Yet more depressing news as a disgraced government facing almost certain electoral defeat at the forthcoming general election continues to throw everything at stoking public ire and fear. This is not going to be good for the cause of rehabilitation or ultimately the protection of the public of course. This from the BBC website:-
Ministers will be able to block the release of some prisoners and stop others getting married under new plans to overhaul the parole system. The idea is among measures in its Victims and Prisoners Bill, which is aimed at giving greater rights to victims of crime in England and Wales.
Ministers promise to make it easier for crime victims to get justice. But critics fear efforts to improve life for victims will be lost in a bill which also combines parole reform. Some victims of crime, especially of rape and sexual assault, feel that the criminal justice system has let them down as investigations are slow, and information scarce. Many do not make it to court. Those that do face further delays. Now the government is promising new legislation to allow victims to be kept informed, and also to challenge decisions.
The plan for a ministers' veto on some parole decisions follows the releases of double child-killer Colin Pitchfork, who was recalled to prison within months of being released, and black cab rapist John Worboys, which the government says have shaken public confidence in the system. It will mean ministers can veto recommendations to release criminals including murderers, rapists and terrorists, the government said. Bids for freedom could be blocked on multiple occasions up until the end of a sentence.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab told MPs that public protection would be the "exclusive focus" of the Parole Board decision-making process under the reforms. The changes are in an effort to "stop a balancing exercise taking into account prisoners' rights", the Ministry of Justice said.
Mr Raab said: "Our reforms will improve the experience for victims from the first meeting with a police officer to the support they get in court. and we will refocus the parole system on its overriding duty to protect the public from violent and sexual criminals."
He acknowledged that the Parole Board did not like the changes, but he said he wanted to take the parole process in "a different direction" with the emphasis on public safety. Those serving whole-life orders will be banned from marrying behind bars. These plans also follow an attempt by serial killer Levi Bellfield to marry in prison, and reportedly making a bid for legal aid to challenge the decision to block his marriage.
The 54-year-old is serving two whole-life orders for killing 13-year-old Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange, as well as the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy.
The bill will also:
The 54-year-old is serving two whole-life orders for killing 13-year-old Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange, as well as the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy.
The bill will also:
- give ministers the powers to demand more inspections of the police, probation and prosecutors if they aren't acting in the interest of victims
- simplify the process for victims making formal complaints
- boost the role of the victims' commissioner by requiring criminal justice agencies to publicly respond to their recommendations and set out the rationale for accepting or rejecting them
- explicitly designate children born as a result of rape as victims in their own right, making clear that they are entitled to access support services and information on their case
- create a new Independent Public Advocate which will work in the aftermath of major disasters like Hillsborough, the Manchester Arena bombing and the Grenfell Tower fire.
Diana Fawcett, chief executive at Victim Support, said the charity welcomed many of the measures in the Bill "which will make a real and meaningful difference to the experience of victims". "But we are seriously worried that expanding its scope to include prisoners will be a distraction and delay it even further."
The End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) said women and girls' confidence in justice agencies was at an all-time low because of their "persistent failures towards victims and survivors of rape, sexual violence and domestic abuse", and said it was concerned the Bill "will not transform victims' experiences without significant changes". It said there was a "glaring absence of funding" in the bill and said it was concerned it was "creeping away from its intended aim of improving victims' experiences".
Director Andrea Simon said: "Recovery is an essential part of justice, and we need to ensure every survivor who needs help can access specialist support that is tailored to their needs" - but said we were a "long way from that being a reality".
A Parole Board spokesman said: "Public protection has always been, and will always be, at the heart of Parole Board decision-making, which is based on the evidence and the law. We are committed to working with the ministry and Parliament to ensure this important legislation receives the consideration that it richly deserves."
--oo00oo--
The MoJ Press Release:-
Victims placed at heart of justice system under radical shakeup
Victims’ experiences to be transformed through new Victims and Prisoners Bill.
Victims’ voices will be cemented at the heart of the justice system following an overhaul of legislation which will put the principles of the Victims’ Code on a statutory footing and toughen the parole system.
The Victims and Prisoners Bill introduced today (29 March 2023) will fundamentally transform victims’ experience of the criminal justice system. Legislation will enshrine the principles of the Victims’ Code in law, give ministers powers to direct the inspection of justice agencies that are failing victims, and create better oversight of those agencies.
The parole system will also be overhauled allowing ministers to block the release of the most dangerous offenders including murderers, rapists, and terrorists - putting public protection back as the overriding focus of the parole process. The bill will also legislate for a new release test for the Parole Board making it clear that public safety is the only priority when making release decisions – to stop a balancing exercise taking into account prisoners’ rights.
