Probation Officers Speak Out About the Crisis in Managing Offenders
The Probation Service, still reeling from Chris Graylings catastrophic reforms, is another crumbling pillar of the criminal justice system
The first thing people need to appreciate is that it’s not just when you’re going into work. It’s all the time.” Dave (not his real name) is a serving probation officer with over 20 years of frontline experience dealing with some of the most dangerous and violent criminals in the country. He’s describing the constant and unyielding pressure of his work in a vital service at the heart of the criminal justice system. As a civil servant, he’s not supposed to speak out publicly, so he will only talk on condition of anonymity. But he wants the world to understand the level of stress and responsibility that he and his colleagues live with every day.
“It’s at night-time if you hear the police helicopter above you, you think: ‘I hope that’s not to do with my client who didn’t come in today, or my client who was making threats against somebody.’ It’s if you’re off on leave and you see something on the news and you think ‘is that to do with such-and-such a client?’ It’s waking up in the middle of the night thinking ‘I haven’t done this. I need to do that. I haven’t done the other.’I’m fairly sure 90-odd per cent of probation staff think that way.”
Dave is not the only disillusioned voice from the coal face. Claire (not her real name), quit her job as a probation officer six months ago, and is clear about the biggest problem she faced: “It’s the huge workload… You simply can’t be the safe practitioner that you want to be – or should be.”
The Probation Service is supposed to help rehabilitate offenders, reduce crime, and keep the public safe. But it’s not just the workers on the frontline who recognise that things appear to be close to breaking point. In September, the Inspectorate of Probation published its latest annual report on the service. It makes for very difficult reading and confirms the depressing picture of chaos, understaffing and poor performance.
The Grayling Effect
Over the last two years, the inspectors rated 31 local Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) in England and Wales, around a third of the total. None achieved the highest rating of “Outstanding”, only one was rated “Good”, with 15 PDUs rated “Requires Improvement” and the remaining 15 “Inadequate”. With remarkable understatement, the Inspectorate describes these findings as “disappointing”.
The service is still recovering from former Justice Secretary Chris Grayling’s attempt at part-privatisation in 2014. His big idea was to get rid of the 35 Probation Trusts in England and Wales which previously ran the service. In their place, he created 21 privately-operated Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), whose role was to supervise the 200,000 low- and medium-risk offenders. That left the 31,000 high-risk offenders under the care of a newly created public sector organisation known as the National Probation Service (NPS),
Those reforms didn’t quite work out as planned, to put it mildly. A study in 2019 by Professor Gill Kirton, of Queen Mary University of London, and Dr Cécile Guillaume, of Roehampton University suggested that, far from improving efficiency, the changes simply created unrealistic expectations. They also led to bigger caseloads for the officers who remained in the public sector looking after the more dangerous offenders, leaving the public at greater risk. In short, the two academics concluded that the Grayling reforms had been “an unmitigated disaster”.
Those reforms were finally abandoned two years ago, which means that, as the Probation Service is re-integrated and becomes fully state-run again, it is now undergoing its fourth reorganisation in the last 20 years. The Inspectorate of Probation concludes that dealing with the inherited problems of privatisation and the turmoil of yet more change means “the service has if anything got worse, not better”.
One of the biggest problems is staffing. In the Grayling years, the privately-run parts of the service didn’t release staff numbers, so the true scale of the cuts that were made by the CRCs is only becoming clear now that the service has been taken fully back into public ownership.
Some regions are now suffering particularly acute staff shortages. The inspectors found that Yorkshire and Humber, for example, has a vacancy rate of almost 32%, and in London it’s almost 35%. Those shortages often mean that there’s no continuity of supervision for the most serious offenders.
As Probation Officer Dave told Byline Times:
“It’s not uncommon that a high-risk offender could have 7 or 8 Offender Managers in the space of one year… I heard of one case where a man who was released on an 18-month licence had 11 managers. If you’re a serious offender, why are you going to keep opening up to a new manager time after time?The Government is trying to address the staffing issue with its first-ever recruitment campaign on national TV, radio and social media, which was launched a few weeks ago. One of the ads shows a tattooed ex-offender “Paul” being interviewed by two friendly, but earnest-looking probation officers who are assessing what level of risk he represents to the public. It closes with the tagline “An extraordinary job. Done by someone like you.”
“It takes a lot to be frank with a stranger about difficult things. For example, if you’re a sex offender, you’re talking about issues like sexual stimulation, masturbation, fantasies. Why would you want to go through all that time after time with a new Offender Manager?”
