I don't do advertising and I don't do book reviews, but there's always the exception to the rule. My advice to all current, former or budding probation officers is to get over to Amazon and download a copy of The Leroy Campbell Case: Why was he free to murder Lisa Skidmore? Who was blamed? by Alison Moss. This is not really a book for the general reader and it might be a short read, but by heck it says an awful lot and for the very first time what it feels like to be thrown under the proverbial bus following an SFO.
Be warned, it's shocking and will confirm many of the worst fears held by PO's and now SPO's. It lays out in the starkest possible terms the utter dangerous folly that was TR and that it would lead to an increase in SFO's and deaths, just as predicted. Of course this is not news to readers of this blog, but this is different because this is personal testimony from a brave individual prepared to go on the record. They were sacked and it's hard not to agree they were 'stitched-up' by a process that many feel is deeply flawed and has been described as akin to 'marking your own homework'.
Readers must draw their own conclusions, but for me this astonishing book provides yet more evidence as to the completely dysfunctional 'command and control' structure that is currently being rolled out for the re-integrated probation service as part of the civil service. Should you have any lingering doubts, carefully study the discussion of Ministerial involvement in this case and particularly the legal shenanigans outlined in 'Appendix 16' as part of the resulting Employment Tribunal. It should be noted that we only seem to know so much because someone neglected to insist on a Non Disclosure Agreement.
It's absolutely fascinating to read the quoted views of Dame Glenys Stacey and that appear to be somewhat at variance with the official report and guaranteed to raise a few eyebrows. The whole affair has a very bad feel about it and the author has my considerable sympathy. By rights it should raise questions at the highest level and instigate urgent changes. There was a move several years ago to hand SFO responsibility over to HM Probation Inspectorate and the good news is there is an on-going consultation regarding the 'quality assurance' of SFO's. It was news to me and possibly many within the Service, but unfortunately the consultation closes on Friday 5th March.
Wow, Jim, I am honoured! Thank you so very much for this wonderful feedback. I am so pleased you have mentioned specific key points in my case like Annex 16 and Dame Glenys. Overall, I am just extremely thankful for your fantastic support. I have passed my book on to the head of HMIP and he in turn is passing it in to those arranging the SFO quality assurance consultation.
ReplyDelete(Second attempt at commenting) Alison, Thanks to Jim I've bought and read your book. A very worthwhile read. Plenty to discuss. You might be interested in seeing my 2007 report on the Anthony Rice case. On my website andrewbridgesprobation.com. If you ever want to get in touch, I'm ambridges590@gmail.com.
DeleteAndrew - could we tempt you to offer some thoughts via a guest blog perhaps? Thanks, Jim
DeleteAmazon reviews:-
DeleteAlison writes a very clear. honest and coherent account of the impact on her and colleagues of a terrible murder by a man on licence. This is in the context of the complete destruction of the traditional probation service since about 2003. The idea that probation officers can predict or prevent these events based on 'risk assessment' is contested, there appears little evidence that they can with any certainty. Judgement is even more clouded by the huge caseloads and unmanageable teams and the fragmentation of the service into the NPS and the community companies.
What I found less easy to understand is that the experience of social workers in child protection cases came as such a surprise. The search for a scapegoat rather than considering policy issues, resources or systems is now universal and I would have thought she would have been aware of it. The textbooks she reviled as a student might have helped her! Also the fragmentation of probation and loss of local committees and links with councils has made a bad situation even worse as has the loss of professional training and networks. In many ways the lack of 'common cause' made by probation officers with other services did not help when they faced a series of crises, this sense of separation has been a problem since the 1950s.
What is also very sad is that we had one of the best probation systems and were asked to set up services all over the world - all destroyed.
--oo00oo--
I received this book yesterday and read it cover to cover in half a day. The book was thought inspiring and the journey that Alison takes you on throughout her career is descripted. The only reason it did not get 5 starts was due to a few grammatical errors and the printing quality of the paperback I received.
The language of the author and the power that she writes with, significantly urged me to reflect on my own Probation Practice. I sincerely encourage all those in the field to read this book and to encourage all those aspiring Probation Officers to do the same. The role is a challenging and difficult one and this is articulated well and gives a good overview of the role.
We are dealing with real people, with real lives! This book reminds us of the importance of this!
The Civil Services' core values are supposed to be integrity, honesty, impartiality and objectivity. If Alison's book is true, including the content and timing of this 'Annex 16', how can the likes of Sonia Flynn and Neil Appleby be allowed to remain as civil servants, let alone in very senior positions? Its not exactly a surprise but it is unsettling. And you have to wonder how these people can look themselves in the mirror each morning.
ReplyDeleteEasy. No reflection.
