We Are Waiting

The new Labour Government has barely been at the helm for a month and yet has quickly come to the conclusion that the NHS is broken; the Care Quality Commission is not fit for purpose: the Criminal Cases Review Commission chair needs sacking and the Prison system is at the point of collapse. Clearly the new government is not shy at admitting failure when they find it, so it can't be long before their forensic gaze falls upon the Probation Service because that is utterly broken as well. 

Contributors to this blog have been saying it for ages, and yes all the key players read it, HMPPS; MoJ; HMI; National Audit Office and Cabinet Office, so here's what's come in over the last 24 hours to help them add probation to the list of things to sort out. 

The following was added to a blog post from December 2022 entitled 'Is Probation Toxic?' 

"After 20 years service in the Probation Service, I was eventually forced out following a campaign of bullying, harassment, falsification of records and a deliberate drive to force me out. Why? well It was simply down to me being viewed as an 'expensive resource' because the service could not afford to maintain my role owing to my disability (mental health diagnosis). Whilst physical disabilities attract funding to allow for workplace adaptations, nothing as such exists for mental health. Despite complaints to every conceivable dept and mailbox to ask for assistance and for the issue to be looked into, not one came forward. I eventually had my grievance considered but that in itself was a joke as the allegations were not even addressed and I was referred to as being fixated in wanting to blame someone.

I am relieved I am out of this extremely unpleasant and toxic organisation where the value and respect of treating everyone fairly and with dignity went out with the trust closures. When those at the helm of a service meant to rehabilitate offenders, engage in questionable and some on the periphery of corrupt/collusive practices, it remains to be asked - is the probation service fit to continue to rehabilitate offenders?"

This also came in over night:-

"I think the challenge is the heart and soul of probation feels like it has been totally lost under the loss of experienced staff and the disaster of TR and the aftermath. Probation has never been without its challenges but right now it feels like the focus is on ticking boxes and doing the bare minimum to get through instead… how is that satisfying for anyone… !? Also with lots of new staff being recruited in the past year or so their expectations and messages around work quality are based [on] current practice which does not help at all. When areas may come out of amber and red measures in the future, how will staff cope that have only known the stripping back in amber and red?

Instead of ticking those boxes to make it look like work is being done on the surface, why isn’t the focus on quality and making sure the work that is done is done well.. the actual assessment and it’s actual implementation. Inspection after inspection they are consistently an abysmal read. How can nearly every area of the country either be inadequate or requires improvement and yet it’s getting very little media coverage despite the imminent releasing of extra prisoners?

I have come across so many poor ISPs over the years but not like it is now…. but hey they say let’s just get that done, sign it off and hope there isn’t an SFO … oh and if there is one it’s ok because we are all understaffed so the “I didn’t have time and so overworked” applies… it’s just not good enough, where is the integrity! Get it done and oooo it looks good in the stats in the monthly performance meeting… wrong answer … equally what’s the point of writing a gold standard one if the subsequent RMP is not actually delivered or utilised…. We are we told to write we will do x,y,z interventions in court reports when we know in reality it won’t get delivered….it’s dishonest to courts and false expectations given to POPs. If the POP gets through their order without breaches it’s terminated as a success… wrong answer…. We need to stop focusing on stats and start getting the dialogue going around what drives us to do our work… why did we get into this work in the first place… what is our purpose and what is our individual and collective WHY. If we can get the pre TR culture, energy and passion back then quality will naturally improve.

There are so many amazing Officers in the service more needs to be done to keep hold of them as experience is just so so so important within teams to build the confidence, knowledge and foundations in others. I learnt so much training in a team full of officers many many years ago that had been in the service for years - it was invaluable!

Why can’t the service be more transparent about what is actually going on… or not. We shouldn’t need inspections to call it out but the messages from it can’t be much clearer."

This:-

"I’m Off. Coming up to 20 years and I have had enough. I have just booked an appointment with a financial advisor and will be looking to leave either the end of the year, or end of the financial year. … I might not ever get rich, but let me tell you it’s better than being a HMPPS Bit£# ….. I’m off to work at a Car Wash."

Twitter has been lively with exchanges as well:-

"It beggars belief that the HMIP reports conclude every probation PDU inspected (with one exception) requires improvement and yet the leadership / senior management are all excellent. It is simply not possible and we on the front line know it is simply not true. Emperors new clothes!"

"Why not? Leaders are sadly not wizards. They can’t magic up extra staff or resources. Doesn’t mean they aren’t leading well with what they have and don't have appropriate long term plans that HMIP consider positively."

"Sadly the strategy and leadership in resolving the prisons and probation crisis is one dimensional. Senior leaders don’t recognise the distorted value base which staff struggle to buy into and quite frankly don’t care in my opinion."

"Out of interest, who is it you mean when you said ‘senior leaders’ ?"

"Those at the highest level in HMPPS who have had very little or no experience of working with our client base."

"So Exec level rather than probation region level? I think there’s a very valid argument they are out of touch and/or not well advised of the current realities on the ground. But think it’s a stretch to say they collectively have “little or no experience with our client base. The CPO and 3 Area Execs (out of 7), have longstanding probation careers. Many others have direct and longstanding prison careers. The RPDs are a strong and powerful group, all with extensive probation careers and front line experience."

"But fundamentally they do not or are not able to openly say what’s needed to sort this mess. Recruitment will not be enough. We need to look at sentencing, interventions, services and staff retention, with a robust extensive strategy. More admin will not build a quality service. As our leaders we need to feel that they are making representations to the MOJ, sharing strategy in national calls to staff and talking about how the service will manage the additional work. Not repeating rhetoric, making staff feel like the poor relative to the prison service. A feeling results from actions and may well be linked to mentality. However if we look at culture, mentality and staff perceptions then leaders need to acknowledge this and do something different. This situation has not happened accidentally- it’s been created."

"Agreed. It’s not enough to ignore it as the mentality/ staff perception (actively stirred by unions and X commentators in my opinion), clearly isn’t going away any time soon. Top brass definitely do not do enough to actively combat it. It’s frustrating to all of us who care."

"I’m with you… until the poor relations thing. It’s often said but I'm yet to witness anything said by senior leaders that actually reinforces that. Tends to be a perception of probation staff; victim mentality; than a real position of senior leaders in my experience."

"I take the "victim mentality" as a really inappropriate comment about the reality of the environment in which probation staff are operating in."

The Labour Manifesto promised a Probation Review

"After 14 years of chaotic reorganisations, the national probation service is struggling to keep the public safe. A lack of co-ordination between prisons, probation and other local services also means prison-leavers are not getting the right support, raising the risk that they go straight back to crime.

In some areas of the country, we have seen Labour Mayors pioneering a more joined-up approach to reduce reoffending. In Greater Manchester, probation is linked up with housing and health services to ensure offenders leaving custody receive the support they need. Labour will conduct a strategic review of probation governance, including considering the benefits of devolved models."

We are waiting.......