Ex-Probation Officer Claire takes a dim view of the advert. “The idea that there would ever be enough staff for two officers to interview someone is ridiculous… And that slogan at the end? It just rings hollow. They certainly don’t treat you as extraordinary when you’re actually doing the job.” Serving Officer Dave has a rather more pithy verdict: “It’s absolute shite.”
It will be some time before we know whether the campaign is having any discernible effect on recruitment. What is clear right now is that the officers who remain in the service are often exhausted and demoralised, with many suffering acute stress that frequently leads to their taking sick leave. Inevitably, that has an impact on the quality of service they can offer. Probation Officer Dave told Byline Times an alarming story about the effect that had on one particular offender.
“I know of one officer who had been interviewing an offender, and she’d agreed to relax the terms of his curfew so that it began at 11 pm rather than 7 pm, as it was previously. But before she had the chance to update the notes on his file, her manager suddenly marched into the office and told her that she had 6 new cases added to her workload.
“She was so stressed and upset that she had to go home sick. So when the offender she’d been interviewing arrived home that night in time for what he thought was the new agreed 11.00 curfew he was arrested, because unknown to him, the notes still said he should have been home by 7 pm. And that offender was sent back to prison.”
Failed Cases
One of the key areas of concern in the Inspectorate of Probation report is the supervision of offenders after release from prison or sentencing in court. In over 62% of the 1,509 cases they reviewed, none of the six key elements of the required supervision programme was delivered satisfactorily.
That finding indicates some of the most troubling questions for the Probation Service: Is it still up to the job of keeping the public safe? Is it able to provide accurate assessment and management of potential risks? Worryingly, the inspectors found that, in over two-thirds (67%) of cases, provision was “insufficient”.
They also found other serious failings: In cases where inspectors judged that child safeguarding enquiries were required, they were only carried out just over half (55%) of the time. Where domestic abuse inquiries were deemed necessary, they were done less than half (49%) of the time.
Anyone familiar with the cases of Jordan McSweeney or Damien Bendall will know how serious such failings can be. McSweeney was under probation supervision nine days after his release from prison in June 2022, when he sexually assaulted and murdered Zara Aleena as she walked home in Ilford, East London.
In 2021 Bendall committed four murders in Killamarsh, Derbyshire while still being supervised by probation. He murdered his partner Terri Harris, her two children John Paul and Lacey Bennett, and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent. He also raped 11-year-old Lacey. The inquest into those murders finally opened last week and is expected to conclude by the end of October.
Former Probation Officer Claire remembers those cases with a shudder. “They were utterly horrific for the families involved… But there’s also the feeling of: Could that officer who supervised those offenders have been me? … And what makes that feeling worse is that you don’t feel safe as a probation officer having a conversation with managers in which you’re vulnerable, a conversation about the fear of making mistakes, even when you haven’t made one.”
The testimony of Claire and Dave paints a picture of officers under extreme pressure on the frontline of a service close to breaking point. The probation inspectors’ report confirms the impression of organisational chaos and systemic failures. With this as the backdrop, it’s hard to believe that there won’t be more Jordan McSweeneys and Damien Bendalls to come.
Byline Times did an article just after TR if I recall correctly. They are not afraid to challenge the MOJ / HMPPS narrative and we need more of this please.
ReplyDeleteI would like the TUs supporting staff and whistle blowing the absolute shocking state of prisons and probation. Rehabilitating and resettlement work is not on their agenda.
Anon 15:00 You raise an interesting point and I've been looking in the archives and found this from Hardeep Matharu from 2017. She is now Editor of Byline Times and has written on the subject of probation a few times. Sadly links no longer work, which is a reason why I prefer to re-publish stuff verbatim.
Delete"That those who commit crimes are still a part of our society, the majority of whom will one day walk past us in the street and again live in our communities is an uncomfortable truth conveniently overlooked by most. How such people are supported through their offending and its consequences should be something that interests everybody. After all, we – each of us – want to live in safe environments in which people can build fulfilling lives and reach their potential; don’t we?
The dual crises engulfing both our prisons and probation services are the ultimate result of a reluctance to even consider how to engage in a wider societal debate about what the role of criminal justice should be and how best its aims can be achieved. Sadly, few could argue that such a debate is not now desperately overdue.
As suicide, self-harm, violence and drug abuse rockets in our overcrowded, under-staffed prisons, failings in the supervision of offenders has fed into, and been exacerbated by, the state of our jails. Chris Grayling was warned that splitting probation into two public and private arms would have deep repercussions.
I remember speaking to deflated, passionate probation officers at the time who told me that their work wasn’t a job, but a vocation – it could be immensely challenging professionally and personally, but that they were driven by a strongly-held desire to help people and better society.
