The last couple of days has triggered us to return to a sadly familiar thread and I think it's important to pull it together because I'm acutely aware many probation staff are currently under even greater stress. It began with this:-
My partner and I have made the decision for me to resign, after 24 years as a PO with numerous successful secondments, I have simply had enough. The change I have lived through is breath-taking and disturbing. I have seen inspirational POs, who never sought high office and whose professional curiosity was amazing to witness, marginalised and put down by young upstarts not in the slightest ashamed to voice their lofty ambitions. Bullying, racism and homophobia are now rife in an organisation that once was held up as a beacon of progressive professionalism and recognised internationally. My resignation is going in tomorrow morning and the sense of relief is beyond description, odd as it may sound I feel free.Following yesterday, my notice is in. A very slow response from management, no doubt a huddle took place to formulate a response however one rather youthful SPO passed comment on “how difficult it must for you to adapt to change”. I bit my tongue. At 48 years of age she was young enough to be my daughter but really lacked the dignity of my children. This one moment just solidified my decision to leave. I feel unshackled, I feel free and I feel sadness. But my overriding feeling is of relief. As I speak my wonderful partner is cracking open a bottle of wine whilst she sings only now right now as I type do I realise how my probation frustrations were so visible to her. I respect and love her so much. I wish all of you the best and I have to express my utter admiration and respect to Jim for the legacy of your blog, you are truly a legend.
--oo00oo--
The Weight of the Badge - A Personal Reflection on Nearly 20 Years in Probation:
As I approach two decades in the probation service, I find myself feeling more isolated than ever. In a role designed to foster rehabilitation, support, and second chances, it's ironic that I now feel in desperate need of those very things myself. Over the years, I’ve navigated countless changes, adapted to new policies, and checked boxes that seem to multiply by the day. But the toll of it all is undeniable.
I lead a team of dedicated officers who, despite their best efforts, are also feeling the strain. Together, we try to keep morale afloat, to stay motivated amid constant shifts, but the pressures from above – from the Head of Service and beyond – have become suffocating. It feels like we’re caught in an endless cycle of demands that never seem to let up, and each day leaves us running on fumes.
For over a year now, I’ve been covering more than one team, stretching myself thin in every direction. The demands of the job have drained me completely. Where there once was pride in the work, now there’s only exhaustion. Weekends don’t offer enough time to recover, and by Sunday, the anxiety of the week ahead sets in. Monday is a day filled with dread as I face another seemingly insurmountable five days.
I’m struggling. My anxiety is constant, and my depression has deepened. It feels like the joy has been sucked from my life. I’m left questioning how much longer I can keep going like this, trying to juggle the needs of my team, my own mental health, and the overwhelming weight of this job.
I share this not just as a personal release, but in the hope that others who feel similarly might realise they aren’t alone. Probation work is hard – harder than many understand – and we need to acknowledge the toll it can take on us all.
The Weight of the Badge - A Personal Reflection on Nearly 20 Years in Probation:
As I approach two decades in the probation service, I find myself feeling more isolated than ever. In a role designed to foster rehabilitation, support, and second chances, it's ironic that I now feel in desperate need of those very things myself. Over the years, I’ve navigated countless changes, adapted to new policies, and checked boxes that seem to multiply by the day. But the toll of it all is undeniable.
I lead a team of dedicated officers who, despite their best efforts, are also feeling the strain. Together, we try to keep morale afloat, to stay motivated amid constant shifts, but the pressures from above – from the Head of Service and beyond – have become suffocating. It feels like we’re caught in an endless cycle of demands that never seem to let up, and each day leaves us running on fumes.
For over a year now, I’ve been covering more than one team, stretching myself thin in every direction. The demands of the job have drained me completely. Where there once was pride in the work, now there’s only exhaustion. Weekends don’t offer enough time to recover, and by Sunday, the anxiety of the week ahead sets in. Monday is a day filled with dread as I face another seemingly insurmountable five days.
I’m struggling. My anxiety is constant, and my depression has deepened. It feels like the joy has been sucked from my life. I’m left questioning how much longer I can keep going like this, trying to juggle the needs of my team, my own mental health, and the overwhelming weight of this job.
I share this not just as a personal release, but in the hope that others who feel similarly might realise they aren’t alone. Probation work is hard – harder than many understand – and we need to acknowledge the toll it can take on us all.
--oo00oo--
I totally agree with the sentiments you express and I empathise with the dilemma you are in however merely acknowledging the problem will not make it go away. As has been said previously, and again by [others] there is ample evidence to support a private prosecution by the unions on the grounds of health and safety, but it is also up to individuals to do whatever is necessary to protect themselves and to safeguard their own well-being. Strategies have been outlined in the past but people, for various reasons feel obliged to keep turning the wheel despite it being obvious that nobody listens, nobody cares and nothing will change of its own volition. Simply making yourself ill or taking your frustrations home with you won’t change anything and you are unfortunately no better thought of. Do something positive to help yourself, even if it is going off sick or semi- retirement or taking a sabbatical and surveying your options.
