Hidden away in the dark recesses of the internet and only recently come to light thanks to a Facebook group, here we have a bit of Napo nostalgia from the heady campaigning days prior to privatisation. It was Napo at the London TUC demonstration 'A Future that Works' 20th October 2012. I was there - were you?
Every one of them gone!
ReplyDeleteWhat did they achieve......?
Most of them gone . Some achieved incredibly bad own goals. Ledger gate Rendon turncoat. Some have done very well for themselves hoovering up the gaps . One or two did a lot for others but you'll never hear their truth. Napo is so corrupted . Had they fought off the CP privatisation in the first place despite a warning but two dead head leaders took a punt than take the fight . Cowards.
DeleteSome of us are still here. Many have gone, and who can blame them? Fie on your negativity. Negativity is easy and vainglorious. You keep on typing away if you must, but it adds nothing. If we (including me) hadnt pitched in and done everything we could, negative you would be right there criticising what we didnt do. Please do reply and tell me what you did do.
DeleteThe sense of common purpose was very empowering. The difficulty now is that many of those then are now gagged.
Too many are happy to let others do the protesting, joining in with the celebrations of success when achieved, but very quick to moan and criticise when action fails.
DeleteIf you weren't there you should be asking yourself why not.
I was there and I am still here doing what I can the fact is probations hands are tied and we are being smothered by the prison service who treat us like one of their contractors
ReplyDeleteI don't accept that our union Napo leadership adopt a non action stance so the poa just protect their members. The rudderless general secretary is holding the reigns while the horse meanders a low flat terrain. No real integrity as he sees management as his colleagues not our members. You need to appreciate no able leader means all lost cause as the nec climb down shows us. Where is the barn storm rhetoric as he ducks for cover under NEC naivety. Only one dissenter as Mr Chas berry points out the leadership is shameful. They really are.
DeleteIf you only have crap to elect don't be surprised if it's all shit. Although Napo do select a particular candidate don't they. Wink.
DeleteYou are absolutely right. Clueless was and is the general secretary. In a battle way out of his previous and limited law experience. The worst chairs ever to serve napo had neither skills or wit to compile the right team. The right material construct the right arguments in law or accepted national practice in primary legislation. The result a capitulation wherby CRC contracts had a phrase for acting as the moj legal agent to deliver sentence. Napo concerned only on the risks to continue would ensure a claim for defended costs and that fear is why nafo caved. Lawro claimed it as a success. What the hell was he on fairy dust ? The standard of success is measured by his naive incompetance. Starting a case on sub standard material because he was forced to form action he did not understand. Withdrawing Napos case to save threatened consequential award on costs. We end up in a case withdrawn with no public announcement on any of the detail. They claim the judge's ruling was confidential and it was accepted. Really this is justice process and that has to be seen. What sort of reckless union let this go by. The nec again courted by the duplicitous spin then accepting anything they were fed. Sadly Napo grounds of judicial review have never been seen it's a skeleton they hide. Not with hindsight but with fear of a clear lack of earlier knowledge of events. Only one or two branches had amassed genuine risk based procedural evidence. Feeding this into public consultation documents. Legislative function of po roles duties and lawful requirements . CP tied to courts sentencing guides and time line enforcement by probation. None of which important case studies important example were utilised by the pathetic stewardship of pattison co chair . Incompetent dishonest and useless lack of any awareness of the role. They blindly followed the myopic spinless GS who bailed as soon as he could. The emergency AGM in Birmingham forced him by process to start a legal action on behalf of concerned members. This action only born as a result of some clever able colleagues and from pressure in this blog. Voiced assertively and strived for by Jim brown no less in this blog. Napo had to do something along the judicial review something the had never heard of. At the worst time in probation history we had the worst leadership and their lack of ability understandings and low brow efforts saw privatisation saluted into being while they watched staff unceremoniously shafted out and then sat on their hands when they should have taken further action on the mass breach of contracts. What unqualified foster had the GS secretly agreed at the judicial review collapse. No action no cost claim? Yet here we are and they are still in role stuffing the members . Just read Chas berry comment on a shamefull stand down again by Napo leader shocking truly shocking. Wakey wakey Napo members.
ReplyDelete"A Conservative MP has branded mask wearing "mumbo-jumbo” during a debate in the House of Commons.
ReplyDeleteSir Desmond Swayne, Tory MP for New Forest West, questioned the efficacy of face coverings to prevent the spread of Covid.
His remarks came as the health secretary made a speech outlining the government's new measures to try and contain the spread of the Omicron variant.
Face coverings will be compulsory on public transport and in shops in England from Tuesday."
Many/most Tory MPs still refuse to wear masks in The Commons. Our SubPrime Minister declines to wear a mask whenever he can.
There is a ridiculous video doing the rounds of various fuckwits (incl Piers Corbyn) singing anti-vax/anti-mask carols on the underground.
