tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post3207312865132523411..comments2024-03-29T14:15:33.681+00:00Comments on On Probation Blog: TR Week ThreeJim Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-61179335548311075722014-06-23T20:27:54.335+01:002014-06-23T20:27:54.335+01:00Lovely bonuses for your managers. They want you to...Lovely bonuses for your managers. They want you to do the work whilst they sit back & laugh at you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-54993042167740999352014-06-23T09:01:21.138+01:002014-06-23T09:01:21.138+01:00No worries - we covered it yesterday I think.No worries - we covered it yesterday I think.Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-30269562649702512792014-06-23T09:00:12.549+01:002014-06-23T09:00:12.549+01:00The Prison Officers Association is calling for a r...The Prison Officers Association is calling for a reversal of government cuts which it says have left stuff numbers "cut to the bone." It comes following an incident at HMP Elmley which left prison staff needing hospital treatment.<br /><br />Mike Rolfe is the National Executive Council representative for officers in Kent and London.Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-32008365410712972492014-06-23T08:56:23.644+01:002014-06-23T08:56:23.644+01:00Sod-exo are the ones bidding with the mutual in Ma...Sod-exo are the ones bidding with the mutual in Manchester. I really hope they don't get it. What are management thinking how can they let this happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-87566044815523483432014-06-23T08:19:03.233+01:002014-06-23T08:19:03.233+01:00http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2014-06-23...http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2014-06-23/call-for-a-reversal-on-prison-budgets-cuts/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-4549317585908292932014-06-23T08:00:01.522+01:002014-06-23T08:00:01.522+01:00they used to provide the supplies for our Probatio...they used to provide the supplies for our Probation Hostels in the NW and they were awful - quality was awful ie bacon that was all streaky fat, bread within a day or so of its use by date and deliveries hit and miss ie sometimes they did not come and we had to order takeaways or deliveries did come but did not have all of the stuff that we had ordered.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-64075697064352169982014-06-23T00:43:52.087+01:002014-06-23T00:43:52.087+01:00Sedoxo are a catering company that make shite scho...Sedoxo are a catering company that make shite school dinners and hispital food.<br />If anyones interested in reading about what a wonderful company they are, then this link to 'Corpirate watch', will provide quite a bit of info <br /><br /> http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/content/corporate-watch-sodexho-corporate-crimesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-24187702031868516392014-06-23T00:26:32.777+01:002014-06-23T00:26:32.777+01:00From the Mirror.
Riot-hit private prison firm So...From the Mirror.<br /><br /> Riot-hit private prison firm Sodexo wants to run probation services for half the UK<br /><br />22 June 2014 11:00 PMBy Jack Blanchard<br /><br />Outsourcing giant Sodexo is bidding to take charge of newly-released offenders in 12 of the 22 probation areas across England and Wales<br /><br />PAPrivatisation agenda: Chris GraylingA firm running a privatised jail where lags rioted after staff cuts wants to take on probation services for half the country.Outsourcing giant Sodexo is bidding to take charge of newly-released offenders in 12 of the 22 probation areas across England and Wales.But Labour and staff unions have raised safety concerns and point to Sodexo’s cost-cutting record at HMP Northumberland, where staffing was slashed by a quarter in four months. Prisoners rioted in March, taking over an entire wing of the jail.Justice Secretary Chris Grayling wants to privatise much of the probation service with firms getting lucrative contracts.Labour’s Shadow Justice Minister Sadiq Khan said: “The Government’s reckless privatisation will see the same old failing private companies hoovering up multimillion-pound contracts."It will put the public’s safety at risk.”Sodexo confirmed it was bidding to win probation contracts and added: “We review staffing levels at all our prisons on a regular basis.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-38236704797163165682014-06-22T22:52:54.514+01:002014-06-22T22:52:54.514+01:00Just a sobering thought but the Universal Credit I...Just a sobering thought but the Universal Credit IT systems are still not fit for purpose after nearly 3 years of adjustments and perfecting!!!<br />The real problem is that the systems have been outsourced to IT development companies that have no concept of coalface probation work, and they've been developed on instructions of ministers who have no knowledge of coalface probation work.<br />I wonder how anyone can see TR working safely when 70% of probation services are handed over by those ministers with no probation knowledge, to those companies who also have no probation knowledge?<br />Just plain idiotic, stupid beyond belief, and damn dangerous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-46885009667274981192014-06-22T22:35:35.218+01:002014-06-22T22:35:35.218+01:00In CRC's we have no access to the RSR and cann...In CRC's we have no access to the RSR and cannot check to see if it's been applied correctly. There is no accountability or transparency with it and it determines the cases sent to us. Bidders beware! You won't know why you are getting 'units'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-57516234857248695152014-06-22T22:24:05.549+01:002014-06-22T22:24:05.549+01:00Exactly !! This is going to need proper employe...Exactly !! This is going to need proper employee care agreements with fully agreed and refreshed weighted workloads.