I totally agree with the sentiments you express and I empathise with the dilemma you are in however merely acknowledging the problem will not make it go away. As has been said previously, and again by [others] there is ample evidence to support a private prosecution by the unions on the grounds of health and safety, but it is also up to individuals to do whatever is necessary to protect themselves and to safeguard their own well-being. Strategies have been outlined in the past but people, for various reasons feel obliged to keep turning the wheel despite it being obvious that nobody listens, nobody cares and nothing will change of its own volition. Simply making yourself ill or taking your frustrations home with you won’t change anything and you are unfortunately no better thought of. Do something positive to help yourself, even if it is going off sick or semi- retirement or taking a sabbatical and surveying your options.
--oo00oo--
Hello Jim,
I resigned as a PO in June after joining the service initially as residential support worker in AP. I have met numerous brilliant people who are working within a broken organisation.
I trained as a PO with very much a focus on wanting to aid rehabilitation but found myself ground down by the corporate nature of senior management. A regional director likening his background as an investment banker to managing high risk offenders being an prime example.
The eagerness to recall and enforce rather than explore behaviour left me disillusioned and questioning the point of the job - I concur with a recent submission that the role has essentially an extension of custodial supervision. There is a culture of fear amongst frontline staff of being thrown under the bus by management if something goes awry.
I do not have all the answers but the culture needs to change to empower staff to make brave decisions and not revert to risk averse behaviour out of fear for their job.
Kind regards,
An ex PO
Hello Jim,
I resigned as a PO in June after joining the service initially as residential support worker in AP. I have met numerous brilliant people who are working within a broken organisation.
I trained as a PO with very much a focus on wanting to aid rehabilitation but found myself ground down by the corporate nature of senior management. A regional director likening his background as an investment banker to managing high risk offenders being an prime example.
The eagerness to recall and enforce rather than explore behaviour left me disillusioned and questioning the point of the job - I concur with a recent submission that the role has essentially an extension of custodial supervision. There is a culture of fear amongst frontline staff of being thrown under the bus by management if something goes awry.
I do not have all the answers but the culture needs to change to empower staff to make brave decisions and not revert to risk averse behaviour out of fear for their job.
Kind regards,
An ex PO
--oo00oo--
This is what many of us remember, but it seems the memory no longer extends to current management, but if it does, how can things have become so toxic in the workplace and why is nobody doing anything about it?
I missed this in 20/21... don't know if it made your blog, Jim, but it should hold a place in the archive:
https://www.butlertrust.org.uk/eve-chester/
"As I see it I am doing what I ought to do, work in a way that demonstrates my values and the values of the Probation Service I joined in 1982. [When I started] I was completely bowled over by the amazing staff I met at Hull Probation Office where I took up my first student placement. I work on the basis that we need to treat clients with respect. That doesn’t mean we admire all that they have done in life but we act on the basis that there are reasons why people behave as they do – blaming people for actions is not very productive – and the majority of people want to live lives where they can feel safe and valued. Most people do not care to work with others whom they perceive to be patronising, judging them and/or fault-finding.
“We do hear and see things as Probation staff that disgust or appal but if we want people to move on to live better, less harmful lives then we have to see people as a whole, not just the offence; where feasible, get beneath the behaviour (not ignore it) to understand if possible what it is about, the value and purpose of it to the client and integrate that with where that client wants to be as a person in the future and how to get there. If we want Probation clients to treat their family and fellow citizens with respect then we as staff supervising them, need to demonstrate that in how we treat them; we recognise the capacity to harm and also the capacity to move away from further harming. It also means discussing boundaries, we all have them and know how we dislike others’ attempts to breach them. I see my role in Probation is to address those breaches and to try and help people steer away from further similar behaviour.
“If a person’s behaviour harms people and if society values people, society needs to find ways of unravelling that purpose and helping re-channel that energy. What has taken years to develop isn’t going to dissolve over-night so one has to be patient and tempered. You have to withstand set-backs, client lapses, rejection. It’s a joint enterprise but the engine is the client. If their energy or will can’t be engaged, it’s a very slow process but still worthwhile. I’ve kept true to this approach of respect and looking for ways to connect because I have found it works; it engages most clients, works at a pace they can manage and keeps the majority out of re-offending. That sounds very simplistic but it requires considerable patience, willingness to keep fresh in thinking, attention to detail and adaptability. You can’t work this way on your own, you need good support from colleagues whether in Probation or linked agencies to share ideas, check out assumptions and access resources so you also need to be an adept advocate and team worker.”
Eve concludes with a personal recollection – and a vivid description of how she’s found her career:
“I hated it when as a child and young person I experienced personally or saw others, being ‘labelled’ or ‘written off’ so yes, I have a passion for challenging labels and negativity and I have found in Probation an amazing albeit demanding space in which to do this… It’s a career I have found fascinating, infuriating, wearying and stimulating but overall, incredibly worthwhile in seeing the majority of clients lighten up, move on, have families, handle lurch and sway to regain equilibrium and… stay out of trouble!”