The new legislation will also stop prisoners serving whole-life orders from marrying or forming a civil partnership in prison. This will deny these criminals the important life events they stole from their victims while ensuring their horrific crimes are treated with the seriousness they deserve.
Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab MP, said:
Our reforms will improve the experience for victims from the first meeting with a police officer to the support they get in court. and we will refocus the parole system on its overriding duty to protect the public from violent and sexual criminals.The Victims and Prisoners Bill will put the principles of the Victims’ Code on a statutory footing meaning that where appropriate victims will have a right to:
- Challenge decisions which directly impact them, for example getting the CPS or police to review why their case has been dropped in the most serious cases like rape and domestic abuse
- Receive information to help them understand the criminal justice process, such as on claiming compensation, how their case is progressing and its outcome
- Access vital support services such as Independent Sexual Violence and Independent Domestic Abuse Advisors
- Have the opportunity to make their views heard, for example being able to ask to read out their Victim Personal Statements in court
The bill also bolsters the role of the Victims’ Commissioner by requiring criminal justice agencies to publicly respond to their recommendations and set out the rationale for accepting or rejecting them
Children born as a result of rape will also be explicitly designated as victims in their own right making clear that they are entitled to access support services and information on their case.
Justice Minister, Edward Argar MP, said:
We want victims going through the justice system to feel listened to, supported, informed, and to be treated fairly, properly, and with dignity.
Taken together, these measures will mean victims always know the level of help they should receive and always have somewhere to turn.
The government’s overhaul of the parole system follows high-profile parole decisions in cases like John Worboys and Colin Pitchfork that have shaken public confidence in the system.
The bill includes measures to ensure dangerous offenders face the strictest scrutiny including:
The bill includes measures to ensure dangerous offenders face the strictest scrutiny including:
- Enshrining a new release test for the Parole Board into law, leaving no room for confusion over whether public safety should be the only priority when making release decisions
- Creating a new tier of the most serious offenders including murderers, rapists and terrorists and giving the Justice Secretary the power to veto the release of those offenders in the interest of public safety. It will also be available in cases where the Parole Board cannot confidently decide the release test has been met.
- Making it a legal requirement for ex-police officers and detectives to sit on parole panels for these ‘top-tier’ cases. Their first-hand experience of managing serious offenders and the risk they pose will help place an even greater focus on public protection in parole hearings.
It is vital the public has confidence that murderers, rapists and terrorists will be kept behind bars for as long as is necessary to keep the public safe.
Our new laws mean Ministers can block the release of the most dangerous offenders and will ensure public safety is always the primary factor in parole decisions.
The bill will also create a new Independent Public Advocate (IPA) which will work on behalf of families and provide dedicated support in the aftermath of major disasters like Hillsborough, the Manchester Arena bombing and the Grenfell Tower fire.
The government will continue to engage with the victims of these disasters, the bereaved families and Parliamentarians to make sure that the IPA works to deliver accountability and ensure nothing stops justice happening again.
The bill builds on the wider government work to improve support for victims and ensure offenders pay back to society. Last year the Victim Surcharge, a financial penalty given to offenders on conviction which goes directly towards support crucial victim services such as rape support centres, was increased by 20% – providing an additional £20 million a year by 2025.
At the same time the government has committed to more than quadrupling funding for victim support services by 2025 compared to 2010, increasing the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors (ISVA and IDVA) by 43% over the next 3 years taking the total to over 1,000.
The full list of measures included in the Victims and Prisoner Bill:
Victims’ measures
Parole Board measures
The government will continue to engage with the victims of these disasters, the bereaved families and Parliamentarians to make sure that the IPA works to deliver accountability and ensure nothing stops justice happening again.
The bill builds on the wider government work to improve support for victims and ensure offenders pay back to society. Last year the Victim Surcharge, a financial penalty given to offenders on conviction which goes directly towards support crucial victim services such as rape support centres, was increased by 20% – providing an additional £20 million a year by 2025.
At the same time the government has committed to more than quadrupling funding for victim support services by 2025 compared to 2010, increasing the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors (ISVA and IDVA) by 43% over the next 3 years taking the total to over 1,000.