<br /><br />NAPO as should all of us be quick to engage this as a key strategy. Particular before any although unlikely sell off attempts take hold !! <br /><br />There will be little chance of getting multiple employers to act in national agreement and good staff care. Sentinel for example and G4S. Well see ! <br />Dino Dinonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-25900994617564881362014-06-22T21:57:22.142+01:002014-06-22T21:57:22.142+01:00Yup it is straightforward - ish....except some off...Yup it is straightforward - ish....except some offences are not listed in the schedules and of course you need the relevant documentation to use it. So, sentenced without a report? Well then no papers (pre cons are a must), so you need to track down the legal rep who might have left the court or hope there is a previous OASys to read ( and then hope it has pre cons info in it) or just complete it without the information. Also, with the current problems accessing IT systems, you can not rely on getting the information. So, we now we have many that are inaccurate already. So that's alright then....who is giving the information that all is ok with this tool???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-51099387354063852712014-06-22T21:46:57.392+01:002014-06-22T21:46:57.392+01:00Bollocks, sorry Jim this is a load of lies, who ev...Bollocks, sorry Jim this is a load of lies, who ever is feeding the authority's a load of crap need to ask the practitioners. The RSR tool is crippling everyone and is an inaccurate tool, it doesn't take into account risk and takes hours and then you loose the document. CRC staff who have not had the training are not even doing them yet and continue to write reports. I don't know who comes out with all the lies, please bidders take note of what is said in this blog rather than rely on those feeding you lies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-7229224193831066902014-06-22T21:33:25.220+01:002014-06-22T21:33:25.220+01:00we already had a potential serial killer on the lo...we already had a potential serial killer on the loose in Colchester - im just hoping that does not turn out to be someone's SFOAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-33765108624186414642014-06-22T21:15:46.086+01:002014-06-22T21:15:46.086+01:00They work for you has this about the RSR tool - Je...They work for you has this about the RSR tool - Jeremy Wright says all is well with it!!! <br />http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2014-05-07a.197568.h&s=wright+probation#g197568.r0 posted on 7 May 14.<br /><br />Sarah Champion (Rotherham, Labour)<br /><br />To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether (a) his Department and (b) the Probation Service has experienced problems in accessing the Risk of Serious Recidivism Predictor Tool to date.<br /><br />Reply by Jeremy Wright <br /><br />We are carrying out extensive local testing of the key elements of the new Transforming Rehabilitation systems across a number of Probation Trusts. Findings are helping us to refine the associated tools and guidance. We have now completed testing of the new Risk of Serious Recidivism (RSR) tool, which will be used to inform the allocation of cases to new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) or the National Probation Service (NPS). <br /><br />Our testing with operational staff in Trusts indicates that the tool is straightforward to use, in line with our commitment to minimising bureaucracy for frontline staff.<br /><br />We have begun the roll out of the current version of the tool to all Trusts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-41002683472213775682014-06-22T21:03:39.317+01:002014-06-22T21:03:39.317+01:00The study of the psychopath reveals an individual ...The study of the psychopath reveals an individual who is incapable of feeling guilt, remorse or empathy for their actions. They are generally cunning, manipulative and know the difference between right and wrong but dismiss it as applying to them...... Not that I'm making any links to Mr. Grayling.........Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-11263817843143321112014-06-22T20:56:02.516+01:002014-06-22T20:56:02.516+01:00It looks as if 10 July will be the largest day of ...It looks as if 10 July will be the largest day of strike action for two years. John Rees reports from discussions at the national meeting of the People’s Assembly.<br /><br />Teachers, civil servants, firefighters - members of the NUT, PCS, Unison, Unite and the GMB - look likely to take part in a mass strike on 10 July. It will be the largest co-ordinated action since the collapse of the pension’s dispute two years ago.<br /><br />The strikes still depends on ballots in some unions: Unison’s ballot over local government pay which starts on 23 May, for instance, and the GMB ballot on the same timescale. The PCS already has a live ballot for action but is likely to put a consultative ballot in place. The NUT is already planning action and seems likely to strike on the 10 July if that is when other unions strike. The FBU, is already taking strike action, and has pledged to take action on the 10 July as well.<br /><br />There is also talk of repeating the day of strike action ahead of the TUC national demonstration next October.<br /><br />These possibilities can transform the anti-austerity agenda.<br /><br />Earlier this year there was only the People’s Assembly demonstration on June 21st on the calendar. As the Assembly had decided no matter what others in the labour movement were planning we would call national action against the government.