I missed this in 20/21... don't know if it made your blog, Jim, but it should hold a place in the archive:
https://www.butlertrust.org.uk/eve-chester/
"As I see it I am doing what I ought to do, work in a way that demonstrates my values and the values of the Probation Service I joined in 1982. [When I started] I was completely bowled over by the amazing staff I met at Hull Probation Office where I took up my first student placement. I work on the basis that we need to treat clients with respect. That doesn’t mean we admire all that they have done in life but we act on the basis that there are reasons why people behave as they do – blaming people for actions is not very productive – and the majority of people want to live lives where they can feel safe and valued. Most people do not care to work with others whom they perceive to be patronising, judging them and/or fault-finding.
“We do hear and see things as Probation staff that disgust or appal but if we want people to move on to live better, less harmful lives then we have to see people as a whole, not just the offence; where feasible, get beneath the behaviour (not ignore it) to understand if possible what it is about, the value and purpose of it to the client and integrate that with where that client wants to be as a person in the future and how to get there. If we want Probation clients to treat their family and fellow citizens with respect then we as staff supervising them, need to demonstrate that in how we treat them; we recognise the capacity to harm and also the capacity to move away from further harming. It also means discussing boundaries, we all have them and know how we dislike others’ attempts to breach them. I see my role in Probation is to address those breaches and to try and help people steer away from further similar behaviour.
“If a person’s behaviour harms people and if society values people, society needs to find ways of unravelling that purpose and helping re-channel that energy. What has taken years to develop isn’t going to dissolve over-night so one has to be patient and tempered. You have to withstand set-backs, client lapses, rejection. It’s a joint enterprise but the engine is the client. If their energy or will can’t be engaged, it’s a very slow process but still worthwhile. I’ve kept true to this approach of respect and looking for ways to connect because I have found it works; it engages most clients, works at a pace they can manage and keeps the majority out of re-offending. That sounds very simplistic but it requires considerable patience, willingness to keep fresh in thinking, attention to detail and adaptability. You can’t work this way on your own, you need good support from colleagues whether in Probation or linked agencies to share ideas, check out assumptions and access resources so you also need to be an adept advocate and team worker.”
Eve concludes with a personal recollection – and a vivid description of how she’s found her career:
“I hated it when as a child and young person I experienced personally or saw others, being ‘labelled’ or ‘written off’ so yes, I have a passion for challenging labels and negativity and I have found in Probation an amazing albeit demanding space in which to do this… It’s a career I have found fascinating, infuriating, wearying and stimulating but overall, incredibly worthwhile in seeing the majority of clients lighten up, move on, have families, handle lurch and sway to regain equilibrium and… stay out of trouble!”
Eve Chester
I think the views expressed above are fairly common and widespread amongst probation practitioners at grassroots level and yet there is no response from senior managers.
ReplyDeleteThey appear to have stopped telling us that everything in the garden is rosy and may even be in the process of giving up the JFDI approach.
They have now resorted to the bunker mentality and are hoping to ride out the storm so they can re-appear magically to claim any glory or apportion blame, all for a hefty fee of course.
As I have said before, ‘leaders, they couldn’t lead a conga.’
They should individually and collectively hang their heads in shame although the concept would appear to be beyond them.
I’ve recently resigned too. I couldn’t do it any more. The work pressure was relentless and THIS workplace was horrible. Managers and practitioners fail to treat each other with decency let alone the clients. This fast-tracking anybody to become probation officers and managers means the blind are leading the blind. Probation stopped being relevant years ago.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2024/08/bedfordshirepdu2024/
Bullying out "expensive" long term staff is all about being seen to "do less for more", thereby hitting their own targets and being better able to exploit younger cheaper more "malleable" staff to do their bidding without question. The complicit unions however are a complete disgrace
ReplyDeleteI have great sympathy for those leaving the service who joined to do something positive, make a difference, enable change in people's lives, only to find they have joined a production line where they have no autonomy and impotent to do the good they know they can do.
ReplyDeleteI also have great sympathy however for those broken and damaged people that are being released from custody and funnelled through a damaged and broken probation system.
How can anything good be expected to come from forcing damaged people through a broken and damaged system?