While the Probation Inspectorate has noted that many staff are still working to do the very best they can, the sheer uphill struggle presented by the system in its current state must be frustrating beyond belief.
In its latest report of services in Gloucestershire, the Inspectorate found that while the work of the NPS was “reasonably good… efforts to rehabilitate offenders often came to little or nothing”. While the “CRC’s work is so far below par that its owner and government need to work together urgently to improve matters”.
Now, more than ever, we need well-informed reporting of these issues – a discussion in the public domain about how we can solve the current crises consuming our prisons and probation, but also how we can bring about a new social paradigm around our whole approach to criminal justice.
I have been reporting on justice issues since I was a local newspaper reporter for the Epsom Guardian, covering Chris Grayling’s constituency. I was there when Napo’s members marched through the town centre voicing their opposition to Transforming Rehabilitation.
Now, as an independent reporter, I have recently launched a project on the crowdfunded journalism website Byline to explore the questions I have posed above: what are the solutions and where do we go from here?
If we can’t now return to the “advise, assist, befriend” model of probation, how can we move past the more punitive, bureaucratic approach of recent years? How can prisons better prepare offenders for life outside? Who should be ending up in prison, what are its alternatives and how can probation and community-centred social justice play a role here? Which social failures are being passed off as criminal justice shortcomings?
I am keen to hear from anyone who would be willing to share their thoughts and insights – anonymously if required – on any of the issues I have raised. Please feel free to contact me. Any support would be much appreciated."
Hardeep Matharu
I understand how having six new cases dropped on you unawares could cause significant stress, but what level of stress and despair would come from being sent to prison for following the instructions given by you're supervising officer?
ReplyDeleteCaseloads are people, somewhere and somehow that fact seems to have gotten lost.
I also think that the CJS has become so broken, it's almost irrelevant how it got to this position, that can be discussed at a later date. The immediate concern should be on saving the patients life, not wondering what it was that caused the heart attack in the first place.
There's two and a half times as many people subject to probation as there is locked up in our over crowded and broken prisons, and I personally feel it immoral to keep shoving damaged people into a system that's even more damaged then themselves.
Whatever side of the desk you happen to sit on, it's people, a person, a conscious individual life. They're not caseloads, statistics, units of employment to be driven like work horses.
The CJS has become dehumanised for everyone in contact with it, and it's a dire and expensive shame on the nation.
'Getafix
H and s not one staff member has to accept new work while above or even on capacity. The gated wmt was a great victory in Judy mcknight day. It was local to vary conditions. Some areas had more jail's so the work covered could vary. It is a sad day that under current circumstances the union cannot understand what a workload should be in 36 hour 150 per month job. Worse they don't seem to ask or schedule various jobs in spec to show a typical and break provided case load. This being all the timed tasks divided into hours shared by the max case number. Anything exceeding these is additional work requiring paid overtime. We 9nly work the hours do what has to be done on cases properly. If it can't be done pass the undone work back. It was called hand back. Under the js dispute Napo won in most regions and agreement made on localised working pressures . It meant we stopped the abuse the traffic lights adoption of moving work from staff helped protect sadly under this latest Napo structure we have no leadership who can understand what has to be done or they want to help the management. What we need to do is revisit that dispute the issues are the same we won before simple Napo.
Delete'Getafix nails it as usual - thanks. You do know I republish a lot of your stuff on Twitter don't you?
DeleteNo. I didn't know Jim. I had a bad experience on Twitter due to a post I made about Donald Trump so I leave well alone now.
DeleteBut when it comes to the CJS I feel ashamed about what it's become and constantly angry at most of the stuff I read about it, how its weaponized to suit political agendas and cause ideological division. I despise how some use the CJS only as a stepping stone for personal advancement.
I know three young women, early 20s, all doing some criminal justice course at college. Lovely people, enthusiastic and bright, but their main aim is to get the qualification and set up a company to 'sell' rehabilitation. It makes me feel like screaming out loud.
I see entering the CJS as a vocation, not an avenue of opportunity.
I hate the way the word rehabilitation is used in todays world too. Its 'delivered' like a doctors prescription:-
Take 80 hours of unpaid work.
7 RAR days and
1 offending behaviour course.
If that medication doesn't work then just go to the back of the queue and wait until your turn comes around again. It surely will come around again too.
It's got to be about more then that hasn't it?
Probation? Would reoffending rates be any higher or prisons any fuller if probation didn't exist at all?
Does probation represent value for money to the tax payer with what it actually achieves?
What actually is probation ment to achieve anyway?
I'll be in the pub all day tomorrow Jim if you want to come and find me and I'll tell you how I'd answer those questions.