The full list of measures included in the Victims and Prisoner Bill:
Victims’ measures
- Enshrines the overarching principles of the Victims’ Code in primary legislation – to ensure the criminal justice system consistently delivers the entitlements in the Victims’ Code
- Place a duty on criminal justice bodies and non-territorial police forces to take reasonable steps to promote awareness of the Victims’ Code. Supporting guidance will underpin this and provide recommendations on how bodies may fulfil this duty
- Give ministers the power to jointly direct HM Inspectorate of Prisons, HM Inspectorate of CPS (HMCPSI) and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service (HMICFRS, but only insofar as it relates to policing), and HM Inspectorate of Probation to inspect on victims’ issues to provide greater oversight and transparency over how victims are treated; and place a requirement on these inspectorates to consult the Victims’ Commissioner when planning their joint and individual inspections
- Introduce a statutory duty on Police and Crime Commissioners, health and local authorities in England to work together when commissioning support services for victims of sexual violence, domestic abuse and serious violence
- Introduce statutory guidance on Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) setting out minimum expectations and best practice, to increase awareness and consistency of these roles
- Place a duty on criminal justice bodies and non-territorial police forces to review their compliance with the Victims’ Code and collect compliance data which is intended to include information from victims on how they are supported
- Give PCCs a greater role in overseeing local compliance monitoring of the Victims’ Code with the Victims’ Commissioner retaining national oversight
- Improving accountability of criminal justice agencies by introducing a requirement for them to respond to recommendations in reports published by the Victims’ Commissioner, including a requirement to explain why they are accepting or rejecting a recommendation
- Make it easier for victims to make complaints to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) by removing the need to go through an MP, where their complaint relates to their experiences as a victim of crime. The PHSO can handle complaints against public bodies including the Crown Prosecution Service, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and His Majesty’s Prison Service but excludes judges, magistrates and the police
- Creating a new Independent Public Advocate (IPA) which will provide dedicated support and work on behalf of families in the aftermath of major disasters like Hillsborough, the Manchester Arena bombing and the Grenfell Tower fire
The new legislation will also stop prisoners serving whole-life orders from marrying or forming a civil partnership in prison
Parole Board measures
- Enshrining in law the expectation that the Parole Board will take a more precautionary approach. The wording in legislation will leave no room for interpretation and make clear that the only priority is whether a prisoner is safe to release
- Greater ministerial scrutiny on the release of the most dangerous offenders, (murderers, rapists, terrorists or those who have caused or allowed the death of a child), including a new power to block their release in the interests of public safety
- Changing the law to increase the proportion of Parole Board members from policing backgrounds, and ensure they sit on hearings for the most dangerous offenders
- Tightening rules around open prison moves so all indeterminate sentence offenders – those who have committed the most serious crimes, including murder and rape – face much stricter criteria to move from close to open prison
- Allowing victims, the public and media to request a parole hearing be held in public, so they can attend hearings and better understand how decisions over whether to release prisoners are made. The first public parole hearing took place in December last year
- Launching a period of testing in the South-West of England allowing victims to attend parole hearings as an observer, ahead of a national rollout, which will put victims front and centre of the process. Currently, victims are limited to a statement shared with the Board explaining how the crime impacted on their life
- Launching a campaign to at least double the number of Parole Board members from law enforcement backgrounds
Commenting on the announcement today (29 March) of the Victims and Prisoners Bill, Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust said:
ReplyDelete“Today’s announcement of legislation to give the justice secretary a power to veto Parole Board decisions to release prisoners convicted of certain offences does not come as a surprise. But despite the length of time since the justice secretary first made his intentions clear, it is wholly unsupported by any evidence of a problem that needs solving. Any dispassionate analysis of the parole process shows that it is already overwhelmingly focused on public protection and that the Parole Board takes a very cautious approach. The consequence is that any further offending by lifers released on parole is very rare — less than 2% of such releases result in a new conviction of any kind.
“It is impossible not to conclude that the proposals are driven by politics. Dominic Raab is keen to pick a fight, ideally with an opponent, the Parole Board, that is not in a position to defend itself. He can look ‘tough’ and challenge the opposition to do anything other than go along with him. But in the process, he undermines public confidence by his attacks on the Parole Board, and he creates an expectation amongst victims that they will have a veto over the release of particular prisoners. That will inevitably be a false expectation if the test for release is to remain about public protection rather than public outrage.
“For people who have served their punishment in prison, and are preparing for a parole hearing, this news can only cause enormous worry and distress. The justice secretary’s desire to place their interests in direct opposition to the interests of victims is opportunistic and unjust. Everyone — victims, prisoners and the public — are best served by a system which takes objective decisions based on the best evidence and the most expert assessment. This bill makes that harder rather than easier to achieve.
“We will make sure that the deep flaws in these proposals are thoroughly exposed as the legislation makes its way through parliament.”