Probation has become an impediment to people's lives, regardless of which side of the desk they sit on.
https://insidetime.org/newsround/half-of-all-of-pre-sentence-reports-are-inadequate-inspectors-find/
'Getafix
All over the country this morning probation officers will be forgoing their weekend and working. The fear that the probation stasi will visit them Monday to Friday 9-5 because of incomplete assessments and reports, delays in entries not made in time frames failing to mention a work tool or referring to some detritus pontificated by a probation quality assurance officer with the work experience of a goldfish, hiding in the bunker with the rest of the faceless angels of death. Let’s not forget that the colleagues that hard at it are not working for enhanced rates of pay or overtime no that went yesterday following abject failings of the unions to deal strongly in negotiations but run away to the local bistro for a cup of camomile tea and carrot cake. Don’t get me started on the term leadership, it is a term that cannot be used in a comment about probation ‘ management’ a term that should be used loosely to describe a bunch of infants with limited risk assessing and multi-disciplinary working who go missing when important questions are asked or choose to play the blame game. For me it is a trip to the moors an air bnb in the countryside my laptop and probation mobile left at home. Monday is the start of another week of attrition watching colleagues drop the baton and move on. I have a couple of interviews next week and hopefully succeed in one or both, but I know that I will be soon free from the Gulag.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.aol.co.uk/news/man-freed-early-uk-prison-112013255.html
ReplyDeleteBut nowt in the media about someone being recalled for not having a phone
https://www.aol.co.uk/news/man-freed-early-uk-prison-112013255.html
ReplyDeleteA Ministry of Justice spokesperson told PA news: “While we cannot comment on the details of any single case, those who break their licence conditions or commit further crimes will be punished.”
In another case a probation officer says:
"All people leaving prison should have (before they leave) as a minimum accommodation in place, job centre appt, script or drug apps, medication if required and a cheap phone with £10 credit"
And presumably an appt with probation?
So who arranges & pays for the "cheap phone with £10 credit"?
"I didn't mean it was a specific condition" but he was recalled anyway.
What the fuck is wrong with the probation organisation?
What would Ian Lawrence (National Association of the Pissed Off) say?
What would Philip K Dick (Minority Report) say?
Ian Lawrence would say nothing and support hmps because he still thinks he will be a lord. What a complete joke he is. Union leader couldn't stir a cup of tea let alone rouse a membership.
DeleteReleased prisoners spray cheap fizz to mark early release..
ReplyDeleteNational mainstream media has a hissy fit.
"It should be Champagne" says Torygraph;
"Released prisoners greeted by lamborghini" says The S**;
Recall them all immediately says hmpps.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnvdy22gje4o
ReplyDeleteThis is not what I joined in 1997. This is now a shitshow, and at the risk of sounding agist and sexist what the hell has happened to our service-and I enphasise the word SERVICE. I am surrounded by young SPOs, predominantly female, with so little experience, unlike female colleagues in the past who had a depth and breath of experience that justified their role. I took the rather shallow way out, I secured another job - confirmed on Friday- so my notice will go in on Monday. I know from other former colleagues that my email will be locked before my departure date so no exit interview will take place. I would be interested to know how common this is, I suspect widespread. Respect to all my brothers and sisters your health and happiness should always be your priority.
ReplyDelete“I am surrounded by young SPOs, predominantly female, with so little experience,”
DeleteIt’s not the age it’s the experience. They lack the training and skills to do the job. Barely established as probation officers as managers they lack knowledge and substance. Overcontrolling, arrogant, poor self management, passivity towards senior managers and ignorant. Slap bang in the middle of the gossip, rumors, and discriminatory remarks. The older and longer serving managers they learn from are just as bad, sometimes worse!
I'm hoping I'm allowed to post this Jim, as it's a rather urgent missing person appeal.
ReplyDeleteLost, last seen weeks ago. Minister for Prisons. Answers to the name of James. Can any sightings be passed on?
Many thanks.
Dear Concerned,
DeleteJames is busy in his study writing thank you letters to prison and probation staff. He’ll be allowed out later.
/ Kier & Shabana xx
If we only had a probation service???
ReplyDeletehttps://insidetime.org/mailbag/all-because-of-that-nomis-number/
How do prisons expect us to be able to grow up, progress, and change how we behave, when we get no incentives to do so? And then there’s your NOMIS number. No matter how well we’ve done, or how clean we’ve kept our noses for however long, we still have the same Nomis number, like a sign above our heads screaming ‘Prisoner – do not trust’.
DeleteI’m nearly 40 now, and I’ve done some mad stuff in prison over the past 20 years. But now, I try to do my jail a little slower and more chilled out, i.e. not ****** up on a Friday or stoned to bits on a daily basis. With age, I stick to the rules and regime a bit more than I used to, but some days I think, what’s the point? This isn’t a jail, it’s a bleeding zoo.
Because of my security file – all historical, I might add – I’m never going to get a chance at a decent job or to do something I would like to do, and there are thousands more like me in the same boat. Because of my file, which is headed with my Nomis number, I’m seen as a leopard who cannot change his spots. I am seen as a career criminal, but however good or bad I was, I don’t know. Especially because I was always caught. But, for our past to keep biting us in the ***, it’s hard to take.
Every release, or every time we transfer to another prison, or a new wing or whatever, there’s talk of a fresh start. Well, that’s rubbish. We are simply a cash cow to the system. It’s designed to keep us in this life, not to rehabilitate us.
Twenty years ago, someone could have stepped in to say ‘We’ll help this lad, let’s house him and give him some structure’. This never happened with me, nor with the thousands of others who are like me. What did the government do instead? They said, ‘Let’s give them a Nomis number for life and release them homeless, then recall them for being homeless.’ This is madness. But to the justice system, it somehow makes sense.