<br /><br />But then the TUC added their autumn demonstration to the upcoming actions. This was a real step forward giving the anti-austerity movement the chance to hit the government twice in a few months with mass displays of opposition to its cuts programme.<br /><br />But now the emerging possibility of strike action just two weeks after the People’s Assembly national demonstration, and more action in the autumn, means that a period of sustained opposition to the Tory coalition is opening up immediately before the general election.Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-36158404817929939462014-06-22T20:28:33.198+01:002014-06-22T20:28:33.198+01:00Prisons are running at dangerously low staffing l...Prisons are running at dangerously low staffing levels and incidents are being under reported. I have never felt so unsafe as I do now but at least as a civilian I can walk off the wings. What will it take to get someone at ministerial level to listen? Sadly I think it will take more than an officer being kicked in the head -and they expect early retirees to come back on short term contracts? I hope they tell them to stick it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-49493360570358477882014-06-22T20:02:26.946+01:002014-06-22T20:02:26.946+01:00“If information on serious and violent offenders i...“If information on serious and violent offenders is being lost in the system, or disappearing into gaps because of the crazy way the probation service has been carved up, that’s when public safety is put in danger.”<br /><br />Ian Lawrence, general secretary of Napo, said: “These reforms are an untried and untested dangerous social experiment which are being rushed through at breakneck speed without the proper infrastructure being in place.<br /><br />“We urgently call on the Government to halt these so-called reforms, allow the infrastructure to be put in place, and to test this new system to make sure the public won’t be put at risk,” he added.<br /><br />A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “Where local IT issues have occurred we have worked with probation staff to swiftly resolve them. We have also kept in close contact with the courts and have had no reports of serious disruption.”Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-71857090328404064592014-06-22T20:01:42.057+01:002014-06-22T20:01:42.057+01:00Britain’s probation service is in chaos after a se...Britain’s probation service is in chaos after a series of crippling computer failures over the past three weeks, with thousands of offenders’ case files lost, frozen or wiped.<br /><br />In preparation for widely condemned moves to hand over 70 per cent of the service to the private sector later this year, the IT system was upgraded on 2 June. But probation officers across the country have told The Independent on Sunday that the updated systems are full of glitches and have even shut down, leaving the service under “crisis management”. <br /><br />Offenders have been turned away from community service, evidence has not been available for court hearings, and new offences have not been added to case files.<br /><br />The Shadow Justice Secretary, Sadiq Khan, warned last night that public safety had been “put in danger” by the crisis, while Unison said it warned the Government last month that “the potential for this mass restructuring of probation ICT [information and communication technology] systems … to go badly wrong is very high”.<br /><br />The Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, reorganised the service in April from 35 probation trusts into 21 community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) that mainly supervise those on community sentences or just released from prison. Private-sector contractors and mutual companies formed by probation staff are currently bidding to run the CRCs, with the winners expected to be confirmed by the end of the year.<br /><br />The Government is also establishing a national probation service (NPS) for high-risk offenders, which will stay in state hands.<br /><br />However, this division is hindering officers’ efforts to work together on cases that cross both services, an issue further complicated by the changed IT system that does not allow officers to see each others’ files. A revamp of a system known as nDelius also left some CRCs without access to files for a week. A second system, Oasys, has also been hit by glitches.<br /><br />Dave Adams, the Warwickshire branch chairman of Napo, the probation officers’ union, said officers could not record the hours of community service offenders had done, creating a “huge backlog” of work.<br /><br />He added that around 30 offenders on community service had to be turned away in Warwickshire alone that first week. Officers did not have their case files, so could not be certain that offenders were not, for example, guilty of sex crimes that would rule them out of working on school projects.<br /><br />Other offenders who should have seen a probation officer within days of being in court have had those meetings delayed because court orders could not be electronically documented. “Colleagues are putting in entries to case files, then find them disappearing,” said Mr Adams.<br /><br />Napo’s West Mercia branch chairwoman, Joanne Perkins, added that officers, asked in court for information on areas like how much unpaid work an offender had completed, could not provide the information as they could not access the files.<br /><br />“‘Firefighting’ and ‘crisis management’ are the sort of terms being bandied about,” she said.<br /><br />Yvonne Pattison, a Napo vice-chairwoman and a probation officer in the north-east, said the system has been dubbed “nDelirious”, with cases “just disappearing” from computer screens and others closing down half-completed as the Save button was not working. This has created major delays: serious cases involving parole reports can take up to two days to write.