(I'm happy to pay the beer tab, but you'll have to bring you're own drugs if you want them)🙄
'Getafix
'Getafix - I'd be very happy to meet you in the pub sometime and I'd certainly like to buy you a drink for all the thoughtful, reflective and considered copy you've provided me over the years - not to mention the extensive research you undertake on our behalf. Unfortunately it can't be any time soon as I'm already out most of this week and am away until mid November. You have my contact details, so we can hopefully arrange something for mid November. Cheers, Jim
Deletehttps://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2023/10/15/the-employee-hierarchy-of-needs-building-a-fulfilling-workplace/?sh=1e4884e6fe98
ReplyDeleteThe Employee Hierarchy of Needs.
This week, I want to take the concept to the employees of an organization, and so I bring you The Employee Hierarchy of Needs.
DeleteFirst, to have a good customer experience, there must be a good employee experience. And if you want employees to stay, you must find ways to fulfill their needs. For more than 30 years, I’ve emphasized the importance of “internal customer service,” taking care of our colleagues at work the same way we want to take care of our customers—maybe even better. What’s happening inside the organization with employees is going to be felt on the outside by customers. And keeping employees is crucial to the success of a business. The cost of turnover can be overwhelming in the dollars spent to hire, onboard and train a new employee, not to mention the time it takes.
Earlier this year, I wrote how to keep your best employees and featured Joey Coleman’s latest book, Never Lose an Employee Again. Money, as in a bigger paycheck, may not be why people leave, but it is why people work. Simply put, people need a paycheck. That’s a basic need, but the best organizations know they have to do more to keep their best people. And when they do, they reap the benefits of more engaged employees who work harder and feel as if they are part of something special rather than just earning a paycheck.
With all that in mind, I’ve simplified much of my thinking and broken it down into five levels. So, here is The Employee Hierarchy of Needs:
· The Paycheck (and Other Compensation) – As just mentioned, the most basic need is that people need to earn money to pay for their lives: rent, food, clothing, education, etc. Other compensation can include insurance, retirement plans and more. It’s important to keep in mind that compensation is a basic need that can often be found elsewhere. The paycheck is at the base of the employee’s needs.
· Alignment with Beliefs and Vision (The Culture) – Does the culture you’ve created in your organization align with what your employees think is important? There are reasons that some companies have incredibly high turnover while others enjoy very little. Even before a potential employee accepts a job, they research the company and check out Glassdoor.com ratings to get a feel for their potential employer. Disney is known for introducing its culture during the hiring process, potentially weeding out employees (cast members) who won’t be a fit. Employees want to be excited and proud about where they work.
· Growth Opportunities – Most employees want to grow. They want to know there are opportunities to learn new skills, advance their careers and feel more enriched. From the beginning, opportunities should be discussed, and whatever is promised in the hiring process should eventually come to life. When it does, employees are engaged and excited to go to work.
· Uniqueness – This is an often overlooked opportunity. What unique talent does an employee have that they can bring to work? Do they speak another language? Do they have a particular skill that can be incorporated into their responsibilities? I once interviewed a server who had been at the same hotel restaurant for more than 10 years. I asked what kept him there. In addition to enjoying the leadership team and the people he worked with, his manager discovered he was very good at video production. So, once a month, they asked him to create a video showcasing the specials and anything else happening at the restaurant. That they “exploited” his unique talent, even for just a few hours each month, was something he loved most about his job. Take advantage of your employees’ unique talents and find ways they can use them in their jobs, and you will get them closer to the top of the Employee Hierarchy of Needs.
Delete· Fulfillment – At the top of this pyramid model is fulfillment. In The Customer Hierarchy of Needs, emotional connection is the ultimate goal. If you want your best employees to stay, they must love working for you. That means they love their jobs, they love the people they work with and they love their boss. They also feel appreciated for what they bring to the company. When you can do that, combined with their basic need (compensation), a culture they enjoy working in, opportunities to learn and grow and their talents being properly utilized, you are on your way to creating a fulfilled employee, who can turn into a loyal employee.
As mentioned in last week’s “customer version” of this article, I could have written individual chapters in a book on each of these (and I have in some of my books). This article is meant to serve as a primer for deeper conversations within your organization. The concept of fulfilled employees has benefits that permeate through the entire organization and are ultimately felt by customers.