DeleteI agree, do the ppl they lead have confidence in their leadership, no. Do the ppl they lead have faith in their leadership, no. Do the ppl they lead trust thy they will not shaft them down the toilet when things go badly wrong, no. Yes head should role but should have been theirs and not stitch up to cover their own backs. Disgraceful and disgusting.
DeleteThese ‘core values’ and ‘professional standards’ stop outside the door of our elite leaders. Some are particularly good at throwing people under busses.
Delete“Speaking after the hearing, Chief Probation Officer Sonia Flynn CBE said:
“This was a truly horrific crime and the decision-making was well below what I expect of an experienced probation officer, for which I sincerely apologise to Janet Scott’s family.”
I had no idea, until now, that the NPS had screwed up so badly that they had to pay Alison off before they were taken to tribunal. Its definitely not what we were led to believe in our division.
ReplyDeleteDo you mind me asking, within your division, what were you told had happened?
Delete1. looking forward to reading Alison's book
ReplyDelete2. sales to saudi continues unabated but aid to yemen is halved
3. Nazis hold a rally in USA & publicly announce punishment list
4. some tv journo called peers (?) whines about Harry & Meghan
5. what kind of fucking world is this?
In answer to Anon 20.42. I still have all the documents I refer to at home, including of course Annex 16, which is dated June 2018; my dismissal was Sept 2018. I was a little surprised to read your comment “if Alison’s book is true....”
ReplyDeleteAli don't think about comments like that if there was no confiediatlity agreement whatever your account is the record. No one can say otherwise and the cabal that scapegoated you can't add anything to what the record says . You crack on get this lot under public scrutiny let's clean up the rot.
DeleteYes I will crack on. I am trying to get this wider coverage.
DeleteA 7 minute explainer in advance of the budget. It is worth a watch all the way through. It debunks some longstanding myths.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHxloLkMXeU&feature=youtu.be
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/mar/02/uk-failed-to-inform-eu-countries-about-almost-200-killers-and-rapists
ReplyDeleteThe conviction of 109 killers, 81 rapists and a man found guilty of both crimes in UK courts, was not passed on to the criminals’ home EU countries due to a massive computer failure and subsequent cover-up
Hmm, wonder if anyone will be sacked or resign or otherwise get their arse kicked through their brain?
Possibly someone at the Home Office who's upset Priti?
The following has come to my attention:-
ReplyDeleteIn Memoriam: Richard Ogwang-Aguma
We are very sad to report that we lost our Napo colleague Richard on the 8th February 2021, who sadly passed away from causes related to COVID-19. Many of you will know Richard from his roles in Napo London Branch, ABPO and at National Napo where he served as Black Rep for the NEC and Chair of National Napo Training Committee he had also served as an Edridge Rep. He represented many of our members involved in HR processes over the years and will be greatly missed. He worked in both sides of the organisation, latterly for the CRC. Tributes from colleagues have flooded in and it is clear he touched many people over his time in Probation and Napo. He will be remembered as a warm and kind man who was always supportive of his colleagues. He was also a funny man with a wicked sense of humour who was always well dressed in his suit and tie and who was never without his briefcase and his smile. He is survived by his wife and 4 children.
Sadly, Richard’s family also lost his sister to COVID-19 a few days before Richard passed away. They are trying to fulfil their last wishes that their bodies are returned to Africa. CRC have set up a collection for the family to help them meet funeral costs. Anyone who would like to make a donation should use the following link:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/richard-ogwang-aguma
Sadly, Richard passed away on Saturday 6th February 2021.
Richard's wish was to be laid to rest in Uganda, in the Northern District of Apac. This is where he was born. His father and three brothers live there and this is where his mother was laid to rest in 2017. He wanted to be buried alongside her. The repatriation of Richard's body will be costly for his family. This page intends to alleviate some of this cost.
Richard leaves behind his wife Esther, his son and three daughters.
Richard was a very kind, humble man who worked hard for his family and community. We will miss him dearly. Richard's wife, Esther
Richard had 15 years experience as a Probation Officer, working at Newham, Romford, Lewisham and Ealing. He was also an active NAPO member. His colleagues remember him as an exceptional man, full of kindness and great humour. He cared deeply about his job, his colleagues and his Service Users.
Richard always had time for people. Always had the right words. Always had a big smile. His personality would calm any storm that may be brewing before it even arrived.
We all feel very proud to have known and worked alongside Richard. He will be sorely missed, both as a colleague and a friend.
Hi Alison, firstly I just wanted to say thank you for taking the courage to write your book. It’s very comprehensive, detailed and a good insight into how staff are treated when things go badly wrong.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn’t read too much into what other people comments are or what they say.
You will always get your doubters and those who will be sceptical and disillusioned. Always running the defend their superiors.
I did want to say that simply longer prison sentences is not the solution.
We need probation to reform it’s approach to supervising offenders. I’m not talking about more control but more rehabilitation through supervision. This cost time and money which I doubt those in authority are likely to invest.