<br /><br />Ms Pattison said at one point that the system would not allow updates to breaches of, and amendments to, offenders’ probation conditions. She added that new glitches were coming up “all the time”.<br /><br />Mr Khan said: “I have been inundated with horror stories from around the country, and in the past few days have met staff at the coalface in London and South Wales about the chaos that’s crippling the probation system. What’s really alarmed me is how the IT system on which so much relies is in meltdown.<br /><br />Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-72895532721571240942014-06-22T19:56:22.639+01:002014-06-22T19:56:22.639+01:00A pair of prison officers were taken to hospital o...A pair of prison officers were taken to hospital on Saturday after they were allegedly assaulted by an inmate who was thought to have been intoxicated.<br /><br />Police were called to HMP Elmley in Church Road, Eastchurch, at 5.23pm.<br /><br />Under instruction from the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) inmates were kept in lockdown and staff withdrew to a safe area from 8.30am to 10am this morning until an agreement could be reached with the management over safety concerns.<br /><br />Mike Rolfe, POA representative for London and Kent, said that a third officer was also assaulted but did not require hospital treatment.<br /><br />He said: "Two were seriously injured. One was knocked unconscious and was still being punched while he was on the floor. Both had severe strikes to the head from a very physically-fit prisoner serving life." <br /><br />He said the POA demanded security checks of cells be carried out for alcohol and weapons and reviews be carried out into staffing levels and on the prisoner transfer policy.<br /><br />He claimed Elmley has a lot of troubled inmates being moved there from other jails.<br /><br />He went on to say that staff shortages and high levels of stress-related illness meant there were fewer cell checks for things like weapons, drugs and alcohol.<br /><br />Earlier this month an investigation was launched after a video emerged of two prisoners being punched in the face which led to concerns about staffing issues.<br /><br />The Ministry of Justice has denied there was any action taken by workers.<br /><br />A spokesman said: "Staff at HMP Elmley have not withdrawn labour and the prison is operating normally.<br /><br />"Two members of staff did receive hospital treatment yesterday following an incident at the prison.<br /><br />"The safety and security of our staff is of paramount importance - anyone who is violent towards them can expect to face severe consequences.<br /><br />"We have referred this incident to the police."<br /><br />A Kent Police spokesman said: "Inquiries with the prison service are ongoing."Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-44232891247140227812014-06-22T19:00:07.626+01:002014-06-22T19:00:07.626+01:00The BBC (and other media companies) should be asha...The BBC (and other media companies) should be ashamed and embarassed by their silence over the clinical dissection & wholesale distribution of the public probation service. Who or what Grayling (ex BBC exec) is using to effect that silence ought to be exposed.<br /><br />On this blog it was predicted that there will be serious injuries and deaths as a direct result of Grayling's policies - and all ministers blindly following those policies plus the idiot ideologues devising them should be equally culpable.<br /><br />The injuries are now happening... The first death isn't too far off.<br /><br />Perhaps Mr Brown could dig out relevant comments, with the dates and context of their submission, so that the power of "prediction" (or professional judgement in terms of risk management) can be shown in its full glory.<br /><br />Mr Grayling, contrary to your facile view, our observations and criticisms have been valid and accurate from the start. You are a dangerous sociopath who's ideological aims are focused solely on your personal gain, o.e. Wealth & power. You have no conscience. You don't care who suffers whilst you and your friends profit. I had thought Mr Wright had more of a sense of right & wrong, though. Ah well...<br /><br />"their blood is on your hands."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-3274901592250399032014-06-22T18:16:58.123+01:002014-06-22T18:16:58.123+01:00Striking is not the answer. No one is prepared to ...Striking is not the answer. No one is prepared to do it for long periods of time and the odd day here and there has no impact whatsoever, all it serves to do is lose a day's pay and increase workload pressure for the rest of the week. It would be more effective if people just worked to their hours without building up masses amount of toil, take their leave and to stop papering over the cracks by doing flat rate PSRs. NAPO needs to get the workload measurement tool sorted out because everyone is going to be on massive workloads and there are still loads of cases to be allocated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-3371986615243993272014-06-22T16:28:51.534+01:002014-06-22T16:28:51.534+01:00http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/support_the_m...http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/support_the_mass_strikeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-79070050262289444502014-06-22T15:58:33.788+01:002014-06-22T15:58:33.788+01:00And I saw this disturbing video:
http://www.mirr...And I saw this disturbing video: <br /><br />http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/victims-shocking-prison-violence-video-3631044<br />Netnippernoreply@blogger.com