Cause and Effect

We have a very serious situation:-

Trainee probation officer stabbed yesterday. Circumstances being kept tight lipped. Questions raised as to why changes since Preston haven’t been implemented, being blamed on funding and all offices requesting it. Not good enough. I don’t want to work for this service anymore, we are not valued.

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Almost 6 months after the last one. Still no security or scanners in the office. Yet Martin Davis assures us staff security is at a premium. yeah right sure it is.

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If things are being missed when certain behaviours mean alarm bells would be ringing loudly... then where the hell is the management leadership and oversight, and when is it going to be properly held to account rather than case managers being blamed totally and punished in isolation under the SFO procedure, leaving managers in the clear.

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Good on Mr Gilmore. Win, lose or draw, he should be able to clarify a situation which exists in this country too. I had issues previously about a pre-sentence report where there was a great disparity between what the quality control audit people felt and what the sentencing judge thought. I asked the question, who are we writing the report for, the probation service or the sentencer? There was much huffing and puffing and a bit of threatening before it all went away unanswered. I know from speaking to colleagues that I was not on my own.

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I can recall being in a parole hearing when the case manager was asked to express their opinion on how manageable was risk. The initial response was, ‘my manager says…..’ the panel quite rightly pressed the matter in line with Parole Board rules and we’re then told, ‘the area manger thinks,……’ Upon being asked a third time, they were told, ’the MAPPA committee has decided……’ This is what they have created. Supposed professionals who either don’t have, or who aren’t allowed to express an opinion.

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There's one seriously important & invaluable observation from Acheson, one that NOMS/MoJ/HMPPS has never understood and will never understand, as they have no concept of managing that tightrope:

"I can still remember when these organisations were different but complementary entities. As the Governor of a prison with a lifer unit, I was inclined to keep most of the risk inside the walls and my colleague, the seconded senior probation officer, had the opposite perspective. That creative tension meant good risk-based decisions happened."

This puts me in mind of the similar *necessary* tensions that existed between Pre-Sentence Report authors & sentencers, carefully crafting argument & counter-argument, balancing all facts & considerations in a bid to realise the most appropriate & effective outcome. A balance that was shattered - & shat all over - when 'the centre' decided that concordance rates (probation proposals were in alignment with sentence outcomes) were a key performance indicator. Proof positive they had no concept of what constituted meaningful risk assessment.

Again, to quote Acheson:

"It was certainly no worse than the algorithmic, push button approach that dominates today."

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Two stabbing in the space of five months and no actual physical changes in offices to safeguard staff. Lockers to be installed but what about weapons concealed against the person? Workloads through the roof, a culture of bullying from senior management, and a pay deal that isn’t likely to materialise this financial year leaving staff struggling against the cost of living rises. What a sh*t place to work.

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Unfortunately since the Damien Bendall murders in 2021 HMPPS have forced Probation to over risk, cover backs and have trained new staff (and bullied/threatened experienced staff) to see offenders as the 'enemy' and to breach and recall for any slight issue. New staff haven't been encouraged to build rapport or develop relationships but to hit targets and write Oasys. This has made offenders see us as basically police or community prison officers who aren't there to help and support but to hinder, control and punish. I'm generalising but it's how I see the situation and I don't think it's possible to turn the tanker around...

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Very sad and shocked to read the extraordinary staff briefing yesterday afternoon. A trainee PO stabbed in Oxfordshire Probation office. Thankfully not critical but the trauma for them and colleagues must be enormous. What is being done to protect us as this is becoming a very real threat now with the proliferation of knives.

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Recall, breach, recall, breach, exterminate, exterminate, PQIQ Daleks

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Lets just cut to the chase here. 'Probation is now seen as the enemy' fed into Google AI delivers this:-

The idea that "probation is now seen as the enemy" stems from a shift in its role from rehabilitation to a more punitive, risk-management-focused system, which can be perceived as adversarial by offenders. This change is linked to increased bureaucracy, pressure from managerialism, and a focus on "tick-box" procedures rather than social inclusion. As a result, probation officers are sometimes seen as part of the state's penal apparatus rather than as supportive "friends" who help offenders lead non-criminal lives.

Shift in focus: The original purpose of probation was to "advise, assist and befriend" offenders, but this has been increasingly overshadowed by a focus on risk management and punishment.

Increased bureaucracy: A "tick-box" culture and heavy procedures dominate the service, sometimes undermining the judgment of individual officers and causing offenders to feel that progress is being hindered.

Punitive measures: The system has become more risk-averse, making breaches of community orders and licences, which can lead to re-sentencing or prison, a default position for probation staff.

Perceived as adversarial: The more punitive and bureaucratic nature of modern probation means offenders can see their probation officers not as helpers, but as adversaries or the "enemy" who are trying to catch them out.

Cultural and structural changes: The service's integration with the prison service and its placement within the civil service have been criticized as culturally inappropriate, further contributing to this perception of a more adversarial system.

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England once had a gold-standard and world-leading Probation Service that was informed by a Social Work ethos and staffed with highly skilled and well-motivated professionals able to exercise skill and judgement to 'advise, assist and befriend' in furtherance of both rehabilitation and public protection. Management, at the behest of politicians, have destroyed that over recent years and brought us to the point of utter chaos, rammed prisons, totally demoralised workforce and England having become an outlier as far as enlightened world-wide practice is concerned. This cannot go on as Acheson indicates:-

"But there’s no time and no appetite for any more change in this much abused and misunderstood service. The Government has made its choice on sentencing, and that is to load even more risk onto an agency that can’t guarantee public protection and rehabilitation with existing workloads."

The Government must bite the bullet - Probation as part of HMPPS is totally unfit for purpose and must be reformed and recast or things will get even worse.