Anyway take care and look after yourself.
Recusant
I'd really like to read Annex 16 in all its grubby glory. Are there any plans to make the document public Alison? Did they have to provide you with it? Almost sounds like another error on NPS part?!
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I can share Annex 16 as it contains confidential details about other staff members, which I should not have been made aware of anyway. Whilst they are not named, they could be identified. I think it very likely it was sent to me in error.
DeleteSlight diversion until I get my hands on Alison's book: I truly admire Wee Nicola and I think Salmond is a grubby opportunist. I'm hoping tomorrow reveals she didn't screw up but if she's stepped over the line then she really should be walking. Maybe we'll have to rely on the verdict of VAR? or Hawkeye? or Pascal Gauzere?
ReplyDeleteMeantime I've been mostly self-isolating with a Banksy documentary, a slab of tennents, some Robert Wyatt, a wee dram & Ivor Cutler. Wake me when its morning.
Wide awake - & I have just heard Ian Blackford being interrogated on R4 Today programme about Wee Nicola, with the outrage undeniably clear in the interviewer's voice about the alleged issues of misleading the Scottish parliament & the "loss of hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money." If true, it aint good & needs addressing. But it hasn't been proven as yet. The day will reveal a lot more & the standards officer's review will draw a final conclusion very soon.
DeleteBut... I don't recall the same level of vitriol & condemnation in the voices of those on R4 Today interviewing UK parliament ministers over the proven & blatant lies they & their colleagues have told to parliament & the public, or the hundreds of billions of pounds of public money proven to have been wasted by them.
Committee are taking a brief deep-clean break.
DeleteIts an interesting hearing, and for any journos who might be reading this blog its well worth a direct compare-&-contrast with the blond blubberboy's performances at uk parliament committee hearings. For anyone with the technical expertise it would be worth seeing - on tube or similar.
Surely that's because the allegation is that she knowingly lied about something that was matter of fact?
DeleteWhat would be an example of a proven and blatant lie told by a UK parliament minister they knowingly knew to be untrue?
There's a difference between telling a lie and being mistaken or getting something wrong. For instance, when Matt Hancock stood up in parliament last year and said the UK was well prepared for the pandemic, that wasn't a lie. It was an opinion that was mistaken and inaccurate. There's a difference.
https://boris-johnson-lies.com/
DeleteHi yes its out in paperback now and I agree with you that there are probably other stories of betrayal out there, that remain untold or covered up. I am hearing quite a few from officers who have emailed me.
ReplyDeleteWorking links run by the most corrupt people ever. Supported by many staff who did as they were told regardless of legitimacy. Links stole cash funding pensions percentage contributions and paid their clique of friends incredible salaries from the budget while cutting front line staff. They couldn't pay bills for vehicle insurance road funds mot laundry water. They closed, valuable office space intimidated staff and lied to individuals. Steve Jones working links sub chief is incredibly low rent low skill and low conscionce. Local Napo fought these people and effectively run an internal exposures campaign on TV Jim's media, and local council motions with labour. The corrupted Tory linkages were everywhere but nothing stopped the production of the worst hmip report ever from any area.
ReplyDeleteIt directly led to major leadership exit post links demise.
Links held on with a genuinely incredible financial accounts being marked as a going concern. This means having funds to run for the next 18 months. Links buckled 12 weeks later indicating the flair for auditors bad accounts . Aurelias turned on links then ate their cash devouring everything. Links desperately scrambling their debts to the HSBC monthly deadline saw offender provisions suffer. No desk phones no transport cover no tools no replaced products no expenses paid. Flooded shoddy offices no health and safety. The complete failure of leadership was painful to witness and their immidiate complicit conduct. Just following orders I don't think so. Links had not calculated what the local Napo branch did do and helped bring them down sooner than later. Some of the early engagements were like a scene from made in Dagenham with cooperative overtures was beyond a joke. Senior unions officers talking like apologists than taking substantive action but for the local branch chair who had a fantastic team.
The four years of the idiocy complacency and complicit conduct from those in charge coupled to sheer gross and growing incompetance unravelled it should never have run so long and the cowardice of those who should and could have acted properly brought matters to a head faster but chose not to. These failings so derilict from their primary function and duty. They could not have any pride for their part.
My very remote take on the Leaky Wanks debacle was that Dino & co were the local heroes fighting a lonely battle against the inherent incompetence & corruption of the CRC and their collaborators in MoJ/HMPPS/NPS/NapoHQ.
ReplyDeleteThe number of deaths where COVID-19 is mentioned as a cause on the death certificate, registered up to the week ending Friday, 19 February 2021
ReplyDeleteTotal: 140,062
All in it together; Levelling up; blah blah blah...