Blatant electioneering as those people who are close to criminal justice policy will be all too aware. Unfortunately much of the British public know very little of this and will probably applaud this cynical attempt by the Tories to present themselves as tough on crime. This Government however since 2010 has strangled funding for Prisons, Courts, Police and Probation - and is therefore just posturing to cover up it's own repeated inadequacies and shortcomings.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a victims charter it's an accusers' charter. There is no victim until verdict and this legislation drives a coach and horses through the assumption of innocence. The entirety of this benighted bill is execrable and there is little opposition to this drivel. Starmer's Labour would probably be even worse, the criminal justice system is in a bad place and that includes probation.
ReplyDeletesame old tory "we are the only ones who can..." shyte.
ReplyDeleteThey create a crisis through their inaction, blame others then pretend they are fixing it with headlines & empty promises, usually something they can monetise & profit from:
NHS, healthcare in general, probation, education, asylum-seekers/refugees
There's something fundamentally wrong when the State takes responsibility for determining who and how long somebody will remain in prison.
ReplyDeleteIt creates a bias that detracts from the justice system rather then add anything. When the length of imprisonment can be determined by political choice rather then judicial due process then justice itself becomes a tool of the State.
'Getafix
When you work in any office long enough and you will all know what I mean. The distorted opinions the lost explanations to an empty vessel usually the sort of manager that hears the facts then decides on their own brand of decision making. Always get it wrong make things worse and from a centred subjective base that has no place in the work. This is what has become of probation and now the impartial sentencing is now forlorn as it will be up to some subjective elected twerp in the future. No longer will it be doing time it will be doing hope . Everyone is on an indeterminate sentence now .
DeleteNearly the whole of the north's probation services are in the news today. Another round of depressing reports.
ReplyDeleteWhy not focus on fixing what's really broken instead of looking for other things to meddle with.
I am in North and don’t know?
DeleteI see the Smiley Justin Russell photo is out on Twitter for a YOS inspection in Berkshire, while Yorks & West Humber Probation get Frowny/Disappointed Justin...
ReplyDeleteJust read the Sheffield report. I left 3 years ago and the issues haven’t changed. Moral was low, senior leadership was ineffectual and sickness levels were very high. So after 3 years it’s managed to get worse…on another note at least it didn’t include the usual garbage about how wonderful the senior leadership team had been etc, etc, etc.
ReplyDeleteIf I was wanting to engage people with lived experience of being "On Probation" who would be ok with speaking about it in public, where should I go?
ReplyDelete"probation england news" typed into a search engine, et voila!... the top results:
ReplyDelete* https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/probation
* https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/examining-procedural-justice-perceptions-in-probation-in-england-and-wales
* https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/labour-calls-investigation-claims-probation-staff-pressured/
* https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ministers-admit-4000-phones-given-29193023
So I looked at HMI Probation:
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2023/03/sheffieldpdu2023/
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2023/03/hulleastridingpdu2023/
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2023/03/kirkleespdu2023/
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2023/03/nnelincspdu2023/
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/03/Regional-Probation-Directorate-review-letter-%E2%80%93-Yorkshire-and-the-Humber-region.pdf.pdf
"The regional governance structure was strong and the vision for its future was clear.... We found that the region had successfully merged these former organisations into a single culture with a single operating model. There was a clearly articulated strategy for delivering probation services across the region. Clear lines of accountability had been established at senior management level... senior leaders on the regional leadership team (RLT) had good insight into operational risks..."
But it's still shyte because "we were disappointed to find that the quality of casework with people on probation across the PDUs we inspected was poor overall."
The reports bear Justin's signature - excellent leaders, pisspoor staff.
It begs the question: "How do they manage to be so good when everything around them is so utterly shyte?"
It seems the chumocracy is strong with Justin; perhaps soon to be Lord Simpering of Whitehall?
"Justin’s previous role, from 2016 to the beginning of 2019, was as Director General, Justice Analysis and Offender Policy at the Ministry of Justice. Justin started his career as a social researcher in the Home Office and has worked on a wide range of criminal justice issues including as a Senior Policy Adviser on home affairs in the No 10 Policy Unit and as Head of the Violent Crime Unit in the Home Office where he led the Ending Gang and Youth Violence Programme and the government’s strategy on ending violence against women and girls. From 2012 to 2016 he was a Director at the Department for Work and Pensions where he led the production of the 2013 White Paper on state pension reform and was Director for disability employment and support."
As long as you have a "strategic vision", Justin will be happy with your leadership. Never mind whether it bears any relation to reality, of course...
Delete