Then they stepped it up with alcohol and GPS tags, logistics involved, with so much money to make off these criminals’ backs. They talk of overcrowding, but jail us for petty stuff like recalls for poor behavior. Although there are no new charges or missed appointments, let’s recall ex-prisoners who are homeless when housing them would more than suffice.
It seems like the whole system is designed to keep us in this life. There is no fresh start. All they want is recidivism numbers to keep climbing, and to make money from us. And we, sadly dance to their tune. As long as we have this Nomis number in our life hanging over us, most of us will remain, no matter how hard we try.
On a serious note, has Timpson done a single thing since starting apart from a few visits as there is nothing in the news other than early release which I don’t think he was part off. He’s certainly not in the media making statements. All this optimism is quickly evaporating.
ReplyDeleteI am preoccupied by the thought of retiring from HMPPS who did me the enormous disservice of making me a civil servant.
ReplyDeleteBeen a PO for years and have not seen “me”as a practitioner reflected back in terms of my work place in a very long time. I feel bloody lonely, out of place and irrelevant -up to the point of course when cases need allocating.
I still find I have motivation in the face to face work, but by Friday that positive interaction is consistently eroded by computer tasks, targets and never ending instructional emails about what button to press. When did the service stop seeing people in front of them, rather a pile of problems that needs controlling and managing?
I have started to experience bullying tactics by managers for the first time, most unedifying and it tells me we really are sunk as a profession when we turn on ourselves.
For me the whole system demonstrates labelling theory in action everywhere. Rehabilitation is a ship long sailed- control, punish -put a label on it and remind the person of that when they don’t do what the system expects. Same for practitioner or someone sentenced in court- Take your pick.
Time to go when I can - can’t deal with the utter madness any more. Just this last fortnight they try to put a dent in the “full prison numbers” in one day-and a few days later introduce the idea of longer sentences for Magistrates...watch that section of the CJS put the foot down on that accelerator soon as they get the OK!
What do you use as a sanity anchor in amongst all that?
Give Timpson a break, he's too busy cutting keys and fixing shoes to deal with that nonsense!
ReplyDeleteso how long will sex offender huw edwards have to wait for his sotp to begin? Or will he be celebrity fast-tracked by hmpps using hand-picked one-to-one tutors?
ReplyDeletehttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c3468ffe5274a659fd1ba01/process-study-horizon-programme.pdf
ReplyDeleteA study skewed by bias, as they acknowledge:
"It was not possible to obtain feedback on Horizon from all participants of the initial delivery groups. Forty per cent of programme completers, and all of the non-completers declined to participate in an interview and therefore the findings are based on those who agreed to be interviewed "
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-hmpps-approach-to-the-management-and-rehabilitation-of-people-convicted-of-sexual-offences
ReplyDelete"iHorizon: A 26 group and individual session programme for men convicted of downloading, and/or distributing indecent images of children, who are assessed as medium or above risk of sexual reconviction. iHorizon is available in the community. The programme focuses on skills for non-harmful internet use, and skills for intimacy, pro-social relationships and healthy sex."
Mega star footballers are threatening to go on strike over being asked to play extra matches.
ReplyDeleteThe MoJ in conjunction with NAPO said, ’our people will do it, and expect nothing in return.’
Napo may well say that but if Napo had the poa mark fairhurst in charge it would be a very different story . He was on sky news did a rounded job even mentioned probation but was on message for his members. Unlike Napo .
DeleteThe PPCS and Parole Board make life extremely hard for practitioners. Following initial reports there is a plethora of requests for addendums before the parole hearing ever happens. All the effort that is put into preparation of the reports and then you turn up for the hearing and it is adjourned for yet further reports and then your input is dismissed and a release happens. A subsequent recall for charges of significance that was identified in reports and it is the PP that is pulled through the SFO process whilst everyone else scuttles away, including the union representatives who your money has paid for, into dark corners and the incessant demands of the PPCS and Parole Board starts again if you still have a job!
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side, if Pom & Com agree release, (especially for recall cases) then there really is no need for an Oral hearing, they have the reports from Com, POM updates them on prison stuff as they really should know more than the COM and the panel can just interview the prisoner with his legal rep and stop wasting our time. Obviously if we're not in agreement on a release then yes, attend an Oral and let them question you. The whole process is part of the overcrowding problem, in my opinion at least
DeletePs - if you have been through the SFO process then I feel for you, stay strong
I also think that the parole board should not be involved in recalls on shorter sentences. COMs are professionals who have made a decision. They can easily use executive release processes for those who can be released safely. We often have parole hearings listed weeks before end of sentence dates. It’s a shocking waste of tax payers money
DeleteI agree. If both POM and COM agree for release just interview the Pop.
DeleteAgree and have been saying the same for what seems like forever. If anything major happens before the board considers release then Pom or Com can inform the board and then go to hearing. If there are areas of contention, ask for more info or go to hearing, otherwise the board should just decide. As a side note, are any areas paying overtime? My area is silent and not offering a penny.