Great - nails it! Thanks for posting Anon 12:44
Deletehttps://news-sky-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/damien-bendall-very-stark-probation-service-failures-contributed-to-savage-murders-of-mother-and-three-children-coroner-rules-12990819?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16980692256615&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.sky.com%2Fstory%2Fdamien-bendall-very-stark-probation-service-failures-contributed-to-savage-murders-of-mother-and-three-children-coroner-rules-12990819
DeleteA series of "very stark" failures by the Probation Service contributed to the murders of a mother and three children by Damien Bendall, a coroner has concluded.
DeleteBendall, 33, is serving a whole life sentence for murdering his 35-year-old girlfriend Terri Harris, her children, John Paul Bennett, 13, and Lacey Bennett, 11, and Lacey's friend, 11-year-old Connie Gent, in September 2021.
They were attacked with a claw hammer in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, and Bendall also admitted raping Lacey.
Inquests at Chesterfield Coroner's Court concluded they were unlawfully killed, and senior coroner Peter Nieto said that while Bendall bore "primary responsibility" for the "brutal and savage" murders, there were "several very stark acts or omissions" by both the Probation Service and individuals that "accumulatively" contributed to the deaths.
He added: "My conclusion is unlawful killing, contributed to by acts or omissions by the designated state agency for offending management in the course of Damien Bendall's offender supervision and management."
The Probation Service accepted 51 separate failings at the inquests, which examined how Bendall, who had a history of serious and violent offences dating back to 2004, was classed as posing a low risk of serious harm to partners and children.
Bendall's history and allegations of domestic abuse against a former partner and inappropriate contact with a young girl in care were missed due to a "failure to demonstrate sufficient professional curiosity", Mr Nieto said.
"That was an important piece of information to be prominently recorded in the probation report.
"If it had been, it appears to me inconceivable that Damien Bendall would not have been considered to be high risk to children."
A damning report published in January said the Probation Service's handling of him was of an "unacceptable standard" at every stage and "critical opportunities" to correct errors were missed before he murdered his victims.
He had been on probation serving a suspended prison sentence for arson.
Bendall gave Ms Harris's address for his curfew order and was living with her and her children despite previous convictions for violent crime and allegations of domestic abuse made by a former partner.
The inquests heard from members of staff at the Probation Service based in Swindon and Chesterfield, which both dealt with Bendall in relation to previous offences, who said they struggled with high workloads and stress.
The chief probation officer for England and Wales, Kim Thornden-Edwards, said the service was facing "significant" challenges when it was dealing with Bendall - but major changes continue to be made to prevent a similar "tragic" incident from happening again.
Mr Nieto said safeguarding checks were not completed, with no effort made to speak to Ms Harris and her children to assess whether a curfew at her property was suitable, something the Probation Service admitted was "unacceptable".
DeleteAs part of his "entirely inappropriate and dangerous" curfew, Bendall was made to wear an electronic tag, during the fitting of which he said: "If this relationship goes bad, I will murder my girlfriend and the children."
But these comments were not fed back to the Probation Service, even though they "should very clearly have been", Mr Nieto said.
Inadequate guidance and supervision by managers allowed other intervention opportunities to be missed, including Bendall admitting he was using cannabis and strong alcohol and missing at least five meetings with a substance misuse worker, which the coroner said should have prompted a review of his risk level.
While Mr Nieto acknowledged the impact of changes to the Probation Service in the months before the murders and of COVID, he said: "They don't explain the totality of the acts or omissions or failures of the Probation Service's overview and supervision of Damien Bendall and the decisions made."
Following the coroner's conclusion, lawyer David Sandiford, who represented the Probation Service throughout the inquests, said: "We extend afresh our deepest sympathies to the relatives of Terri Harris, Lacey Bennett, John Paul Bennett and Connie Gent, and indeed to all those who mourn them.
"Damien Bendall is rightly serving a whole life order.
"We recognise that the changes made with a view to ensuring that this doesn't happen again can never undo the terrible loss or assuage the grief of those whose lives will never be the same again."
Closing the inquest, Mr Nieto said he would write a Prevention of Future Deaths report, and extended his condolences to the victims' families and friends after a "difficult two weeks".
BBC News - Killamarsh deaths: Probation failings contributed to quadruple murder
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-67194097
A series of "very stark" failures by the probation service contributed to the murders of a mother and three children, a coroner has ruled.
DeleteTerri Harris, 35, her son John Bennett, 13, daughter Lacey Bennett, 11, and Connie Gent, 11, were murdered by Damien Bendall in 2021.
Bendall, on licence at the time, was managed by overworked and inexperienced probation officers, the coroner heard.
Relatives of the victims have called for "decisive action".
Senior coroner Peter Nieto recorded that Ms Harris, who was pregnant, her children and their friend Connie, were unlawfully killed.
He said this was "contributed to by acts or omissions by the designated state agency for offending management in the course of Damien Bendall's offender supervision and management".
