Crisis Created by Government

Regular readers will be fully aware that Bank Holiday Friday's are the MoJ's preferred opportunity to sneak bad or inconvenient news out and last Friday May 3rd was no exception. Coming straight on the heels of another 'probation re-set', we've been discussing ECSL all weekend and quite rightly it's generated a lot of anger amongst probation staff, but this caught my eye from overnight:-

"I hate to say this, but isn't the whole point of being in public service to administrate policy on behalf of the Government of the day? It's not about what we think or what is convenient to us.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't voice our opinions, dwell on the likelihood or the impact these changes will have on our service users, or to fail to evaluate where our worth lay in the bigger scheme, when such changes occur, regarding pay and conditions, but that still doesn't negate the fundamental purpose of what it means for us to be public servants.

To read some of the indignant comments above, from many of you, it's as if the prison and probation services should adapt to a more preferred model of yesteryear, to suit our own personal aspirations to what the probation service ought to be - because we would enjoy the work more that way and it would be less burdensome and less computer driven. If there is a strong service user advantage, fair dues, but is there? Why did the so called Gold Standard befriend, assist model change at all, if it worked so well before?

I've donned my armour in readiness for your spears. I think it is really a case of 'suck it up' or find another profession."

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This has been drawn to my attention, recently seen on the wall of a northern city:-

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The Times have been a bit late to the party. This from yesterday:-

Prisoners to be released 70 days early to ease overcrowding

A scheme announced in March is being extended as jails struggle with capacity in a move branded ‘a national scandal’ by Labour

Some prisoners will be freed up to 70 days early after ministers quietly extended an emergency early release scheme to alleviate the prison overcrowding crisis. An email sent to probation and prison staff, obtained by The Times, said measures introduced less than two months ago had failed to ease pressure in men’s prisons in England and Wales. It said that a scheme that allows prisoners to be set free before their release date will be extended from 35 days to 70 days from May 23.

In the email, labelled “operationally critical,” officials accept that the changes will “create additional work for many people at a time when we know we have our own resource challenges”. It says prisons face “significant challenges” and despite the emergency schemes earlier in the year to create more space, the “pressures continue in the male estate”.

The move comes in response to internal Prison Service forecasts which have estimated that space will run out in male prisons from June without further measures to free up cells. Violent offenders, including domestic abusers, sentenced to less than four years in prison are eligible for the scheme, as are burglars, thieves and fraudsters. However, the early release measures will not apply to sex offenders, terrorists and all criminals serving a sentence of more than four years.

It is the second extension since the early release scheme was introduced in October, when eligible prisoners were able to be released up to 18 days early. This was extended to “around 35-60” in March as part of a series of emergency measures to free up capacity in overcrowded jails, with fewer than 250 places left available in men’s prisons. Spaces have since been made available, partly through the measures that were introduced in March as well as cancelled renovation work and more rapid deployment cells being installed in jails. However, as of last week there were still fewer than 1,400 places available across the men’s and women’s prison estate in England and Wales.

A Prison Service source said: “Analysis shows that looking ahead, the direction of travel isn’t looking good. This is about preparing ahead of time.” The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has so far refused to disclose how many prisoners have been released early under the scheme since October or a provide breakdown of the cohort of offenders benefiting.

The latest changes, revealed in an internal email sent to probation and prison staff on Friday, have not been put in the public domain despite previous announcements being formally disclosed in parliament. Government sources pointed out that Rishi Sunak is facing pressure from right-wing Conservative MPs to cancel the early release scheme.

Earlier this year The Times revealed that he was at loggerheads with Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, over delays to the Sentencing Bill, which will scrap short sentences and is viewed by Chalk as vital to easing the prisons crisis. However, the prime minister is also facing calls from Tory MPs to ditch the plans over fears it will expose the party as soft on law and order before the general election.

Labour has accused the government of trying to cover up the latest extension of the early release measures. Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, told The Times: “The Tories have once again used a cloak of secrecy to hide their early release of violent criminals. It’s completely unacceptable and the public has a right to know the truth.

“After 14 years of Conservative chaos and the utter mismanagement of the prison estate, the government cannot keep extending the early release of prisoners without facing public scrutiny. The Conservatives’ cover-up of this early release scheme is unprecedented. They are still refusing to answer how many prisoners have been released early, which prisons are using the scheme, and which types of offenders are being put back on our streets. This is a national scandal, and Rishi Sunak must come clean with the public today.”

The MoJ was previously accused of trying to suppress coverage of its handling of the overcrowding in prisons when it announced the measures late in the evening on March 11. Chalk announced five measures to make it easier to deport foreign prisoners alongside the extension of the end-of-custody supervised licence scheme (ECSL).

Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner, warned at that time that the early release scheme would risk putting victims of domestic abuse in danger. She pointed out that perpetrators of domestic abuse are often repeat offenders and their sentences frequently do not reflect the severity of harm and the risk they pose.

Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, also warned that violent prisoners who could be a risk to the public were being released early under the scheme. He told Times Radio that he was concerned about the lack of preparation for prisoners being freed early to ensure they fitted back into society without reoffending.

The MoJ insisted that those released early were under strict supervision and licensing conditions, which included being fitted with electronic tags, given curfews or no-go areas.

A spokesman said: “We will always ensure there is enough capacity to keep dangerous offenders behind bars. We are carrying out the biggest prison expansion programme in a hundred years, opening up 20,000 modern places, and ramping up work to remove foreign national offenders. To ease the short-term pressures on prisons, in March we announced an increase in the number of days governors could, under existing powers, move some offenders at the end of their prison term on to licence. These offenders will continue to be supervised under strict conditions such as tagging and curfews.”

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Stop Press

Napo Press Release issued noon today:-

Probation Union warns of Early Prisoner Release Chaos

Napo, the largest trade union representing Probation staff has condemned the Governments recent announcement that from the 23rd of May, certain categories of Prisoners in 84 premises across the male estate in England and Wales will be eligible for early release up to 70 days prior to the end of their sentence. A similar scheme that has been running in the female prison estate has now been suspended.

The End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) scheme was launched last October as a temporary response to the capacity crisis which has seen the prison population soar to nearly 88,000. The Government narrative that the (then 35-day release) process, would ease the increasing pressure on prisons and allow probation staff to safely and effectively manage clients back into the community has been seriously criticised by the unions representing prison and probation staff.

Napo General Secretary Ian Lawrence said: “We have spent many months trying to convince the Secretary of State that in order for early release schemes to work in an effective and safe manner, it has to be recognised that the probation service is also over capacity, and that the members we represent are also now at breaking point.”

Adding: “The ECSL scheme is an unmitigated failure and has not only been extended without Parliamentary scrutiny but represents an increasing risk to public safety. Ministers have failed to heed our warnings that the Government’s refusal to provide workload relief to all probation staff and address the disgraceful situation of a two-tier pay structure in HMPPS where Napo members are the poor relations, will result in us considering our mandate to ballot members for potential industrial action and a possible legal challenge which may involve other stakeholders.”

The Probation Unions are seeking an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State.