DeleteI couldn’t agree more. Someone needs to review the Parole Board requests and the amount of time COMs spend complying with their increasingly excessive and short notice demands. The WMT allocates something like 20 hours for a PAROM, in fact that is meant to cover the time taken for reading all the paperwork, the interviews, the discussions with POMs and anyone else involved like PRA authors, the full PAROM, the OASys, often several subsequent updates (I’ve been asked for another full PAROM and OASys at this stage due to the parole board being slow to list hearings meaning the original is out of date), AP referrals, child protection and other referrals, sometimes MAPPA and other further meetings, reading a dossier sometimes in excess of 700 pages to prepare for a hearing, the hearing, then if adjourned, more directions, more reports, another round of prep and then the hearing which can be 8 hours long itself. And all the admin alongside it! It seems every other profession has boundaries, has someone protecting their role and advocating for capacity, but not us. In all instances, the “COM can do that task”. In fact it seems the people allocating the time for us to do this work don’t even know what we do. Can this be so?? Why is this never addressed or discussed? Why will no one challenge the Parole Boards demands?
Deletehttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13864437/NHS-psychologist-worked-13-hour-shifts-day-eight-months-negligent-bosses-turned-blind-eye-gets-87-000-compensation.html
ReplyDeleteDo
An NHS consultant has been awarded almost £90,000 in compensation after 'negligent' bosses turned a 'blind eye' to her working 'unacceptable' hours.
DeleteDr Pippa Stallworthy was left working 13-hour shifts every day for eight months as her mental health team dealt with a 'dramatic increase' in referrals, an employment tribunal heard.
The consultant clinical psychologist said she was 'totally unsupported' by the health service as she pleaded for more help on her team who were looking after vulnerable patients.
It occurs to me that probation treated me exactly the same as they got treated. Constant nastiness, distrust and a box to be ticked. No wonder you guys are ticked off.
ReplyDeletesox.
Seems there's not tags a available for those being released early....
ReplyDeletehttps://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp95n2z9370o.amp?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17267464237018&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com
'Getafix
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp95n2z9370o
ReplyDeleteDidn't take long for Serco to mess up. Where are the leaders in the office to even tell us? Only do Wednesdays for SLT and work at home the other 4 days.
Some prisoners released early as part of efforts to ease overcrowding have not been fitted with electronic tracking devices, despite it being a condition of their release, the BBC has been told.
DeleteSeveral offenders released on licence said they had not been fitted with an ankle tag - with one describing it as "a disaster waiting to happen".
One probation officer said the delays in them being fitted appeared to be due to a shortage of tags, while the Ministry of Justice said it was due to a backlog of former prisoners.
The MoJ blamed security contractor Serco - which manages the prison tagging system - for the delays. Serco said it was working to reduce the numbers waiting for tags.
Prisons minister Lord James Timpson said the delays to tagging were "completely unacceptable" and called what he described as an "urgent meeting with Serco leaders" on Thursday evening.
He said they "accepted the need for immediate action and personally committed to me to eliminate the backlog" - which, Lord Timpson added, he expected would "be done at pace over the coming weeks".
"All offenders continue to be closely monitored by the Probation Service with stringent conditions and we are prioritising the tagging of domestic abusers on licence to ensure the safety of victims."
More than 1,700 prisoners were let out early in England and Wales last week as part of the government's scheme to address overcrowding in prisons.
The justice secretary said this had prevented the prison system from reaching maximum capacity and "a total breakdown of law and order".
But the scheme has been criticised as risking public safety, while not all victims were made aware of their offender's early release date.
Offenders jailed for violent offences with sentences of at least four years, sex offenders and domestic abusers were not eligible for early release, the government has said.
Many of those let out last week were released on licence.
In some cases, that means having to wear an ankle tag so that their movements can be monitored to check they are obeying a curfew or following other restrictions.
Those who are not tagged are able to act without being monitored - increasing the risk of reoffending and danger to the public.
One offender released last week told the BBC: "They should have tagged me but they haven’t and it means I can go where I choose.
"I don’t want to end up back inside so I’m sticking to the curfew, but I know people who aren't doing that because they’ve not been tagged. It’s a disaster waiting to happen." In his case, he has been told to stay at home from 19:00 to 07:00.
Another offender released last week said: "I have to stay indoors till I get fitted, which means I can’t leave and it’s doing my head in - but I don’t want to get recalled into jail, so I’d rather do that but it would be easier if I was tagged. It’s a disgrace."
Three probation officers spoke to BBC News on condition of anonymity.
DeleteOne, who said they believed the issue was down to a shortage of tags, said: "We’re hearing the same story from several staff saying that people haven’t been tagged yet and it’s going to cause problems.
"Seems like people were released without the conditions on which they were released on being properly ready, and that could potentially be dangerous."
Tagging or Home Detention Curfew (HDC) is a scheme which allows some people to be released early from custody if they have a suitable address to go to.