He stressed that Bendall bore "primary responsibility" for the "brutal and savage" murders, but there were "several very stark acts or omissions" by the probation service.
Bendall, 33, murdered the four with a claw hammer and raped 11-year-old Lacey in Chandos Crescent on 19 September 2021, and was given a whole life order in December 2022.
Weeks before the murders, he was given a suspended sentence for arson, which included a curfew requirement at Ms Harris' home after being deemed a low risk to partners and children.
The inquests, which concluded on Monday, heard multiple reports over two weeks of how Bendall was managed by overworked, stressed and inexperienced probation officers, with the service facing "significant" challenges at the time.
The hearings were told Bendall said he would kill Ms Harris, and the children, if their relationship "went bad" as he was being fitted with an electronic tag, but a staff member did not report the comment to the probation service.
The probation service accepted 51 separate failings at the inquests, held at Chesterfield Coroner's Court, and accepted a catalogue of missed opportunities and lack of scrutiny concerning Bendall's supervision going back several years.
Following the inquests, John and Lacey's father Jason Bennett and Connie's mum Kerry Shelton described them as "kind and caring" children who had "their lives and futures taken away from them in the cruellest possible way".
In a statement, solicitors for Mr Bennett and Ms Shelton said: "On the day of their death, [the children] had been selling sweets to raise money for the charity, Youth Cancer Trust.
"Jason and Kerry remain traumatised by their deaths and how their children will never get to fulfil their potential or celebrate milestones in life.
"The hardest thing for them to accept is how failings by the authorities exposed their children to a serious risk of harm.
"Jason and Kerry believe that if appropriate measures had been taken their children would still be alive today.
"They're adamant that decisive action now needs to be taken to address the issues identified during the course of the inquests."
In a statement, Ms Harris' parents, Angela Smith and Lawrence Harris, added: "The probation service failed to protect and keep our family safe.
Delete"They are now gone. This must never happen again.
"We hope that no other family has to live through the trauma that we have to every day."
Ms Harris' parents added: "Bendall is a violent and dangerous high-risk offender with a history of domestic abuse and risk to children.
"Despite knowing this, the probation service told the courts that it was safe for him to be curfewed to our Terri's house.
"No-one from the probation service spoke to Terri to warn her about the dangers he posed to her and the children. If she had known about how dangerous he was she would never have had any involvement with him."
Outlining his findings, Mr Nieto said a report by a probation officer leading to the curfew requirement was "wholly inadequate and misleading" and that was part of a "profoundly and seriously flawed" process.
The coroner said Bendall had a history of serious and violent offences dating back to 2004.
In addition, allegations of domestic abuse against a former partner and inappropriate contact with a young girl in care were missed due to a "failure to demonstrate sufficient professional curiosity".
The chief probation officer for England, Kim Thornden-Edwards, had previously told the inquests she acknowledged "in full" that errors had been made handling Bendall's case but that the service had suffered "significant disruption at the time" with staffing gaps.
While Mr Nieto acknowledged the impact of changes to the probation service in the months before the murders and of Covid-19, he said: "They don't explain the totality of the acts or omissions or failures of the probation service's overview and supervision of Damien Bendall and the decisions made."
He said he would prepare a prevention of future deaths report outlining concerns he identified during the inquests and require the probation service to address them.
After the hearing, lawyer David Sandiford - who represented the probation service during the inquests - said: "We extend afresh our deepest sympathies to the relatives of Terri Harris, Lacey Bennett, John Paul Bennett and Connie Gent, and indeed to all those who mourn them.
"Damien Bendall is rightly serving a whole life order.
"We recognise that the changes made with a view to ensuring that this doesn't happen again can never undo the terrible loss or assuage the grief of those whose lives will never be the same again."
Another damning failure by the probation service. This time in Derbyshire. Given these systemic failings of the HMPPS it’s now to time for those sitting at the top table to resign. It is simply inconceivable that they can remain in post. How many more deaths are needed before they do the right thing? Amy Reece and Phil Copple should resign. But as we all know the POs will be the ones who get the chop.
ReplyDeleteHear hear. Rees to resign. Some one needs to take responsibility and it’s happened on her watch
DeleteAt the conclusion of the inquest, the probation service said changes made “can never undo the terrible loss or assuage the grief of those whose lives will never be the same again”. And what prey tell are these changes? Infrastructure not fit for purpose, case recording systems designed by a clown, not enough staff, too much work….
