tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post3371766576857059952..comments2024-03-29T06:40:58.606+00:00Comments on On Probation Blog: Tagging Back to Square OneJim Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-15791965320126897502016-02-26T23:48:42.230+00:002016-02-26T23:48:42.230+00:00So NAPO got something right by your reckoning. All...So NAPO got something right by your reckoning. Alleluia Amen Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-83080028971135342862016-02-26T23:15:24.126+00:002016-02-26T23:15:24.126+00:00Don't be daft heard enough of this rubbish the...Don't be daft heard enough of this rubbish they are coming for all your terms pay and conditions. Ridding us of the silly management is a reward they complacently helped the TR agenda trying to deliver targets and now they have seen the light. The bloody spotlight on em. Its almost deserving really. Anyway they have statutory notice periods and that's 3 months so lets see how the consultation goes. Where the hell is napo press and a decrying press release do we pay for a PR officer to remain totally silent. What are the national chairs doing hiding under a desk and where is the rest of the officer and officials group silence is a compliance isn't it Napo ? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-2342547190558190552016-02-26T20:26:57.874+00:002016-02-26T20:26:57.874+00:00I'm totally sympathetic for them; this awful g...I'm totally sympathetic for them; this awful government has a lot to answer for. I can't help but thinking that managers have sat in managers meetings all along and have known exactly what was coming. <br /><br /> ... And then they came for us!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-38882665612116323492016-02-26T20:20:36.273+00:002016-02-26T20:20:36.273+00:00No the tags are cumbersome and don't hold char...No the tags are cumbersome and don't hold charge. This is why uses had to agree voluntary and promise to charge them, with the blackout period being unenforceable. The software is good but the tags are not. GPS tags that either hold charge 247, self charge via Bluetooth or do not need charging are very expensive and nobody wants to invest. The government has no intention of expensive initiatives but just wants to open the door for the more cruder forms of electronic supervision.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-39209151924789627762016-02-26T20:15:37.344+00:002016-02-26T20:15:37.344+00:00Anonymous 16.58 I hope you never have to face redu...Anonymous 16.58 I hope you never have to face redundancy whoever you are, any job lost is a disaster for the individual, yet continuing evidence that model is a disaster. You should be ashamed. DTV is a not for profit CRC with a staff mutual on the board, yet is it acting exactly as Sodexo did, bulldozing shocked managers with years of service and experience, disregarding process and I don't even believe it is about funding as I am told whilst redundancies are happening, a highly paid director is being recruited and a marketing manager, what on earth do we have to sell. I am convinced they will come for the POs next, whilst protecting their own jobs. It isn't just managers, HR and training staff are going, This process started on Tuesday and the managers they want rid of will be gone by the end of March. Four SPOs left to manage the entire Durham Tees Valley. My manager is brilliant, you can be sure that no-one is safe, these contracts cannot surviveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-76718091012896459442016-02-26T20:10:14.541+00:002016-02-26T20:10:14.541+00:00Missed opportunity for who? Im sure everyone aware...Missed opportunity for who? Im sure everyone aware of the hundreds of millions the MoJ has wasted on probation IT over the past 10 years. Tagging would have never worked under probation as it involves IT, contracts, etc. Probation does not manage these area well and is not set up like our innovative European counterparts. The MoJ never wanted to give probation the under 12 months, just as it sold off supervision and community service. Tagging which is even more lucrative was never an option for probation control. IOM schemes in some places already tried the gps in conjunction with the police but the existing technology was just not good enough, this is why it never took off. Napo was right to oppose electronic monitoring and this government does not want to use it to enhance rehabilitation but to replace rehabilitation!Probation Officernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-70159355118418007892016-02-26T19:00:28.340+00:002016-02-26T19:00:28.340+00:00in Merseyside only grade safe are case managers an...in Merseyside only grade safe are case managers and I think, for now, senior case managers (pso/po respectively) All admin incl admin managers & Unpaid Work staff are having to do a 2000 word application for their post & the closing date is this Monday 29th Feb, Interserve have promised that those unsuccessful will get re-deployed. Little notice for this - 2 weeks at most.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-71563378484804019922016-02-26T18:36:51.480+00:002016-02-26T18:36:51.480+00:00Yet another disgrace to add to the shame of this a...Yet another disgrace to add to the shame of this arrogant, vainglorious excuse for a govenment. But lets not forget that the coalition crew did nothing different, nor did the "new labour" shower before that. And, as observed elsewhere today, just about every substantial hierarchical organisation in the UK seems to revel in the 'one rule for you, another set of excuses for us' principle.