If someone is released on HDC, they have rules to follow about where they can go and what time they have to be back at home.
It allows the authorities to monitor the movements of an offender to dissuade them from reoffending.
According to Martin Jones, the chief inspector of probation, about a third of those released early last week are expected to reoffend.
The tagging system is operated by Electronic Monitoring Services (EMS), an organisation which is managed by Serco under a contract with the MoJ.
Another offender released last week said: "I have to stay indoors till I get fitted, which means I can’t leave and it’s doing my head in - but I don’t want to get recalled into jail, so I’d rather do that but it would be easier if I was tagged. It’s a disgrace."
Three probation officers spoke to BBC News on condition of anonymity.
One, who said they believed the issue was down to a shortage of tags, said: "We’re hearing the same story from several staff saying that people haven’t been tagged yet and it’s going to cause problems.
"Seems like people were released without the conditions on which they were released on being properly ready, and that could potentially be dangerous."
Tagging or Home Detention Curfew (HDC) is a scheme which allows some people to be released early from custody if they have a suitable address to go to.
If someone is released on HDC, they have rules to follow about where they can go and what time they have to be back at home.
It allows the authorities to monitor the movements of an offender to dissuade them from reoffending.
According to Martin Jones, the chief inspector of probation, about a third of those released early last week are expected to reoffend.
The tagging system is operated by Electronic Monitoring Services (EMS), an organisation which is managed by Serco under a contract with the MoJ.
An MoJ spokesperson said: "Tagging is an important part of our strategy to keep victims safe and cut reoffending, and there are currently record numbers of offenders wearing tags.
Delete"We are holding Serco to account to address delays in fitting some offenders with tags, and will apply financial penalties against the company if this is not resolved quickly.
"While this issue is ongoing, we have prioritised tagging domestic-abuse offenders to make sure their licence conditions, such as staying away from their victims, are strictly followed."
A Serco spokesperson said: "Since we took over the electronic monitoring contract in May we have been working hard to reduce the number of people waiting to have a tag fitted.
"We work closely with the MoJ and the probation service to fit tags swiftly and prioritise cases based on risk profiles.
"Where an individual is not at home when we call to fit a tag the time taken can be longer. We prioritise making another visit so that people are tagged as soon as possible."
several issues are taxing me at present:
ReplyDelete* the utterly cavalier & ill-thought-through mass release of prisoners without any structure, e.g. accommodation, tags, support on release, etc.
* serco. useless. again. Well, whaddya know...?
* the failure of our current govt to tackle unfathomable greed while punishing the least wealthy in society
* starmer's refusal to pay for his football tickets; yes, a corporate box makes security sense but... pay for it out of your own pocket, you scrounging shapeshifter
* the elevation of sue gray to untouchable status - she's a public servant, not a deity. Bodes well for romeo's future pospects though!
* israeli govt's use of terrorist tactics with impunity, likely to start a major conflict across the middle east & beyond...(not a single mention of hostages)... so what are they doing in Gaza while eyes are trained on lebanon?
* trump's most recent bizarre & totally untrue outbursts which are fuelling extreme rightwing violence across the usa even before their election.
https://www.aol.co.uk/news/prisoner-freed-early-starmer-back-133005768.html
ReplyDeleteA former actor freed from jail early under Keir Starmer’s prisoner release scheme is back behind bars after allegedly assaulting his ex-partner.
DeleteJason Hoganson – who starred in the cult 1980s film Empire State – was pictured giving the thumbs up as he left HMP Durham on Sep 10 after being freed from an 18-month sentence for assaulting his former girlfriend in the street.
He was one of 1,750 prisoners released 40 per cent through their sentences rather than halfway under a scheme designed to prevent jails running out of space.
However, within 48 hours Hoganson, a 53-year-old of no fixed abode, his head covered in distinctive tattoos, was back in jail after being arrested.
A court heard he was arrested on Sep 11, the day after he was released, on suspicion of two counts of breaching a restraining order by contacting the same former partner and one of assaulting her.
Prosecutors said that Hoganson allegedly sent his former partner two letters while he was in HMP Durham in August and on Sep 3. He is then suspected of assaulting her by slapping her cheek at her home address the day after his prison release.
Hoganson appeared before Newcastle Magistrates’ court on Sep 12 and pleaded guilty to one count of breaching the restraining order but not guilty to the second. He also denied the allegation of assault by beating.
The court heard that the assault allegedly happened at a property in Arthur’s Hill, Newcastle. District Judge Kate Meek accepted jurisdiction and his trial was listed for Oct 30 at South Tyneside Magistrates’ court. He was remanded in custody.
He had been due to appear again at North Tyneside Magistrates’ court via video link from prison on Wednesday, but refused to do so and his solicitor spoke on his behalf. He was further remanded in custody until his trial.
Hoganson, originally from Wallsend, struggled with his movie career and fell into a life of drink, drugs and crime.
He had a leading role in the 1988 Hollywood movie Empire State alongside Ray McAnally, the Irish actor, Jamie Foreman and Martin Landau, the US star.