ReplyDeleteCannot describe this agonising reading. Whoever is in key positions it does not matter what does though is this. IF THEY DO NOT REVERT BACK TO SOMETHING WE ALL KNOW WORKS LIKE TIME PATIENCE STAFFING MANAGING ALL CASES PROPERLY RESOURCED NOT TIERED INTO LOST SILOS STOP ABUSING STAFF . MOVE AWAY FROM THE BULLY KNOWN AS SSCL AND GET OUR WORKING RELATION BACK TO LOCAL CONTROL then we may have some chance. Do nothing and there will be more of the same in short time. With worse issues and blame. We have said this time and again yet they do not learn. Anyone here can do a list of cases. Grayling made these failings and yet he retires shortly millions batter for organising policy that has the innocent murdered when it could have been avoided. What's worse he was told of this but thought and said to us fo. What another Tory monster. What's worse still is nothing in print yet of the outrage for members by the unions says more than i can say.
ReplyDeleteThis is so awful. It is hard to think about.
ReplyDeleteWhile Mr Nieto acknowledged the impact of changes to the Probation Service in the months before the murders and of COVID, he said: "They don't explain the totality of the acts or omissions or failures of the Probation Service's overview and supervision of Damien Bendall and the decisions made."
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely on the fucking money.
Romeo, Flynn, Rees etc - they all need to be crucified for this grotesque & plual dereliction of public duty. They've all happily pocketed shitloads of public funds by way of salary & bonuses, so they should equally pay the ultimate price when what was predicted comes to pass.
Chalky, get yer brass cahonas out & get shot of the lot. Right-wing-Romeo especially. She was heavily involved with - & ideologically committed to - grayling's original project; she was happy to tell everyone she was the "Responsible Officer". I wouldn't let her be responsible for the school gerbil.
"The probation service accepted 51 separate failings at the inquests"
DeleteFIFTY ONE SEPARATE FAILINGS in the failed supervision of one man, leading to the brutal deaths of a mother & three children.
F.I.F.T.Y. fucking O.N.E.
Alex Chalk - how can you let anyone at the top of that organisation remain in post or draw another single penny of public funds?
Arh but your wrong Romeo is responsible . Romeo your responsible for supporting graylings crap and you now own the responsibility for us all for the loss of those children and mother because you are reckless .
Delete“The chief probation officer for England, Kim Thornden-Edwards, had previously told the inquests she acknowledged "in full" that errors had been made handling Bendall's case but that the service had suffered "significant disruption at the time" with staffing gaps.” I think what she meant to say was this has gone on since TR and when we do appoint new probation officers we rush them along despite their dreadful training. This has been highlighted on so many occasions. The sad fact of the matter is Senior Leaders (laughable title) have tinkered and messed up so many things that the structural flaws that now exist will mean yet more victims. POs are being expected to work under intolerable pressure's in a system that has failed on so many levels and yet when it goes wrong they get the blame. This failure is rooted in the failure of these Senior Leaders and it is they who should pay the price.
ReplyDelete“significant disruption”. Is that the best she could do. Such an understatement. She may as well as told the Probation Officers involved to lie down and wait for the bus to drive over them.
DeleteNo words. This has to start at the top. I distantly recall (There's a word) shouting "People will die" at the advent of TR, and wondering if I was over egging it. The whole system, let alone the TR model, was unfit to deal with or assess the risk posed by men to partners or ex partners. Horrific and we can call for root and branch reform, but please God let that not be conducted by politicians, or just rooted in fear
ReplyDeleteExactly right at 22.22 Many inferred deaths could happen but didn't want to scaremong hoping parliament would ameliorate the worst but they didn't. My MP Priti Patel, shooed me away with an outstretched arm in The Central Lobby of the House of Commons on the day in 2014 the House of Commons with Liberal Democrat support finally rejected amendments from The House of Lords. Telling me her main concern was Essex and she had been told that day by CEO of Essex Council, Chief of Police and CEO of Essex Probation that Reforms would be safely implemented in Essex.
DeleteThese are not the first deaths,
I suggested via social media, I do not think Jim would publish it, that all serving probation workers should resign on day TUPE occured.
They need probation workers more than workers need the government.
Much easier for long retired me to say, but I still remember the fear I felt when as a newly confirmed PO in 1976 I was contacted directly by The Daily Mirror when a client had let their home be used by very disruptive drug addicts. I knew on several occasions I could have been just unlucky to have worse happen, no matter how sound was my practice.
There's a huge fly in your ointment, Andrew - no-one was TUPE'd across.