The UK is full of very stupid people.
https://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/people/hastings-rnli-lifeboat-crew-blocked-from-going-out-to-sea-by-people-angry-at-them-rescuing-refugees-3475179
Deletehttps://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status/1465266433546461188
DeleteSir Desmond Swayne MP:
"I've decided I'm exempt from wearing a mask on the basis of my genetic predisposition to liberty... "
That is all.
Is our Govt's role to protect the nation?
DeleteSteve Brine (Con) says he is concerned that the regulation saying close contacts of people testing postive with Omicron should have to isolate could mean that, if one pupil at school tests postive, the other 29 pupils in the class could be spent home.
Mark Jenkinson (Con) intervenes, saying this could lead to “lockdown by default” as a result of the work of “activist directors of public health”.
"activist directors of public health" - what the fucking-pigs-in-blankets has happened to our MPs?
In the Commons Christopher Chope (Con) said he thought the new Covid rules were part of a “scaremongering propaganda campaign” designed to suppress freedom.
DeleteWho needs satire?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/29/covid-as-rules-on-mask-wearing-in-england-return-what-exactly-is-the-law
ReplyDelete*** Where you WILL have to wear a face covering
The new rule applies to:
All public transport, including taxis and private hire vehicles, and transport hubs (airports, rail and tram stations and terminals.
maritime ports and terminals, bus and coach stations and terminals)
Shops and supermarkets and generally places that offer goods or services for retail sale or hire, enclosed shopping centres and indoor markets.
Takeaways without space for consumption of food or drink on the premises.
Premises providing personal care and beauty treatments such as hair salons, barbers, nail salons, massage centres, tattoo and piercing studios.
Auction houses and retail galleries.
Post offices.
Banks, building societies, high-street solicitors and accountants, credit unions, short-term loan providers, savings clubs and money service businesses.
Estate and lettings agents and retail travel agents.
Pharmacies.
Vets.
Masks must also be worn during driving lessons and driving tests.
*** Where you DON'T have to wear a face covering
All hospitality venues are exempt, including pubs, restaurants, cafes and canteens, bars, restaurants and bars in hotels or members’ clubs, and shisha bars.
Clearly the virus isn't remotely interested in the hospitality industry.
Today 9.30 - 11am Welsh Justice and Policing Webinar Conference zoom link via contact with office of Liz Saville Roberts :- liz.savilleroberts.mp@parliament.uk
ReplyDeleteNow you have been integrated into 'the system', read it & weep. Compare & contrast:
ReplyDelete1. A black female senior civil servant is trying to protect the integrity of grants to charities:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/nov/30/fcdo-racially-discriminated-against-black-senior-civil-servant-tribunal-rules
"The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office racially discriminated against a black senior civil servant after launching an inquiry into her sex life, an employment tribunal has ruled."
"In 2019, she suggested that a £2m grant given to a Nigerian charity should be subject to closer monitoring. Two days later, people connected to the charity accused Warner of having an affair with an employee of the charity.... [which] resulted in a six-month investigation by an all-white FCDO team that gave Warner a final written warning"
2. A white privileged male is trying to get laid:
"Boris Johnson allegedly overruled the advice of staff to promote the business interests of his former lover Jennifer Arcuri and win her affections are revealed in previously unpublished diary extracts by the US businesswoman.... Last year the IOPC said it would not be launching a criminal inquiry into whether Johnson abused his position as mayor to “benefit and reward” Arcuri. Arcuri received £126,000 of public money in the form of grants for her technology business and event sponsorship. In addition, she was given access to foreign trade missions led by Johnson."
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/inspections/a-joint-thematic-inspection-of-the-criminal-justice-journey-for-individuals-with-mental-health-needs-and-disorders/
ReplyDeleteProbation practitioners are not mental health experts, but they do need transferrable skills that they can use to help individuals turn their lives around. We found that there were significant gaps in the knowledge and understanding of mental health work among probation practitioners and managers. In our survey, 70 per cent (38/54) of practitioners interviewed reported that they did not have access to effective mental health learning.
From our case reviews, we concluded that management oversight was either absent or ineffective in 64 per cent (34/59) of the inspected cases.
We found that senior leaders in the NPS were familiar with the overarching national strategy and priorities. In our opinion, however, this knowledge and intent was not actively driving local policy.
We found that just under half of the cases reviewed did not contain a comprehensive analysis of mental health needs. Practitioners need to be better equipped to talk to individuals about their mental health problems and understand their specific needs.
The cases reviewed showed that intervention plans needed significant improvement.
Individuals were not always given the opportunity to contribute and their diversity needs were often overlooked... We were not satisfied that enough time had been spent with individuals to help them to fully understand the requirements of their licences or community orders
Inspectors from HM Inspectorate of Probation reviewed 60 pre-sentence reports prepared by NPS court staff in the inspected areas; 48 reports were on men and 12 were on women. The vast majority (83 per cent, 50/60) of the reports reviewed were short format reports completed without a full OASys assessment. The mental health conditions identified were assessed as having a considerable impact on day-to-day functioning in just over half of the reports reviewed. Almost a quarter of reports were prepared on the same day as the plea or
finding of guilt.
