Probation senior management and HMPPS HQ may be in denial, but a recent social media outpouring of anger and angst confirms what many of us have long known, namely that the service is in crisis and lacks effective direction and leadership. The HMPPS quarterly workforce statistics were published on 19th May and I was immediately struck by a tweet from Russell Webster:-
Probation sickness rates have gone through the roof (presumably due to work pressure, staff shortages & impact of COVID)61,409 working days lost to sickness in year to March 22 compared with35,825 in 202139,520 in 2020 &36,932 in 2019
1. Total HMPPS staff in post
58,437 FTE staff in post (as at 31 March 2022)
This is an increase of 7,172 FTE (14.0%) staff in post since 31 March 2021 and a minimal change of 255 FTE (0.4%) since 31 December 2021 driven mainly by the transfer of CRC personnel into HMPPS. Of the staff in post, there were 34,180 FTE in Public Sector Prisons (PSP), 16,711 FTE staff in the Probation Service, 5,975 FTE staff in HQ and Area Services, and 1,572 FTE in the YCS.
As at 31 March 2022, there were 58,437 FTE staff in post in HMPPS on a full time equivalent (FTE) basis (Figure 1). This includes 34,180 FTE staff in PSP (making up 58.5% of all HMPPS staff), 16,711 FTE in the Probation Service (28.6% of all HMPPS staff), 5,975 FTE in HMPPS HQ and Area Services (10.2% of all HMPPS staff), and 1,572 FTE in the YCS (2.7% of all HMPPS staff).
Compared to 31 March 2021, the overall staff numbers increased by 7,172 FTE (14.0%): FTE in PSP remained effectively the same, FTE in the Probation Service increased by 6,691 (66.8%), FTE in HQ and Area Services increased by 419 (7.5%), and FTE in the YCS increased by 42 (2.7%). These changes are affected by the organisational changes described above, such as move of over 7,000 staff from Private Sector CRCs into the Probation Service in June 2021.
As at 31 March 2022, there were 28,094 FTE (48.1% of HMPPS staff) operational prison service staff (including YCS staff). This is a slight increase of 213 FTE staff (0.8%) compared to 31 March 2021. Non-operational roles across PSP, YCS, and HMPPS HQ accounted for 12,439 FTE staff (21.3% of HMPPS staff), which is an increase of 300 FTE (2.5%) since 31 March 2021. There were 17,905 FTE staff in the Probation Service (30.6% of all HMPPS staff): an increase of 6,659 (59.2%) FTE since 31 March 2021.
The big increase in Probation Service staff was mainly due to more than 7,000 staff from private sector CRCs coming together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service at the end of June 2021. Processing of these staff into the HMPPS organisation is still ongoing. Records are still being updated following this change, resulting in some entries being classified as ‘unknown’ in the accompanying tables. In addition, many staff had not been able to update their voluntary declarations on diversity information by the 30 June, which has led to a drop in recorded declaration rates for many of the indicators, as can be seen in Table 5d, of the accompanying tables.
3. Probation practitioners and senior probation officers
4,338 FTE band 4 probation officers in post (as at 31 March 2022)
This figure is an increase of 799 FTE (22.6%) since 31 March 2021 and a decrease of 152 FTE (3.4%) probation officers compared to 31 December 2021. In addition to the band 4 probation officers, there were 6,103 FTE band 3 probation services officers: an increase of 2,968 FTE (94.6%) since 31 March 2021 and an increase of 364 FTE (6.4%) since 31 December 2021 which would have been driven by the transfer of ex-CRC staff into the public sector in June 2021.
Key grades in the Probation Service include band 3 probation services officers, band 4 probation officers (collectively known as probation practitioners), as well as band 5 senior probation officers. Staff who are training to be a probation officer work as a probation services officer during their training, so a proportion of the probation services officers in post will be working towards the professional probation officer qualification.
As of the June 2019 publication, an experimental statistics annex has been added to this bulletin which presents figures on Probation Officers in post, their required staffing level, in addition to the number of trainee and qualified Probation Officers.
In late June 2021, more than 7,000 staff from private sector CRCs came together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service. These staff are being treated as transfers in and will not be counted as new joiners. Processing of these staff into the HMPPS organisation is still ongoing with some yet to be allocated grades or to a PDU.
As at 31 March 2022 there were 6,103 FTE band 3 probation services officers in post, an increase of 2,968 FTE (94.6%) over the past year and an increase of 364 FTE (6.4%) over the quarter; 4,338 FTE band 4 probation officers, representing an increase of 799 FTE (22.6%) over the past year and a decrease of 152 FTE (3.4%) compared to the previous quarter; and 1,249 FTE band 5 senior probation officers, showing an increase of 375 (42.9%) over the previous year and an increase of 30 (2.5%) since the last quarter. These increases have been driven by the introduction of ex-CRC staff back into the public sector in June 2021.