<br /><br />Maybe someone could tot up the lost £Millions across all government departments due to shit procurement & failed contracts over the last ten years - IT failures, warships, submarines, TR, tags, etc, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-29310706592082714972016-02-26T16:58:57.730+00:002016-02-26T16:58:57.730+00:00:) OMG no, not the managers! Right people lets sto...:) OMG no, not the managers! Right people lets stop all this arguing, this is getting outta hand now. FFS mangers are being given the bloody heave ho.<br />I dont know about you but im not happy to work in a service that does not have enough managers in it. How am i expected to manager without a manager??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-49786152933395530292016-02-26T16:49:14.322+00:002016-02-26T16:49:14.322+00:00I agree with both David Raho and Netnipper. There ...I agree with both David Raho and Netnipper. There was definitely an opportunity missed. We gave the private sector the opportunity to get a foot in the door and make tagging something separate and we all know what those companies did. There are some reputable companies out there like Buddi and the alcohol tag people who are more than happy to work with probation to assist in rehabilitation and are not faceless corporations. The problem that is often faced is that the MoJ shifts the goal posts and starts playing politics when it should be looking at the best way to deal with the considerable problems faced. My view is that tagging needs to be firmly under probation control and that as each CRC fails it needs to be brought back under the NPS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-29869403044053933892016-02-26T16:47:59.656+00:002016-02-26T16:47:59.656+00:00Serious allegations of abuse and bullying at a G4S...Serious allegations of abuse and bullying at a G4S-run youth prison were made more than a decade before the current controversy surrounding the secure training centre which is now to be sold off, the Guardian can reveal.<br /><br />Eleven staff were suspended or sacked from Medway STC in Kent last month after a BBC documentary alleged staff were inappropriately restraining inmates and falsifying statistics to improve the jail’s record. G4S announced on Friday that it was to sell its “children’s services businesses”, including the contracts for Medway and another STC, in Oakhill, Milton Keynes.<br /><br />The announcement came on the same day the Guardian was able to report that two Medway whistleblowers had made claims in 2003 about inmates being abused by staff, and staff being bullied by the head of G4S children’s services, Paul Cook, who was in charge of the facility. No significant action appears to have been taken as a result of the complaint.Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-46807797505159221352016-02-26T16:42:20.906+00:002016-02-26T16:42:20.906+00:00G4S: rotten to the core as these whistleblower all...G4S: rotten to the core as these whistleblower allegations for 2003 demonstrate. And the man in charge at the time was the same one who shed crocodile tears following the Panorama undercover filming. Seems the only difference was that there was no film of the abuses in 2003. No one did anything – home office or police. All the cant about whistleblowing – whether it's the BBC or any other hierarchical institution – they will do nothing unless they perceive they are at risk of reputation damage or corporate responsibility. The scandals and abuses will continue, because fundamentally nothing changes and those in power rule through fear and bullying. <br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/26/revealed-g4s-youth-jail-faced-abuse-claims-12-years-agoNetnippernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-52625945102019796302016-02-26T16:31:58.214+00:002016-02-26T16:31:58.214+00:00The MoJ confirmed that it had launched an audit of...The MoJ confirmed that it had launched an audit of all the restraint injury data from Medway STC that had been provided to the Youth Justice Board by G4S.<br /><br />The decision to sell the contracts to run the two youth prisons and 13 local authority children’s homes does not concern the prisons or immigration detention centres also managed by the company.<br /><br />Penal reformers called for the STCs to be shut down instead of sold. “These child jails have been the focus of much controversy, not least the recent BBC Panorama documentary into abuse by staff at Medway,” said Andrew Neilson, of the Howard League for Penal Reform.<br /><br />“There is now an opportunity developing to close the secure training centres down completely. These centres are a failed model and this wise withdrawal from the market by G4S should not be followed up by new private security companies coming in to replace them, with dubious track records abroad in the treatment of people in custody.”Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-57505285216892627052016-02-26T16:29:01.606+00:002016-02-26T16:29:01.606+00:00The private security firm G4S is to sell its UK ch...The private security firm G4S is to sell its UK children’s services business, including its contracts to run two youth prisons, weeks after damning footage emerged of its staff using excessive force on children.<br /><br />The contracts to be sold include the management of Medway secure training centre (STC) in Kent, where five men were arrested in January after an undercover BBC Panorama investigation exposed the alleged abuse of “trainees”.<br /><br />G4S has been repeatedly criticised over the use of restraint at Medway STC, which the company has run since it opened in 1998. The second child prison run by the company, at Oakhill, Milton Keynes, is also to be sold. A third secure training centre, Rainsbrook, is already in the process of being transferred to a new company, MTC Novo.