment at which lobby groups start to focus their energy on the opposition parties, rather than the one in power, is a massive signal that change is on the way. Probably at least as reliable as polls. So the groundwork in advance is invaluable, think of it as building into a future manifesto, your/our stuff. Twittersphere would have us believe that its all about a wave of popularity but in a functioning democracy the spade work counts. Oh. Functioning democracy. Damn.

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  7. "Thousands of offenders will be diverted away from crime by the expansion of a catering training scheme in prisons across England and Wales." (hmpps website)

    So who needs probation? Or SEEDS? Doing-bird-seed, perhaps...

    Pukka Justice with Jamie & Jimmy's Cushty Rehabilitation Company.

    Or perhaps there's a new covid contract:

    https://www.penguin.com.au/books/un-cook-yourself-9781761040900

    "Learn how to be a better dickhead with Nat’s deep and meaningful guide to life. Onya, champion!

    Nat’s What I Reckon was the tattooed lockdown saviour we didn’t know we needed, rescuing us from packet food, jar sauce and total boredom with his hilarious viral recipe videos that got us cooking at home like champions again.

    Now that we’ve cooked our way out of lockdown and are wondering what the hell to do next, our favourite ratbag is back – and he’s ready to teach us more about life in this thoroughly unhelpful (but maybe actually kinda helpful?) self-help guide."

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  8. Over the next three years, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and The Clink Charity have agreed to extend their training programme to as many as 70 prisons.

    The Clink Charity is already operating at MHPs High Down, Cardiff, Brixton and Styal. Research has found that training prisoners reduces reoffending rates by up to 32%.

    Prisons Minister Lucy Frazer MP, said: “This expansion of the catering programme is testament to the thousands of training and job opportunities it has provided for offenders over the years. Cutting reoffending and its vast cost to society is a priority for this government. Training within prison leads to employment on release, which we know has such a positive impact on ex-offenders, their families and communities, and ultimately reduces crime.”

    Over the last decade the prison kitchen training scheme has helped more than 2,500 ex-offenders to find employment. The training sees serving prisoners work in kitchens for up to 35 hours a week, preparing and cooking up to 80,000 daily meals for fellow prisoners. Trainees will work towards gaining City and Guilds National Vocational Qualifications Levels 1, 2 and 3, while improving their confidence, teamwork and communication skills.

    Finlay T K Scott, chairman of The Clink Charity, added: “Reducing crime and improving all of our lives is at the heart of what The Clink does. This latest initiative in partnership with HMPPS underlines the tremendous impact The Clink program has had over the last ten years. We will build upon the success of our innovative integrated program and roll it out across the prison estate. This platform will dramatically increase the number of students we are able to rehabilitate with the subsequent impact upon reoffending figures.”

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  9. Good news but old wine in new bottles? Remember the borstal system did good work with vocational training with younger offenders but on a much longer term basis. When YOI was introduced sentences for younger offenders greatly reduced and therefore time for vocational training was not available. Younger offenders got sucked into the destructive cycle of short sentences and warehousing in prisons which, I think, we have never really addressed. Clinks does good work, eaten there several times and always impressed, but again only for longer term prisoners. Still nothing for short term prisoners, no training no intervention and no appetite to reduce judicial powers - so yes good news but not an answer to anything I see going through my magistrates court on a daily basis.

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  10. "One of the UK’s most eminent environmental scientists has called the government’s failure to block a new coalmine in Cumbria “absolutely ridiculous”."

    So, using Tory TR logic...

    "innovative coal mine will save the planet"

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  11. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/20/absolutely-ridiculous-top-scientist-slams-uk-government-over-coalmine

    So destroying the UK manufacturing base WAS a government policy after all:

    "The UK has cut emissions faster than any other rich nation in recent decades by phasing out coal burning for electricity, as well as with the closure of much of the country’s heavy industry and importing more manufactured goods from overseas."


    The UK appears to live in the world of Mr Upside-Down:

    "ministers are being criticised over a series of decisions that run counter to cutting emissions, including backing a gas-fired power station that would be the biggest in Europe, a third runway at Heathrow airport and committing £27bn to new roads, a policy now under legal challenge. It was also reported last week that one of Johnson’s flagship green policies, a £1.5bn green homes grant scheme, is likely to be scrapped having reached just 4% of the homes intended."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The underground mine would be the UK’s first in 30 years. Critics, including the government’s official climate advisers, say it seriously undermines Johnson’s ability to lead a successful UN summit, which is seen as vital in averting the worst impacts of global heating. Ministers have repeatedly said the decision on the mine is a local one.