5. Sickness absence
HMPPS staff lost an average of 13.8 working days to sickness absence in the 12 months ending 31 March 2022 (including COVID sickness)
This represents an increase of 2.4 Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) compared to the year ending 31 March 2021.
Since June 2021 these sickness absence figures include COVID-19 AWDL sickness numbers, including a revision to all AWDL figures since the start of the pandemic. In addition, please see the annex with experimental statistics on COVID-19 and HMPPS staff, which includes information about staff absent due to COVID on given days.
In the year ending 31 March 2022, HMPPS staff lost an average of 13.8 working days to sickness absence. This is an increase from 11.4 average working days lost for the year ending 31 March 2021, and an increase of 3.5 days compared to the predominantly COVID-19 free year ending 31 March 2020.
YCS staff had the highest sickness absence rate at 18.3 AWDL, followed by PSP (15.1 AWDL), Probation Service (12.6 AWDL), and HQ and Area Services (7.6 AWDL) (Figure 7). Compared to the year ending 31 March 2021, these represent an increase of 3.5 days for YCS, an increase of 2.3 days for PSP, an increase of 4.1 days for Probation Service, and an increase of 1.1 days for HQ and Area Services staff.
58,437 FTE staff in post (as at 31 March 2022)
This is an increase of 7,172 FTE (14.0%) staff in post since 31 March 2021 and a minimal change of 255 FTE (0.4%) since 31 December 2021 driven mainly by the transfer of CRC personnel into HMPPS. Of the staff in post, there were 34,180 FTE in Public Sector Prisons (PSP), 16,711 FTE staff in the Probation Service, 5,975 FTE staff in HQ and Area Services, and 1,572 FTE in the YCS.
As at 31 March 2022, there were 58,437 FTE staff in post in HMPPS on a full time equivalent (FTE) basis (Figure 1). This includes 34,180 FTE staff in PSP (making up 58.5% of all HMPPS staff), 16,711 FTE in the Probation Service (28.6% of all HMPPS staff), 5,975 FTE in HMPPS HQ and Area Services (10.2% of all HMPPS staff), and 1,572 FTE in the YCS (2.7% of all HMPPS staff).
Compared to 31 March 2021, the overall staff numbers increased by 7,172 FTE (14.0%): FTE in PSP remained effectively the same, FTE in the Probation Service increased by 6,691 (66.8%), FTE in HQ and Area Services increased by 419 (7.5%), and FTE in the YCS increased by 42 (2.7%). These changes are affected by the organisational changes described above, such as move of over 7,000 staff from Private Sector CRCs into the Probation Service in June 2021.
As at 31 March 2022, there were 28,094 FTE (48.1% of HMPPS staff) operational prison service staff (including YCS staff). This is a slight increase of 213 FTE staff (0.8%) compared to 31 March 2021. Non-operational roles across PSP, YCS, and HMPPS HQ accounted for 12,439 FTE staff (21.3% of HMPPS staff), which is an increase of 300 FTE (2.5%) since 31 March 2021. There were 17,905 FTE staff in the Probation Service (30.6% of all HMPPS staff): an increase of 6,659 (59.2%) FTE since 31 March 2021.
The big increase in Probation Service staff was mainly due to more than 7,000 staff from private sector CRCs coming together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service at the end of June 2021. Processing of these staff into the HMPPS organisation is still ongoing. Records are still being updated following this change, resulting in some entries being classified as ‘unknown’ in the accompanying tables. In addition, many staff had not been able to update their voluntary declarations on diversity information by the 30 June, which has led to a drop in recorded declaration rates for many of the indicators, as can be seen in Table 5d, of the accompanying tables.
3. Probation practitioners and senior probation officers
4,338 FTE band 4 probation officers in post (as at 31 March 2022)
This figure is an increase of 799 FTE (22.6%) since 31 March 2021 and a decrease of 152 FTE (3.4%) probation officers compared to 31 December 2021. In addition to the band 4 probation officers, there were 6,103 FTE band 3 probation services officers: an increase of 2,968 FTE (94.6%) since 31 March 2021 and an increase of 364 FTE (6.4%) since 31 December 2021 which would have been driven by the transfer of ex-CRC staff into the public sector in June 2021.
Key grades in the Probation Service include band 3 probation services officers, band 4 probation officers (collectively known as probation practitioners), as well as band 5 senior probation officers. Staff who are training to be a probation officer work as a probation services officer during their training, so a proportion of the probation services officers in post will be working towards the professional probation officer qualification.
As of the June 2019 publication, an experimental statistics annex has been added to this bulletin which presents figures on Probation Officers in post, their required staffing level, in addition to the number of trainee and qualified Probation Officers.
In late June 2021, more than 7,000 staff from private sector CRCs came together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service. These staff are being treated as transfers in and will not be counted as new joiners. Processing of these staff into the HMPPS organisation is still ongoing with some yet to be allocated grades or to a PDU.
