A Probation Manifesto

I note the Probation Institute is 10 years old and has published a shopping list of what is required from any new in-coming government " for Probation to return to a robust state."  Lets hope the politicians are listening:- 

A few thoughts on ten years of the Probation Institute

At a time when both prison remands and prison sentences are increasing for a high number of people who have committed non-violent offences, it is imperative that the important contribution that probation can make to the lives of people who have offended is properly recognised and resourced. Community sentences under the auspices of the Probation Service do work! Over the years, the probation service has supported thousands of people. The Probation Institute has a significant role in both championing and supporting probation practice through its professional discussions, contributions to training, and generally keeping the flag flying for all things probation.

Professor Loraine Gelsthorpe
Chair

I joined the Board of Directors in 2015 a year after it was established. Transforming Rehabilitation had just happened amid confusion, fear and considerable outright opposition. The Probation Managers Association morphed into the Probation Institute seeing itself as a continuation of the employers organisation and operating a voluntary Professional Register.

Twenty two new Community Rehabilitation Companies were formed. Each bidding for the low to medium work of the former Probation Trusts. The National Probation Service was formed to manage high risk cases. Staff were spilt between the two new organisational structures almost arbitrarily.

It's all history now of course. The rapid but nonetheless slow motion failure of the CRCs as private companies - a completely inappropriate model for the management of people with complex needs. The robust interventions of Dame Glenys Stacey catalogued the inadequacy of the new arrangements. The privatisation experiment ended. It was no surprise that our voluntary professional register struggled in the TR years!

A note regarding CRCs however - which in a few particular instances produced pockets of innovation and lateral thinking that was fresh air - I'm thinking of developing people with lived experience as mentors and moving reporting centres into the community.

In 2016 guided by Professor Paul Senior, a small group of the Directors reviewed the structure of the Probation Institute and successfully proposed that it should focus on the professional development of probation practitioners and wider professionals working in rehabilitation. This was a major shift and undoubtedly has proved to be the right decision. The voluntary register closed, and we committed our energy to professional development, offering events and publications focussing on evidence based research, principles of practice and sharing information in accessible modes. I became Acting Chief Executive and subsequently Chief Executive.

In June 2019 Paul Senior died after a long illness. He has been greatly missed, and very often remembered.

Nick Smart, Mary Anne McFarlane and currently Professor Loraine Gelsthorpe have continued Paul's position as Chair of the Board of Directors, becoming a Board of Trustees in April 2022 when the Probation Institute became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.

During the COVID era the Probation Institute became almost completely virtual and we are grateful to Richard Rowley who has very effectively built up our website and social media platforms. Since 2019 the Probation Quarterly has further developed as a recognised source of writing on professional matters particularly by practitioners and academics on a wide and important range of topics in the field of rehabilitation. Anne Worrall and Jake Phillips have successively and very successfully edited the Probation Quarterly (PQ) supported by an editorial board. Issue 31 of PQ is published in the week of our tenth anniversary.

Since 2014 the catalogue of significant publications from the Probation institute has continuously grown. Our catalogue includes the only Code of Ethics in the field, thirteen Position Papers including Court Work, Remote Working and Race Equality, and Research Reports, including significant joint work on veterans in the justice system. We regularly hold online Research Events and Trainees Events. The Sir Graham Smith Research Award has produced a suite of excellent practice based research reports which we have launched and published. Our responses to government consultations, developed increasingly with our Fellows, are published and shared widely. We work with a range of organisation including the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, Centre for Justice Innovation, Napo, and the Magistrates Association. We welcome the support of a number of universities in the field who work collaboratively with us.

In recent conversations with politicians we have been asked what needs to happen for Probation to return to a robust state. This is what we are saying;

• Independent , external Professional Recognition and Regulation is now essential

• A complete and independent review of the organisational purpose and location of Probation is necessary, being sensitive to the importance of stability on the ground but looking at devolution and models such as Youth Justice - for example should we put desistance at the centre of the purpose in the way that prevention is at the heart of youth justice?

• The Probation Service needs to be taken out of the Civil Service

• Diversity must be understood and valued; respect for difference never taken for granted

• The voluntary sector needs to be trusted and better resourced to support the statutory responsibilities; access to funding needs to be much easier for small voluntary organisations

• Sentencers must give more time for the completion of thorough Probation Pre Sentence Reports to help to reduce risk, building on the pilots

• The presumption against under 12 month sentences must be enforced

• The relationship between sentencers and the Probation Service must be rebuilt as an effective trusting partnership

• People with lived experience must be valued and recruited into the service

We have the prospect of a Labour Government within the year of our anniversary. Over the years Labour Governments introduced Parole, the legislation for Community Service and the Youth Justice Board. We should seek brave and ambitious decisions for Probation and the wider field of rehabilitation from an incoming Labour Government. The Probation Institute is ambitious for the Probation Service to be the best that it can be.

We are a membership organisation open to anyone who wants to support professional development for probation and rehabilitation practice. We do not receive any government funding and we rely on our membership income. Please join here.

Helen Schofield
Chief Executive