Overall, the quality of reports was insufficient.
70% staff lacking appropriate training
Delete60+% cases without management oversight
~50% cases had no analysis of mental health needs
And these were cases prepared for & presented to the inspectors?!
Every time there's an inspection the lack of quality, competence & effectiveness never ceases to astound, yet nothing changes.
Its as if operating at somewhere between 30%-50% efficiency/quality/competence is regarded as a triumph for which so-called 'leaders' are rewarded for their 'achievements'. Its shocking. And all paid for by the taxpayer.
Please! I keep banging on about needing sufficient time to fo a quality PSR to cover diversity issues and get browbeaten down by the probation Court officer. I stand my ground but gets harder as more and more fall in line with ridiculous workloads and timescales. Would help if we got decent info from the court too.
DeleteFor me this is an issue of poor investment in professional development and learning which probation has sorely devalued. In London prior to the pandemic we were subjected to "risk is everyone's business" sessions followed by even more sessions on risk assessment...then of course they invested in time and effort in OASYS QA which focused solely upon "what did you put in each box," prescribed guidance...then the focus has been on "outsourcing", getting your head around this new CRS referral process to outsourse mental health work via "personal wellbeing services".
DeleteThe mantra right now slways seems to be about "referring people out"...we've been reduced to referral agents. The recent HMIP inspection on drugs pretty much mirrors the one on mental health. We don't know enough about these issues, how to asses them, or how to directly address them, because the organisational structure hasn't empowered us to address these problems..."refer substance abusers and those with mental health problems to another agency" is basicallythe bedrock of risk management plans. Do they equip and encourage us to deliver meaningful work to tackle these issues directly when confronted with them? Nope! Meanwhile the person is caught between attending a plethora of disparate agencies who each deal with their one issue badly, forced to attend under threat of recall. I'm frankly disgusted by how the service has denigrated the role of probation officer and those responsible in "the centre" don't see how responsible they have been for such poor HMIP inspections. We, the staff, shouldn't feel the burden of criticism here.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/nov/30/up-to-one-in-11-staff-in-some-jails-investigated-for-misconduct
ReplyDelete"For the financial year 2019-20, MoJ figures show that 1,266 prison staff faced at least one misconduct investigation, and of them 464 staff were subject to at least one conduct and discipline that concluded that year. Seventy-eight were recommended for dismissal."
Previously, between the financial years 2014-15 and 2019-20 (a period of six years), a total of 13,432 misconduct investigations were brought & 1,121 prison staff were dismissed for misconduct.
Over 2000 staff related investigations a year. That must tie up staff time at a rate of millions wasted. Over 160 cases a month . Wtf are they doing in jail.
DeleteI expect most of those are malicious allegations
Delete9% hit rate on dismissals over 6 years
Delete6% in 2019/20, with 36% subject to action.
That's quite a lot.
The sins Grayling inflicted on the CJS under his watch as Justice Secretary were grave and many. Court closures being just one of them.
ReplyDeleteNow, with many years of backlogged cases to get through the Government are forced into finding space to operate emergency 'Nightingale' courts.
Yet it would seem that some of the court houses that Grayling closed still have a significant role to play within the CJS!
Couldn't make it up!
https://www-liverpoolecho-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/huge-cannabis-farm-found-former-22318925.amp?amp_js_v=a6&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw%3D%3D#aoh=16383335088952&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.liverpoolecho.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fliverpool-news%2Fhuge-cannabis-farm-found-former-22318925
'Getafix
Not sure if this has already been highlighted, it's from a fortnight ago, but it contains lots of stats, (maybe too many), and information.
DeletePlease delete if already noted Jim.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/her-majestys-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-september-2021/her-majestys-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-september-2021--2#probation-practitioners-and-senior-probation-officers
'Getafix
too many stats for my fried head (and I think poss
DeleteDyscalculia) to digest. Or I am lazy. Do you have a commentary, Getafix? Or anyone else?
No commentary. I did think it was diliberately over complicated to read and saturated with statistics to confuse or disinterest the reader.
DeleteHowever, I also thought there maybe particular bits that could be picked at that may be of use or of interest to some.
'Getafix
Around 5k total staffing . Just a dot in comparison to police prison offícers NHS revenue . No wonder we are overworked.
DeleteLandscapers is a new 'true story' crime film on Sky next week. It is interesting to reveal that all the Court and Custody scenes were filmed at the now closed Camberwell Green Magistrates Court.
ReplyDeleteCamberwell was closed nearly 2 years ago despite very high profile opposition relating to the backlogs that would develop when the work was transferred to Croydon MC.
Since it's closure the court has not been developed and has been used for the past 18 months as a film set for a number of production companies making crime dramas.Charged at approx £400.00 per hour.
Meanwhile Croydon Magistrates Court has unprecedented criminal
backlogs.
As they say in the few courts left 'I rest my case'