As at 31 March 2022 there were 6,103 FTE band 3 probation services officers in post, an increase of 2,968 FTE (94.6%) over the past year and an increase of 364 FTE (6.4%) over the quarter; 4,338 FTE band 4 probation officers, representing an increase of 799 FTE (22.6%) over the past year and a decrease of 152 FTE (3.4%) compared to the previous quarter; and 1,249 FTE band 5 senior probation officers, showing an increase of 375 (42.9%) over the previous year and an increase of 30 (2.5%) since the last quarter. These increases have been driven by the introduction of ex-CRC staff back into the public sector in June 2021.
4.2 Resignation Rates
For Probation Service overall, the resignation rate was 6.9% for the year ending 31 March 2022. This represents an increase of 3.7 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2021. Amongst the operational grades within the Probation Service, probation services officers had the highest resignation rate at 9.3%, (an increase of 4.9 percentage points) since the year ending 31 March 2021. Resignation rates for probation officers stood at 5.1% (an increase of 2.4 percentage points) since the year ending 31 March 2021).
For Probation Service overall, the resignation rate was 6.9% for the year ending 31 March 2022. This represents an increase of 3.7 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2021. Amongst the operational grades within the Probation Service, probation services officers had the highest resignation rate at 9.3%, (an increase of 4.9 percentage points) since the year ending 31 March 2021. Resignation rates for probation officers stood at 5.1% (an increase of 2.4 percentage points) since the year ending 31 March 2021).
5. Sickness absence
HMPPS staff lost an average of 13.8 working days to sickness absence in the 12 months ending 31 March 2022 (including COVID sickness)
This represents an increase of 2.4 Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) compared to the year ending 31 March 2021.
Since June 2021 these sickness absence figures include COVID-19 AWDL sickness numbers, including a revision to all AWDL figures since the start of the pandemic. In addition, please see the annex with experimental statistics on COVID-19 and HMPPS staff, which includes information about staff absent due to COVID on given days.
In the year ending 31 March 2022, HMPPS staff lost an average of 13.8 working days to sickness absence. This is an increase from 11.4 average working days lost for the year ending 31 March 2021, and an increase of 3.5 days compared to the predominantly COVID-19 free year ending 31 March 2020.
YCS staff had the highest sickness absence rate at 18.3 AWDL, followed by PSP (15.1 AWDL), Probation Service (12.6 AWDL), and HQ and Area Services (7.6 AWDL) (Figure 7). Compared to the year ending 31 March 2021, these represent an increase of 3.5 days for YCS, an increase of 2.3 days for PSP, an increase of 4.1 days for Probation Service, and an increase of 1.1 days for HQ and Area Services staff.
Figure 7: Average working days lost to sickness absence, 12 months to 31 March 2016 to 12 months to 31 March 2022 (Source: Table 18)
The most common category of sickness absence in terms of days lost was mental and behavioural disorders, corresponding to 30.2% of absences in the past year. This category was most prevalent for probation officers, where 49.7% of working days lost were attributed to mental and behavioural disorders.
For HMPPS overall the category that accounted for the second largest proportion of working days lost was epidemic/pandemic (22.0%). Together the top two categories accounted for 52.2% of all working days lost.
For HMPPS overall the category that accounted for the second largest proportion of working days lost was epidemic/pandemic (22.0%). Together the top two categories accounted for 52.2% of all working days lost.
As ever, proof positive there's nothing new under the sun (except for the active NAPO bit):
ReplyDeleteSubstantially greater proportionate use of custodial sentences and significantly reduced proportionate use of fines for roughly the same number of defendants. Slightly increased proportionate use of community sentences. Offenders who would a decade ago have been fined now supervised by the Probation Service and medium serious offenders who a decade ago would have been supervised by the Probation Service now being sent to prison, generally for short sentences.
Caseloads (calculated on the basis of all Probation staff) up some 30% in the last decade
Cutbacks in Probation staff resources in mid-1990s, now being reversed.
There is also high priority on managing high risk offenders (including sex offenders) released on licence.
Longstanding IT infrastructural deficiencies are also being addressed. Nevertheless there is continued staff concern about workloads reflected, currently, in the NAPO proposed industrial action for later this month. There is a significant South East factor here: the difficulty of recruiting and retaining staff in the region.
Organisational shift in emphasis from "advise, assist and befriend" and "welfare" to law enforcement and offender control
The National Probation Directorate gearing up. At the same time the proportion of probation staff who are qualified probation officers gradually diminished to the point that they now constitute slightly less than half of all staff.
The desire of Probation staff for greater stability, but there being little prospect of it.
If the Probation Service is going effectively to devote more of its stretched resources to short-term prisoner post-release supervision then it must be relieved of some of the work currently required of it regarding low-risk offenders.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmhaff/437/3021102.htm
Could have been written this week. But it was from Prof. Rod Morgan in 2003.
What proposed industrial action? I’ve not seen any emails or anything about this?