<br /><br />A G4S statement said the sale of the operation was going ahead as part of “its ongoing review of its portfolio of businesses”. The business, with revenues of £40m a year, includes the management of 13 children’s homes.Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-73554272377122958902016-02-26T16:23:56.972+00:002016-02-26T16:23:56.972+00:00G4S has problems with its youth prisons. And thei...G4S has problems with its youth prisons. And their 'get out of jail card' is to flog 'em like any other commodity.<br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/26/g4s-to-sell-controversial-youth-jail-contractsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-37784042896347163312016-02-26T16:21:36.388+00:002016-02-26T16:21:36.388+00:00What area is DTV? Who owns the CRC. Let's all ...What area is DTV? Who owns the CRC. Let's all unite. We can't let this happen to these managers!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-10744009839398504632016-02-26T16:16:56.642+00:002016-02-26T16:16:56.642+00:00Apologies for going off topic, however DTV have ju...Apologies for going off topic, however DTV have just announced to Band 5 staff that they are laying off approximately three quarters of them. Only 6 managers posts, all managers must apply. Two weeks (PA) redundancy if you go straight away, 1.5 (PA) if you apply for your job but are unsuccessful! Moral low at the moment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-25664152688069281782016-02-26T16:07:50.437+00:002016-02-26T16:07:50.437+00:00Daily Mail:-
Ministers abandon a £23MILLION plan ...Daily Mail:-<br /><br />Ministers abandon a £23MILLION plan to design their own GPS tags for criminals and admit they could have just bought them off the shelf <br /><br />The Government today admitted a £23million to scheme to design bespoke GPS tags for criminals would not work and better technology could be bought off the shelf. The scheme, announced by then justice secretary Chris Grayling in July 2014, had been intended to save money by increasing sentencing options for judges. But 18 months later and after most of the money has been spent, Justice Minister Dominic Raab today said the project had been a failure.<br /><br />Labour said the move 'beggars belief' and called on ministers to reveal exactly how much the scrapped process has cost the taxpayer. <br /><br />Raab told MPs: 'Developing bespoke tags has been challenging and it is now clear that it will be more appropriate to pursue our goals using off-the-shelf technology which is already available.Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-24417728780958748832016-02-26T16:04:30.290+00:002016-02-26T16:04:30.290+00:00I think David Raho makes a good point about previo...I think David Raho makes a good point about previous probation antagonism to electronic monitoring that goes right back to the first pilots in 1988 when Napo regarded tagging as a gimmick that was contrary to social work values as tagging was all about surveillance and control. It was arguably a missed opportunity to integrate tagging into the mainstream of probation work and keep the private sector out.Netnippernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-36669431963233454042016-02-26T15:59:26.070+00:002016-02-26T15:59:26.070+00:00The tags we use have improved over the last few ye...The tags we use have improved over the last few years but there are still a number of issues with the scheme as a whole. However, I certainly don't go round telling those wearing them what problems we encounter and so I don't feel comfortable writing them here either. Problem then is we don't get a fully informed debate. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-51261926212276744822016-02-26T14:33:00.691+00:002016-02-26T14:33:00.691+00:00The IOM GPS schemes were police led using BUDDI eq...The IOM GPS schemes were police led using BUDDI equipment. The equipment worked well and is still working well. The next tagging contract is likely to go to G4S because they have an off the shelf system that can easily be integrated with the existing system. The GPS tagging is likely to be targeted at those sentenced to under 12 months to get them out of prison sooner.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-35966811184251575742016-02-26T14:28:17.080+00:002016-02-26T14:28:17.080+00:00Sounds like a whining from Probation Officer when ...Sounds like a whining from Probation Officer when someone finally stands up to his nonsenseAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-33249250927151279522016-02-26T14:09:57.229+00:002016-02-26T14:09:57.229+00:00Probation has been piloting gps tags for a number ...Probation has been piloting gps tags for a number of years now. IOM schemes were amongst the first. The gps tags didn't work properly then and they don't now. We have a government that has already privatised probation and is already guilty of handing out tagging contracts to whomever promises a fast buck and a few shareholder positions to Tories et al. The additional current push to increase tagging despite the flaws and the previously conning the government and tagging dead people, is to further cut costs and erase the probation service. Probation Officernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-60772737883192447642016-02-26T14:00:28.695+00:002016-02-26T14:00:28.695+00:00David Raho, it seems you're the one who is con...David Raho, it seems you're the one who is confused!Probation Officernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-23329827032014360092016-02-26T12:40:09.723+00:002016-02-26T12:40:09.723+00:00The device is CE marked and has been approved to b...The device is CE marked and has been approved to be used in the pilot after extensive testing by Home Office CAST. Thank you for the suggestion. EM Experthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07692368222317539706noreply@blogger.com