Deletegrayling & his govt lawyers were very canny; they registered new companies under government control before TR happened, then simply moved staff to those new companies with a memorandum of understanding, the Transfer Agreement. MoJ staff were the directors of those new companies - and then the companies were sold for a pittance to the winning bidders with Sec of State retaining the "golden share" which, in principle, was supposed to safeguard the CRC and staff. In fact it was merely a ruse to ensure continuation of business & protection for more senior/HQ-based staff.
At the time of the CRC clearances I lodged a formal complaint via my lawyers:
* Staff were told they could lodge an initial appeal against their allocated role but that if their appeal was refused and they made a second appeal, that would be regarded as "giving notice" and you would have no future job.
* Some staff voted to be allocated to the CRC on the basis of the nationally negotiated protection of terms & conditions, including the Enhanced Voluntary Redundancy package, while
* other staff allocated to the CRCs were initially granted the full EVR package, with the option to defer leaving for up to two years - a strange form of redundancy but an arrangement that was clearly expedient for the government and the bidders as it allowed them to ensure the business kept running. Some of those staff are still employed but will be leaving (at some point) with their EVR package intact, whilst other colleagues have recently been denied this opportunity & offered 40% of the EVR entitlement.
The divisive nature of the whole process meant that not everyone was going to walk away because some had large sums of money due if they stayed for two years.
All crcs were incorporated 4 Dec 2013, with a single named director: Andrew Emmett
Delete"Andrew Emmett was appointed Director, Finance and Analysis at the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) in November 2012."
Staff were divvied up between crc or nps & formally moved in June 2014, while handover of the companies took place on 1 Feb 2015 - with napo's blessing, despite moj making napo aware in advance that there would be significant job cuts on the way.
Yet Ian Lawrence the guy who has literally done nothing effective got reappointed by Napo top table this year as the best candidate. The only perhaps but this secretary accepted a document calling on sacking his members that is open treachery and yet members still pay Napo. We should all move to unison and force Napo to manage change.
DeleteThis is why so many are sick to the stomach at the thought of going to work every day. Years in the probation service, years of experience, and we all sit there wondering when one of our cases will go so horribly wrong. When will we have to defend our lack of time to complete everything expected of us? When will we have to defend ourselves in court? When will we have to live with knowing one of ours went out and committed something so terrible that we will never sleep well again? Something so appalling that we will blame ourselves for the rest of our lives, even when it’s clear we are as let down by the service that is supposed to protect people as the public is? When not if. When. We all wonder when. How many of us have stopped watching the news when we’re on leave out of fear we may see one of ours on it? How many of us really leave our cases in the office? We don’t. We take them home with us in our heads. There’s never a break from it. How many of us end up waking up and writing a list in the early hours of the morning so we don’t forget to do things when we get to work? How is anyone supposed to manage that level of debilitating stress? How many times have we sat at our desks with our heads in our hands and not known where to start because every case is on fire that day, and we don’t know how to put them out? But are afraid to take it to managers because they will write us up as having capability issues? How are staff being put on these punitive processes for being human? How then can anything be fixed when we cannot trust the people above us not to hang us out to dry if things go wrong? Where is the support? Where is the monthly clinical supervision? Why aren’t we having that? Why are staff being given warning letters for being off sick because of management? How are we supposed to be a part of our own families when we have all of this going on in our heads all of the time? Being a probation officer is supposed to be about rehabilitation and helping to make positive change. Instead staff end up in therapy, on medication, off sick, having a break down, feeling unsafe in work, out of work, and knowing nothing will get better. It will only get worse. It’s not a life. There’s no job satisfaction. Our trust in others is severely damaged. And we are all just waiting for WHEN one of ours does something terrible. Being a probation officer is to live in daily fear of something going terribly wrong because we are stretched so thin, and have cases flying at us from every direction, that half the time we don’t even remember our cases. They all merge into one giant offender. We get to spend 15 minutes with them once a week and basically just monitor them. There’s no time to do toolkit worksheets. We are swamped with emails, referrals and telephone calls from one service to another because all services are at breaking point. Don’t even get me started on trying to find housing for cases. Cases that have severe mental health issues, are suicidal, are high risk, are dangerous. There’s barely enough time to write up sessions, and lunch breaks are a thing of the past. Probation is burning down around our ears, and we are expected to continue like nothing is happening. ‘Business as usual.’
ReplyDeleteAnon 02:08 Many thanks for this moving and powerful contribution which I know will resonate with many PO's. I feel it's so important that it forms todays blog post at a time when I know many colleagues will be concerned and worried and seeking support. Do take care and thanks again. Jim
DeleteWhere's the unions
DeleteFrom Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"Jim more chance of me winning the Euro millions than senor probation managers accepting they are responsible for anything. Their primary concern is them not getting splashed by these failures and to blame front line staff."