DeleteUnless you count the March which is on a Saturday, the precious 48 hours I’m not chained to my desk.
see. It *could* have been written this week. :)
DeleteExchanges from Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"Everyone’s doing their best with minimal resources."
Probation was a gold standard service back in 2010. In 2022
HMI Probation evaluation says Probation is only achieving 40%, or 25% in some cases, of its given tasks. Current management is very well paid but ineffective."
"I am as is everyone else aware of the stats, it does not make pleasant reading. However I fear that continued negative attitude does affect new staff coming in. As I said maybe it would be good to impart all your years of experience which in turn I am sure will be welcomed."
"As a mental health Allie it is something that is fed back, that negative attitude of peers massively affects newer staff asking questions and learning from their more experienced colleagues."
25+ years in the service, 20 of which as a PO, I tried to share my experience & knowledge. At one point I became a tutor/PDA/whatever they call them now. My experience was dismissed by the 'new' management as old hat; I was variously referred to as a fossil, a has-been.
DeleteSo who's got the negative attitude?
Do NOT blame those staff who have fought long & hard through manifold changes imposed upon them, only to find themselves ridiculed by current management.
Read some of the 2003 comments posted here. You will see where the attitude problem lies; its not with practitioners. Its with politicians & career civil servants 'at the centre' who have tinkered with & failed the probation service for decades. Nothing has changed.
From Twitter:-
Delete"I don’t seek to blame anyone, life is too short. What I do believe in strongly is that we need to work together and put aside past mistakes to move forward and to embrace new challenges. I also think that in time will help with new staff coming in so we become a stronger."
"I appreciate that may seem idealistic but I came in to this job 21 years ago with a positive attitude and I try to hold on to that - pro social modelling goes along way not just with pops but with colleagues who we learn from and learn with."
"Anyway I need to get on - I think you have some really valid points but as I said I do question the negative impact you may have on others around you and I’m sure that’s not why you came into the role either."
Ref comment 08:43 - I'm guessing reference should be 2013 not 2003.
DeleteI read it as making reference to the Rod Morgan comments from 2003?
DeleteYes that makes sense.
DeleteI wish there was more condescending pass-agg twaddle shared on here as its weirdly comforting. It makes me realise that an entitled, precious, pompous attitude is widely available & not just directed at me. I feel part of a group now.
DeleteAnyway, I need to get on...
Opening preliminary question from Chair, Chris Mullin:
ReplyDelete3. Thank you very much indeed. One other preliminary question: should the Inspectorate be given responsibility for overseeing the work of the Directorate as well, do you think?
Professor Morgan: My reading of the Act is that it has. Unlike the Chief Inspector of Prisons, who is the Chief Inspector of Prisons, and not the Prison Service, the statute appoints me to be the Chief Inspector of the Probation Service, and although s.6 talks about us having a programme of inspection to look at the provision made by each of the 42 boards, we are nevertheless the Inspectorate of the Probation Service, and I take that to include the National Directorate. So if we find that the performance of an area is affected by the infrastructural arrangements around that, be that at regional level or national level, then we shall make findings and recommendations in relation to that.
Historically there were problems, of course, and a national organisation made sense in some respects:
ReplyDelete"For example, in our annual report last year we mentioned that we thought there should be a standard file for the whole country. I have to say that I found it astonishing when I took this job in August 2001 and started going out with my colleagues on inspections to see that each one of the 42 areas has a different case file system; the manner in which information is recorded literally differs from one area to another. This is a problem, because offenders move; a significant proportion of them move during the course of an order. It clearly is not efficient if probation officers suddenly have to cope with a file that is organised in a different way from that to which they are used."
"The workload of the Probation Service is not just represented in terms of caseload. Over the last 12 years we have introduced national standards for reporting, for contact, for breach, etc, and there is no doubt that a community punishment order today is much more professional and intensive than it was 10 or 12 years ago. In addition, we have the accredited programmes. So what offenders now receive by way of contact and programmes in the course of a community rehabilitation order is much more intensive than it was hitherto, and that is not adequately reflected in the statistics"
ReplyDeleteIt’s all ok Jim. We have our senior leaders food pictures and stories of pottering around the garden to take our minds off the probation overwork and underpay.
ReplyDelete"The research on the pilot, so-called, "What Works" programmes showed that, if the programmes were delivered in the best conceivable way by highly trained and skilled personnel and they were targeted on offenders with certain characteristics, they held out great promise in reducing re-conviction rates comparing like-for-like cases. Those statistics have received a great deal of attention. But it is one thing to deliver programmes experimentally or on a pilot basis in ideal circumstances, and it is quite a different thing to roll it out generally. Once you roll out programmes generally, they are not always targeted on the ideal offenders, they are not always delivered by persons with the best skills and they are not always delivered in ideal circumstances. "
ReplyDeleteWise words, later proven to be prophetic in respect of the subsequent damage done by a blanket/inappropriate use of 'programmes' & covering up of damning statistics by NOMS.
From Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"My experience in the area I work are managers are supportive and trying their best. We’ve raised issues in the past 12 months and they’ve acted on it. Communication is key and that is getting better. As colleagues we are supportive of each other and not divisive between grades."
"It’s the divisiveness and unapproachable attitude of some staff that cause issues and massively impact staff morale. We are all regardless of grade doing the best under the circs."
From Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"Some HMIPs you are quoting don’t tend to heavily criticise managers; it’s lack of staff they say is the sig issue. Stoking this anti manager attitude is just divisive. Nearly all SPOs & Heads were pracs once & they didn’t jump ship like many, they chose to stay and do their best."
From Twitter:-
Delete"I am pleased some offices/areas are functioning well.
"Nearly all SPOs& Heads were pracs once & they didn’t jump ship like many". That is simply inflammatory nonsense. Hundreds of staff were *pushed* overboard by those who colluded with the TR illusion. They had no choice."
"I wasn’t criticising anyone who left. I’m saying that the managers (that you lump together negatively) have stayed when could have got other jobs; despite pay&workload. They do because they share the same values as practitioners and want the best for the service and staff."
I'm loving this festival of words today. It seems to be evangelical passive-aggressive acolytes versus jaded time-served cynics. Wish I knew what twitter was though...
ReplyDelete"I don’t seek to blame anyone... but as I said I do question the negative impact you may have on others around you"
ReplyDelete"Nearly all SPOs & Heads were pracs once & they didn’t jump ship like many, they chose to stay and do their best... I wasn’t criticising anyone who left"
uh????
Actually they jumped ship into management. It’s well known many became managers because they despised offender management work or were terrible at it.
DeleteSolve the problems of caseloads, staff shortages, excessive workloads, stress, sickness, bullying, pay, managerial demands etc etc, it still leaves the fundamental problem that probation just doesn't do probation anymore.
ReplyDelete'Getafix
I remain perplexed. If, as some claim, managers at all levels are doing their best, then why is the service falling apart?
ReplyDeleteWho holds the responsibility for the shitshow we are mired in?
Football has no issue with laying responsibility at the feet of managers. They are the people appointed to 'manage' & achieve desired results, meet targets, to deliver.
Why do so many in probation tolerate, nay revere, management who have served only to dilute the profession, while continuing to line their own pockets with public money?
Its a broken model. It needs to come out of HMPPS. It needs to come out of the civil service. It needs to be independent again. It needs experienced skilled managers who understand what probation means & who understand what management means. It needs to get rid of the faux accountants who stride around in expensive rags waving statistics & data under everyone's noses, demanding improved performance & threatening capability, who repeat the politically expedient mantras, who dismiss others' knowledge, who say "It is what it is", "we are where we are", "just look to the future for new opportunities". Heard all that B/S when shafting to CRCs took place.
It needs to divest itself of those who are never wrong, give itself a shake, get rid of the pointless parasites & rebuild itself as a shadow organisation prior to transition from pseudo-public to truly-public. It needs to shrug off the 'director' & 'ceo' labels.
National model? Yes. (see post @08:13 above)
Use the existing 12 areas? Why reinvent the wheel yet again:
1 x Chief Probation Officer for Eng & Wales
12 x Regional Asst Chiefs - practice focused
12 x Regional Managers - structure/strategic/HR/etc
a tier of Senior POs - local team management
a tier of Senior Practitoners - 'clinical/forensic' supervision/oversight
a tier of Practitoners - PO, PSO, Admin etc
Accountable to National Probation Board comprising reps from a range of agencies/depts incl. MoJ, HMPPS, Police, Health, Housing, Local Govt, DWP, Business, a Probation Union, public members (incl ex-offender/s)
Regulation/Oversight by HMIP & Justice Committee
Your football analogy would work if you imagined a top flight manager being forced to send only seven new players out of the academy due to being ravaged with injuries.
Deletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017kjd
ReplyDeleteBBCR4 File on Four
Why are a disproportionate number of black children being strip searched? File on 4 hears from teenagers taken in for a ‘strippy’ so often, it’s become part of life.
DeleteThe strip search of ‘Child Q’, a fifteen year old black girl in a London school, was headline news, sparking outrage and official inquiries. Her teachers claimed she smelled of cannabis, but no drugs were ever found.
A safeguarding report said racism a likely influencing factor in Child Q’s ordeal. The Metropolitan police admitted the strip search should never have happened.
But for some black girls and boys, humiliating – and sometimes unlawful – strip searches are nothing new.
File on 4 hears from young people who’ve been strip searched so often they’ve lost count – in their bedrooms, in children’s homes, and in the back of police vans. We know children from ethnic minorities are being disproportionately strip searched. File on 4 can reveal that in the last five years, on average fifty children a week were strip searched in England and Wales - a disproportionate number of them from ethnic minorities.
This has been happening since the 1960s and 70s. It’s nothing new.
Delete"I genuinely admire your ability to remain in a service that you detest so vehemently "....just seen this comment to you on twitter.