ReplyDeleteRegarding the budget announcement 3/3/21:
"Peter Barnes, the BBC's head of political research:
There are 45 towns named but as some cover multiple constituencies, I've counted 56 constituencies that benefit.
Forty-seven are Conservative constituencies - including 14 gained from Labour at the 2019 election plus quite a few more recent Conservative gains, while nine are Labour constituencies.
Fifty-three of the constituencies voted "leave" at the EU referendum. Three voted "remain". "
* 47/56 of areas to benefit are Tory-held = 84%
* 53/56 of areas to benefit voted Leave = 95%
Isn't that the very definition of using public funds to further party-political ends, rather than governing the country using fair & balanced fiscal policy?
The List: New town deals and amount per region
ReplyDeleteNorth East: Middlesbrough; Thornaby-On-Tees - £46m
North West: Preston; Workington; Bolton; Cheadle; Carlisle; Leyland; Southport; Staveley; Rochdale - £211m
Yorkshire and the Humber: Wakefield; Whitby; Scarborough; Grimsby; Castleford; Goldthorpe; Scunthorpe; Morley; Stocksbridge - £199m
East Midlands: Newark; Clay Cross; Skegness; Mablethorpe; Boston; Lincoln; Northampton; Mansfield - £175m
West Midlands: Wolverhampton; Kidsgrove; Rowley Regis; Smethwick; West Bromwich; Burton-upon-Trent; Nuneaton - £155m
East of England: Lowestoft; Colchester; Stevenage; Great Yarmouth; Ipswich; Milton Keynes - £148m
South East: Crawley; Margate - £43m
South West: Swindon; Bournemouth - £41m
I see that Jenrick's Newark constituency has landed yet another cash windfall. Remember last year?
"The communities secretary confirmed that communities minister Jake Berry gave the go-ahead for Jenrick’s Newark constituency to be selected for a £25m fund award even though it was 270th on the list of the UK’s most deprived areas."
https://www.elystandard.co.uk/news/pm-awards-lucy-frazer-with-high-role-7802932
ReplyDeleteSE Cambs MP Lucy Frazer has new a job following changes announced by the prime minister after the decision by the Attorney General to take maternity leave.
DeleteMs Frazer will become Solicitor General – for the second time – as Suella Braverman becomes the first Cabinet-level minister to go on maternity leave. The law was changed to allow her to do so.
@00.17, I disagree with you and think the view that the Tories are giving money to areas only because they're Tory held is missing the fact that at the last election, they got more votes from the C2DE social classes than they did from the ABC1s. A perfect example for me would be Stoke-on-Trent, a relatively impoverished place where the Tories hold all of the seats now. I'm familiar with a lot of places on that list and wouldn't disagree that any of them require money spending on them.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the vast majority of those places are in the North when historically all the money has been spent on London is surely the very definition of levelling up?
Annon @08:53
DeleteI think your comment assumes that many of the historically Labour regions that voted Conservative in the last election did so because they had faith in Tory policies and promises.
I don't think that's correct. My personal opinion is that those Labour regions that voted Conservative in the last election did so solely on a basis to enable Brexit, not because of any belief or trust in the Conservative party.
Brexit was a very powerful variable in the last election, and I personally think its the sole reason the Conservatives returned such a large majority.
'Getafix
There are plenty of alpha-numerically defined voters in towns & cities in 'the north' that are not in Tory held constituencies and did not vote to leave the EU, places many of us are familiar with, places that are struggling because of historical Tory policies that devastated industry and the much more recent Tory austerity drive.
DeleteThey have not been awarded any cash.
Newark-on-Trent ranks well down in the league of struggling towns, but receives double doses of grants because its Jenrick's constituency (even though he doesn't live anywhere near there, but rents a very expensive property that is "near" Newark at the taxpayers' expense, despite owning at least four other £multi-million properties).
That is not a fair & balanced fiscal policy or "the very definition of levelling up" - its party political shenanigans at their most explicit.
I'm not so sure about that Getafix. Brexit definitely played a huge part but it was part of a wider cultural shift. I think those historically Labour regions are probably now Tory for good. Or at least the foreseeable future.
DeleteSome interesting analysis on the subject here:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/12/labour-red-wall-cities-lost-voters-liberal-values-
This bit from the article stood out to me:
'Mattinson has long conducted voter research for Labour. Her interviewees, all former Labour voters who chose the Tories in 2019, often admire Donald Trump, sometimes wish Britain still had an empire, and believe that Boris Johnson and Brexit will “make Britain great again”. They hate “scroungers”, political correctness and urban liberals, especially if they’re from London.
Over recent decades, Rayson concludes, the red wall has become increasingly “similar to many Conservative seats in the south … culturally conservative, older, and disproportionately white … Rather than looking at why [these] voters left Labour in 2019, one could ask, ‘Why did these voters stick with Labour for so long?’”