Yes Another Million!

It's traditional round here to flag up the fact that another milestone will be reached at some point today when the counter records the eight-millionth 'hit' to this blog. It normally results in a certain sense of satisfaction that, despite everything, a small self-publishing enterprise with global reach and made possible by the magic of the world-wide web, still seems to have relevance and utility. 

In the very early days I used to offer a bottle of something to anyone that supplies a screen shot of the magic figure and one person managed this trick not once, but twice and such dedication was indeed rewarded with a bottle each time, and thoroughly celebrated with lengthy sessions in an appropriate pub. The offer remains, but is I suspect a difficult trick to pull off. 

Whilst it's hugely satisfying to see the nasty Tory party continuing to implode under the chaotic leadership of Liz Truss and thus signalling a Labour victory at the next General Election, we have not marshalled some effective arguments for probation's return to independence and divorce from the strangle-hold of civil service command and control. We must surely look to all Criminal Justice bodies and agencies for support, together with evidence from academe. 

Of course Professor Rob Canton recently confirmed his belief that 'advise, assist and befriend' remains relevant and probably is still the best way to protect the public. Lets hope that his recent appointment as the first Patron of the Probation Institute will signal a spirited campaign for the heart and soul of our beleaguered profession in advance of a change of government. Of course it's a tall order, not least because we stand on the threshold of massive public spending cuts and politicians of all shades are aware of there not being votes in anything that sounds 'soft' on criminals.  

It's probably worth reminding ourselves that in the Republic of Ireland, probation still operates under the old Probation of Offenders Act of 1907 and hence 'advise, assist and befriend' remains a keystone of current modern practice. It should also be noted that probation staff have recently benefitted from a significantly better pay settlement of 6.5% as reported here in the Irish Times.  

I note that over on the 'secret' Facebook group there is much ill-tempered discussion of the recent acceptance of the HMPPS pay deal and no doubt this will form part of the lively debate at the forthcoming Napo AGM in Eastbourne later this week. As always, I remain supportive of Napo and am very happy to publish Conference thoughts and reflections from members anonymously if they are minded to share them to a wider audience. I hope it's a success.