ReplyDeleteJim, I genuinely admire your willingness to keep on saying it like it is, on behalf of the rest of us gagged and intimidated workers.. none of us detest the service, we mourn it.
I think that is an excellent point well made.
DeleteMany are still grieving, mourning what was. Those who never experienced it, who have only known a post-TR service, will not understand what is being mourned. There will also be a minority who were around in the Trust & pre-Trust era who *never* understood, agreed with or appreciated what used to be, those who were keen to see things move in a TR direction, who actively assisted the imposition of the utter failure that was TR.
It is galling that like so many other events we are having to endure the pitfalls were known about but the ideologues pushed ahead regardless, bringing the expected catastrophe down upon everyone, effecting widespread pain, loss & misery for why? Just to score a political point. TR, Brexit, austerity, the covid response... they all followed the same playbook & they all left a trail of destruction.
Meanwhile the architects, enablers & supporters of those disastrous policies sit jealously guarding their ill-gotten gains, survey all that has come to pass & blame everyone but themselves for the utter shitshow that is unravelling.
If its a grieving process, it's unhealthy for it to continue past a certain point and the individuals concerned have become stuck and living in the past. Perhaps it's time to accept, move on and work with what we've got? Constantly harking back to the " good old days" will achieve nothing
Delete07:21 Wouldn't that please a lot of people? :)
DeleteThe quote ref in 22.03 probably written by a manager. Why should we shut up or fake feelings to hide whats going on. This blot is one place where we can say what we feel and expose issues. Someone clearly threatened by that as it goes towards redressing the balance of power in disgraceful treatment of staff and operation of the service as a whole or should I say mismanagement.
Delete"time to move on" - now where has that been heard recently?
DeleteThere speaks someone (@07:21) who is never wrong, who knows all about grieving, who believes "we are where we are, its time to move on".
DeletePeople 'move on' in a time that suits them.
If some are still grieving/mourning for the loss of a vocational career of 20 or 30 years' standing that was ripped from them by a pack of politically motivated loons & their pet hyenas, shouldn't we respect that loss, rather than throw abuse at them, belittle them, call them names, accuse them of running away?
It echoes the vile Johnson's attitude to everything he's ever done, i.e. trample over everything that has any meaning to others, rubbish any view that is different to his & make disparaging remarks about anyone who might pose a challenge, e.g. using the insult "Vladimir Corbyn" in HoC (to much mirth from the lickspittle backbenchers on his side), while identifying Liar Johnson as a proven liar in HoC is not permitted.
But (1) it is what it is & (2) its time to move on...who needs to 'hark back' to the past?
Remember, the best predictor of future offending is... whatever a probation practitioner says it is based upon what management tells them, because management is never wrong. And if you have any reason to doubt that, the evidence on the IT system will be mysteriously unavailable, post-dated, edited post-decision or otherwise impossible to disprove because "computer says..."
https://psyche.co/ideas/seeing-grieving-as-learning-explains-why-the-process-takes-time?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB
Delete"Adaptation is often seen as a return to the stable baseline of the time before a disruption. People who have experienced a loss know this perspective all too well. A well-intentioned friend encourages ‘moving on’; the subtext of When will you be over it? creeps into conversations. But there is another, more useful way to think about adaptation: as a system’s capacity to dynamically adjust itself, updating its response to match a changing environment."
https://www.gbnews.uk/news/thousands-of-hours-of-community-service-wiped-due-to-not-being-completed-in-time/302078
ReplyDeleteThere is a backlog of up to 100,000 hours of unpaid work owed by offenders in some parts of the UK, Labour has said.
ReplyDeleteShadow Justice Minister Ellie Reeves told the Commons: "Unpaid work gives offenders a chance to pay back to their communities, but huge workloads and staff shortages in the probation service means that in some areas, there’s a backlog of up to 100,000 hours owed by offenders.
"And some have even had their hours wiped because they’re not completed in time. Isn’t this just another example of our broken justice system?
"A system that lets offenders off whilst victims pay the price? When will the Government get serious and fix this?"
Justice minister Kit Malthouse replied: "Well, it is very sad that the honourable lady isn’t celebrating the achievements of the probation service, which is expanding.
"We are recruiting particularly 500 new community supervisors, so that we can get on top of some of the Covid-related backlog in unpaid work.
“We have got eight million hours to hit, we have got thousands of offenders out there in high-vis jackets doing the work, particularly environmental work with organisations like the Canal & River Trust.
"This of course was a scheme when the Prime Minister promoted that the opposition condemned and said was somehow inhuman.
“Actually what we are seeing is day in day out all our communities across the United Kingdom seeing justice being done by these offenders, and that is set to grow.”
70% of those that go through the care system and up in prison. Ultimately that will mean they will end on the probation service caseload.
ReplyDeleteThe social work/social care system is, like probation and other public services in complete politically created chaos .
I read the following article in Byline Times yesterday, and found it quite disturbing.