Playing a Geordie drifter living among mobsters in London, Hoganson had been talent-scouted by producers who contacted his drama teacher looking for a youth to play the part in the 1987 movie.
He is the second prisoner freed early who is alleged to have committed a crime within hours of their release. It emerged last week that a different former inmate allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on the same day he was freed.
Amari Ward, 31, was released on Tuesday as part of the policy, which aims to ease prison overcrowding. He appeared at Croydon Magistrates’ court on Thursday, charged with sexual assault, and is due to attend Maidstone Crown court next month.
Ward is alleged to have “intentionally touched” a woman who did not consent in Sittingbourne, Kent, on Tuesday, according to court documents. He was arrested at an address in south London.
Prison and probation watchdogs forecast that prisoners released early would be recalled to jail within weeks, with homelessness a key reason for either breaching their licence or returning to crime. A third of freed prisoners reoffend within a year of release.
https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.theguardian.com/business/2024/sep/18/prof-coined-presenteeism-employers-force-staff-back-dinosaurs?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17268373922211&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2024%2Fsep%2F18%2Fprof-coined-presenteeism-employers-force-staff-back-dinosaurs
ReplyDeleteI read the above this week and it really struck a nerve about how the service has become since reunification. The micro management from SPO's as well as constant emails from admin managers who need meaningless tasks done 'immediately' so there spreadsheets can look fabulous (although often inaccurate) it's de-proffesionalising officers which makes us question our skills, increases stress and anxiety and makes working in the service just unpleasant. I came back from the CRC's, there was a lot wrong, but we were allowed to get on with our work, maybe not enough oversight if I'm honest but the balance between managers trusting trained officers to do the job and and checking we're doing it and to a high standard is completely out of kilter. The SFO's in the media over the last 18months probably tipped it way off balance blaming 'poor' risk assessments instead of the root cause of high workloads coupled with a work force that is poorly paid, demotivated and demonised if we miss a target. Until managers realise that we should be working at 80% on the WLT which would give us bandwidth to deal with the unexpected, or covering colleagues on leave or sick, instead of thinking that anyone not on at least 100% must be living the life of Riley, we will never be able to do the job well and help reduce risks or reoffending or help the offenders improve there lot.
A good post and easy read to appreciate what the sentiments are. What a pity the Napo leader could neither articulate this write or understand it. I hope he reads the blog and learns something .
DeleteThere is a lot of criticism of SPOs but I’m confused. Are they absent and unsupportive or do they micromanage? Don’t forget SPO s are held to account for targets and quality and there aren’t many SFO reports that don’t criticise them. Please stop this slagging off of colleagues, whether managers or prison staff. It’s not ideal for any of us.
DeleteWhen was the last time anyone was told that a piece of work was great and they received meaningful praise for it.
ReplyDeleteThere is some really good work going on based on wanting the best for the person and their future. I see it on my team all the time. Why do we only hear about the negatives? It causes worry, it’s demoralising and it is a main factor in experienced staff leaving.
20/09/2024 at 14:28: I wholly agree with your comment concerning the need to for POs/PSOs to be at 80% on the WMT. I left the Probation Service last year via early retirement, after 3 months shy of 41 years as a PO. This was after having only 'survived' working as an OMU PO for 21 months, having previously worked in courts and as a PSR writer for 20 years. I elected to work in the OMU as I wanted to return to do the job for which I trained, namely helping people who had broken the law to avoid committing further offences and to move on with their lives. I found that once I reached 80% on the WMT, the hours that I needed to work began to mount to the point that I was regularly working in excess of 45 hours each week in order to keep up with my work. I concluded that I could not sustain such hours until my retirement date in 2026 and hence my decision to retire early. I reached 135% on the WMT by the time I retired, which was ridiculous as far as I was concerned. I am also aware that former colleagues are working way above this percentage and I can only commiserate with them and express outrage that the Probation Service is in such a dreadful state and so different to the service that I joined in 1982.
ReplyDeleteA reflection on 21/9 07:44
ReplyDeleteThere is plenty of evidence on this blog as to the struggles Operational staff have. “SPOs have to deliver on targets”. Targets for targets sake is something operational staff say a lot and OMIC has created an eternal need to meet these in ever greater number.
The WLMT and allocation process is also just a focus of the utter relentlessness of the situation for operational staff and the only message we consistently seem to get from upper management. For me, what it looks like from the coal face is that SPOs simply deliver what they are told to their staff and job done? Are SPOs honestly representing the reality of day to day life for operational staff upwards to their managers, or rolling over again and again? Why don’t I know the answer to that question? What I think I see are SPOs saying “of course we can” upwards and “get on with it”downwards. Does this not speak to retention remaining a real and enduring problem for probation? Please, please tell me SPOs are representing their exhausted operation staff by painting a real picture to upper managers? Let us know you have your operational staff’s backs and keep taking that to the table- The staff supervised by SPOs really do deserve that.