      The mine would produce 2.7m tonnes a year of coking coal, which is used in steel-making rather than burned in power stations. About 85% of the coal from the mine is planned for export, although there is no shortage of such coal globally.

      Delete
    2. Yes green energy politics is a minefield and it's not even the right type of coal for heritage railways that will have to burn Russian or Polish coal.

      Until it was scrapped by the Tories, there was an ambitious and world-beating scheme to capture the carbon from the three giant Yorkshire former coal-burning power stations and pump it out under the North Sea for long-term storage.

      The electricity and heat would have been used to produce hydrogen which of course will become a future replacement for natural gas use in homes. There still is a proposal for converting the Leeds city region to hydrogen at some point and experiments with new homes in Gateshead have just been announced, but with the scrapping of the scheme it's now much more difficult and expensive. Only Drax is being converted to wood pellet-burning and small-scale carbon capture with Ferrybridge and Eggborough both being demolished.

      Delete
  12. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/her-majestys-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-december-2020/her-majestys-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-december-2020

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    Replies
    1. 3,654 FTE band 4 probation officers in post (as at 31 December 2020)

      This figure is an increase of 161 (4.6%) since 31 December 2019 and an increase of 105 (3.0%) FTE probation officers compared to 30 September 2020. In addition to the band 4 probation officers, there were 2,675 FTE band 3 probation services officers: an increase of 110 (4.3%) since 31 December 2019 and a decrease of 213 (7.4%) since 30 September 2020.

      As at 31 December 2020 there were 2,675 FTE band 3 probation services officers in post, an increase of 110 (4.3%) over the past year and a decrease of 213 (7.4%) over the quarter; 3,654 FTE band 4 probation officers, representing an increase of 161 (4.6%) over the past year and an increase of 105 (3.0%) compared to the previous quarter; and 839 FTE band 5 senior probation officers, showing an increase of 25 (3.1%) over the previous year and an increase of 20 (2.4%) since the last quarter.

      In the past year, 625 probation services officers were appointed, some of whom will be training to become qualified probation officers. This is an increase of 230 (58.2%) compared to the year ending 31 December 2019 and no substantial change compared to the number appointed in the year ending 30 September 2020. In the past year, 210 probation services officers left the service. This is a decrease of 25 (10.6%) compared to the year ending 31 December 2019 and no substantial change compared to the number who left in the year ending 30 September 2020.

      Delete
  13. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/20/why-cases-covid-workplace-not-being-reported-uk

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hancock, 16 March 2020 - "Mr Speaker, the coronavirus pandemic is the most serious public health emergency that our nation has faced for a generation... Our goal is to protect life.... Our actions have meant that the spread of the virus has been slowed in the UK... The UK has tested more people than almost any other major economy outside of China, South Korea and Italy... Mr Speaker, on Thursday we will introduce the Coronavirus Emergency Bill...[to] give us the powers to keep essential services running at a time when large parts of the workforce may be off sick.... We will fight this virus with everything we’ve got... We are in a war against an invisible killer and we have got to do everything we can to stop it."

    ***** At that point, 53 people had died *****

    The smug we're-doing-all-we-can rhetoric has barely changed, but more than 120,000 people are now lost to the virus.

    How & why is Hancock still in a job?

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  15. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/20/court-delays-allow-violent-offenders-to-avoid-prison

    Three men involved in a late-night street assault in Lincoln also escaped jail after a two-year delay. The judge said it was “quite wrong that things should take this long to come to court … If this case had come before me as it should have and more quickly, you would be going to custody.”

    a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said that more serious offenders were going to prison under this government, and for longer, than ever before.

    David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, who compiled the cases, said: “Justice delayed is justice denied. Victims of paedophilia, rape, assault and hate crimes are being let down by the delays to the justice system this government has helped create."


    So what do we want? More being sent to prison? Fewer being sent to prison?

    No-one seems to have a scooby-doo about anything.

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