85% of children's social care is privatised, and being pushed further into profiteers hands with unsavory marketing slogans.
https://bylinetimes.com/2022/05/25/childrens-social-care-cannot-be-reformed-without-recognising-the-impact-of-poverty-and-austerity/
'Getafix
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strengthening-probation-building-confidence-monthly-bulletin/probation-service-change-bulletin-issue-12-may-2022
ReplyDeleteATTENTION ALL STAFF (picture of Boris appears, national anthem plays, fade to new image)
I’m Sonia Flynn and I’ll be hosting this month’s bulletin. I’m the Chief Probation Officer. My role covers the operational management of the Probation Service and I am also Head of the Probation Profession.
Community Payback is now seen as a resource that can contribute towards ambitious Government environmental commitment to protect and improve 30% of land in the UK by 2030 (applause)
See Minister Malthouse talk to a Community Payback supervisor about the importance of the work he does with people on probation. (appaluse after video is shown)
The Government is investing £550m over the next three years to reduce reoffending. (applause)
The HMPPS Reducing Reoffending, Partnerships and Accommodation (RRPA) directorate is delivering a major programme of work (applause)
Electronic Monitoring continues to increase the number of individuals being monitored (applause)
Alcohol Monitoring on Licence (AML) will be introduced in England this June and will provide us with the opportunity to monitor the alcohol consumption of those released from prison on licence. (applause)
MESSAGE ENDS (Rule Britannia plays over scenes of staff cheering, flag waving & clapping)
Covid data
ReplyDeleteKey Findings
The key findings in this release are:
282 prisoners and supervised individuals have died having tested positive within 60 days of death or where there was a clinical assessment COVID-19 was a contributory factor in their death. Of whom 195 were prisoners and 87 were individuals supervised by the probation service. There were 3 deaths in April 2022.
Of the 282 deaths, 240 were suspected or confirmed to be caused by COVID-19, of whom 157 were prisoners and 83 were supervised individuals.
41,570 prisoners or children in custody have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, across 130 establishments, almost all of whom were adults.
There were 2,775 new confirmed cases in April 2022, this is 269 less than in March 2022.
106 establishments had prisoners or children testing positive in April 2022, a reduction of 4 compared with March 2022.
hmpps seem to have recruited some ex-drowning street spads for their PR team:
ReplyDelete"As part of the push, the Deputy Prime Minister was joined by four-time Formula One world champion, Sebastian Vettel, at HMPYOI Feltham, London, today to open a new car workshop that’ll train up young offenders in auto maintenance and repair - helping them make the move from prisons to pistons on release... And in March, 20 big-name businesses including Lotus Cars and Sodexo pledged to head up new Employment Advisory Boards in prisons"
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1074309/counter-corruption-pf.pdf
ReplyDelete"HMPPS defines wrongdoing as any behaviour that falls short of the professional standards expected of staff... HMPPS recognises that it is important to address wrongdoing at the earliest opportunity..."
"HMPPS defines corruption as a person in a position of authority or trust who abuses their position for benefit or gain for themselves or for another person."
"Inappropriate relationships can take place in several guises. An inappropriate relationship compromises the staff member’s ability to appropriately perform their duties. This includes, but is not limited to;
• Intimate or amorous relationships
• Friendship
• Improper emotional relationships / familial feelings towards an offender, likening them for example to your own children / siblings (and treating them as such)."
"In the Probation Service, Regional Probation Directors must appoint a Local Counter Corruption Manager (LCCM). The LCCM must be at Band A or above, (Head of Public
Protection/Head of Corporate Services) with experience of staff investigations."
Conflicts of Interest / life factors which may impact on resilience – Declaring private interests and outside activities... Staff Must report any changes to their circumstances during their employment at the earliest
opportunity. This should be done by completing the conflict of interest form."
But Boris had drunken office parties during the lockdown yet we see him in prime position at St Paul’s for the Queen’s jubilee.
DeleteMatt Hancock used his public office as a brothel and remains an MP.
Crispin Blunt opposed the rule of law when he defended his sex offender colleague Imran Ahmad Khan.
Rishi Sinai’s wife doesn’t pay tax and many Tory MP’s are shareholder’s in corporations their policies support.
Don’t insult us with rules that don’t apply to the makers.
Jeez how far have we become from advise,assist and befriend? We are now agents of social control, using algorithms to determine risk. If I was a client/service user I would not trust the system and wouldn’t tell my PO/PSO/ OM/COM/POM where a birds nest was, much less what my innermost thoughts were
ReplyDeleteIt is all just pointless! The offender's or Pops don't want to be there and the PO doesn't want to see them- the system is just forcing people to sit and talk to each other every week-one attends because he doesn't want to go back to prison and the other attends in order to keep their crappy job! The offender is bored and won't say anything interesting because he's basically just talking to an enforcement officer and the PO is bored because she knows he won't say anything interesting and just wants to get the dull, pointless session in the grim, dinghy probation office over as quickly as possible!
ReplyDeletespot on. And as the inspectorate makes its wordy way round England and Wales, with regions coming down as inadequate or -ahem- requiring improvement, like dominoes, the message is the same. Organisation not fit for purpose, staff miserable, not enough of them, pay so low recruitment is never going to plug the gap. The organisational response is to repeat the same behaviour -strangulation by centralised bureaucracy ...I dont think they even expect a different result, they just want to be seen to be doing something. We are right back where we were in TR: with the exception of the MoJ, anyone with a clue about what probation is capable of and should be, recognises the shitshow for what it is and is saying so. The MoJ doesnt understand Probation, and in any case, it really dislikes us. Probation has for some time now been a hostile environment for staff and for People on Probation
DeleteI rather think the whole concept of rehabilitation has been lost, and punishment and enforced compliance has become the order of the day for all CJ agencies.
DeleteThis from sky news, and I'm of the view it's a problem that predates the pandemic.
https://news-sky-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/prisons-criticised-over-inmates-doing-little-but-watching-daytime-tv-and-sleeping-12629039?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16546314641682&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.sky.com%2Fstory%2Fprisons-criticised-over-inmates-doing-little-but-watching-daytime-tv-and-sleeping-12629039
'Getafix
ONE HUNDRED & FORTY EIGHT!
ReplyDeleteIronically that's my workload according to the WMT....
Deletehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reporting-and-reviewing-deaths-under-probation-supervision-policy-framework
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gov.uk/government/news/offenders-to-face-toughest-test-yet-for-open-prison-moves
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/identified-needs-of-offenders-in-custody-and-the-community-from-the-offender-assessment-system-30-june-2021/identified-needs-of-offenders-in-custody-and-the-community-from-the-offender-assessment-system-30-june-2021
re-oasys link above
Delete"To better understand the needs of offenders who receive custody and community disposals, this ad hoc statistical release provides information derived from the Offender Assessment System (OASys). This information will be used in the development of Regional Reducing Reoffending Plans, which will set out the regional aspirations and priorities across Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to reduce reoffending over three years."
Two things strike me:
1. all of the graphs show a very similar pattern whereby lifestyle, behaviour, relationships & attitudes top the charts;
2. but how much of that 'need' is a reflection of the assessors view of the world & neediness, as opposed to being representative of *actual* 'need' of the person being assessed?
OASys has always been a subjective tool open to abuse/misuse, often seen more as a means of controlling staff than managing caseloads.
https://www.thenational.wales/news/20193738.uk-government-lost-98m-amid-failings-electronic-tagging-project---report/
DeleteOh I completely agree...virtually every man I meet on probation when you probe deeper, has an emotional wellbeing need...trauma, background in care, depression, lack of pride and self esteem, depression, anxiety...and so on...yet read many OASYS and all you'll see is "Bob told me he has no issues with his wellbeing or mental health...most issues relate to thinking deficits and poor attitudes "....my heart bleeds for some of these men who after much needed encouragement tell me whars really going on....OASYS is totally subjective...what probation officer lack these days is skills in empathy and good listening...the very skills they tell their offenders they lack!
DeleteHow much of OASys data is filtered through the needs of the assessor & the assessor's manager?
DeleteHow much of that data represents meeting HMPPS targets rather than being an assessment of the person being assessed?
How susceptible is the data to risk averse bias?
Who defines/decides what the measures are for 'lifestyle'? Is it based on salaries of £150,000 a year? £50,000 a year? £30,000 a year? Or £296.35 per week (£15,410 a year) if you're a single adult? Detached house? Villa in Tuscany? Semi-detached in suburbia? Terrace? bedsit? Tent on street?
Who defines/decides the measures for 'relationships'? What represents 'good'?
This has been the long-standing weakness of the crude data-driven OASys. The narrative, and thus the context, of the person being assessed is lost. I stood my ground & argued this with the OASys development team in August 1999. I was told to shut up by Danny Clark.
The same happened to pre-sentence reports. OK, some were rambling nonsense, some were minor (mostly crap) novellas - but most were detailed accounts of the person being sentenced. Feedback I received suggested sentencers enjoyed reading them, they found them helpful. Barristers tended to carry packs of highlighter pens. Now a court is lucky if they get a report - verbal or otherwise - that says anything more than "they are possibly suitable for unpaid work & supervision requirements".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61709572
ReplyDelete"Children in care have reported being groomed and sexually assaulted in homes run by a firm making huge profits... children's homes are the last resort for many young people, with the foster care system often judged as inappropriate for those who have suffered the worst abuse and neglect. And the time when homes were largely managed by local councils has long gone - more than 80% are now run by private companies."
8 June 2022 at 20:26 Makes a good point. I remember those days. The fact is that we have lost the individuality of the PERSON in the report. The whole systems is stacked against the PERSON. And yet we call them People on Probation ‘POP’. Playing with words. Smoke and mirrors!!!
ReplyDelete