tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post7256843126311922099..comments2024-03-28T20:12:43.003+00:00Comments on On Probation Blog: TR Week Twenty TwoJim Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-70552128571664364152014-11-03T16:19:01.524+00:002014-11-03T16:19:01.524+00:00Not a question of truth and who is saying what - I...Not a question of truth and who is saying what - I am sure there are seniors who believe they have signed something which is or appears to be gagging order - as we have not seen it (yet!) let us assume they speak the truth and that others perhaps have not been told to sign or perhaps they believe it NOT to be a gagging order .......Would any Northumbria team manager be able to access the said document and we could make up our own minds? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-64873935314366159082014-11-02T20:36:28.211+00:002014-11-02T20:36:28.211+00:00Oh yes, anon 1924 - the death knell for involvemen...Oh yes, anon 1924 - the death knell for involvement in the community was the computer (not to mention the ubiquitous TARGETS). It might regiment recording, but so much became complex paper processes, taking up so much time. Compare Delius with the handwritten Pt C's which would be given to admin to type up. Not very impressive to look at but how easy it was to record both essential info, and useful info, and just scroll down the page to have everything in neat datal order. The computer has a lot to answer for. Just read Pt A's, B's and C's and you had the basic background in front of you before you explored the meaty files. With a case load of several high risk clients, my cabinets had cases which had info filling several files. I had one case of a young man who had been living in a complex family situation and abusing his younger siblings (6 active files, divided into sections, spanning one long sentence and licence period).I had previously supervised his very troubled sister and those files were invaluable . When I closed those files I would put on a big sticker DO NOT DESTROY. I sometimes wonder now how much of all that remains - minimal info on micro fiche?MLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-2688026821865328072014-11-02T19:24:13.639+00:002014-11-02T19:24:13.639+00:00Bizarre isn't it ? Back then we had caseloads ...Bizarre isn't it ? Back then we had caseloads of 50+, wrote 5-6 reports a month and were involved with partnerships..liaison roles with community organisations. We got to together and developed group work , spent time at Court , had time to attend lots of training and more..and yes we were in contact with people serving under 12 months imp.. now in a supposedly more efficient world we can barely manage basic tasks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-46465946118140023292014-11-02T18:24:11.003+00:002014-11-02T18:24:11.003+00:00Don't forget the never ending amount of emails...Don't forget the never ending amount of emails that we keep getting telling us what processes we are now supposed to be following, what changes have happened, the latest instruction etc. Who has time to read them?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-41094710606651803502014-11-02T18:06:34.716+00:002014-11-02T18:06:34.716+00:00To anon 11.59 what do you mean? Yvonne Patterson u...To anon 11.59 what do you mean? Yvonne Patterson us a National Officer-it makes more sense using Officers rather than Officials where possible as they are still Probation staff and deal with front-line issues.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-8559268797950977102014-11-02T18:06:14.666+00:002014-11-02T18:06:14.666+00:00Nice summing up - thanks!Nice summing up - thanks!Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-49615929258688549942014-11-02T17:53:27.962+00:002014-11-02T17:53:27.962+00:00Am a team manager northumbria and haven't ! So...Am a team manager northumbria and haven't ! So whose telling the truth Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-13151479313299168212014-11-02T17:40:44.497+00:002014-11-02T17:40:44.497+00:00our team manager has had to sign a silencing docum...our team manager has had to sign a silencing document (northumbria). told the team about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-66523179846400547562014-11-02T17:28:35.012+00:002014-11-02T17:28:35.012+00:00The comment was aimed at the statement about signi...The comment was aimed at the statement about signing a silencing document I am a manager and haven't signed anythingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-65343540311132621562014-11-02T17:09:31.516+00:002014-11-02T17:09:31.516+00:00So, we have reached Week 22 and far from systems &...So, we have reached Week 22 and far from systems "bedding in" and adjustment to the new working way everything just gets worse!<br />1. IT moves from weakness to weakness with "workarounds" hastily brought in to at least get some semblance of process working now being removed progressively and staff again having to figure out what to do. Still no definitive tried and tested systems but rather bodge jobs that someone must have been paid an awful lot of tax payers money to develop.<br />2.Courts now progressively moving to majority of reports being done by tick box orals, yes even High Risk, read the PI, it is the national system. Court staff instructed to do this against their professional judgement and OMs becoming increasingly angry at the hasty assessment done by court staff and the absence of information to complete ISPs with. Knock on effect is of course ISP targets being missed and v many likely to be of poor quality due to errr, lack of information. Best not mention that lack of information leads to poor risk assessment eh? <br />3. Case Allocation and RSR tools proving to be a disaster with most areas having paid scant heed to the detail required and very many having been done incorrectly in the absence of clear guidance and training and of course, appropriate staffing levels. Three line whip on this I hear now with NOMS panicking and sending staff around the country to talk to court based case allocators trying to figure out why everyone is doing this differently.<br />4. Risk Escalation - the Jewel in the TR Crown - takes 3 hours easily the first time anyone tries to use it ( that's CRC 3 hours plus NPS 3 hours) to replace a simple line management discussion. Official timing on this is 24 hours for a decision, previously took perhaps half an hour max?Now takes two PO/PSO grade staff and two managers (CRC/NPS side) so double the staff just to make the decision!<br />5. Staff split - chickens are really coming home to roost - numbers wrong, locations wrong, roles changing without any discussion or agreement or even consideration of Equality issues. A great example is a NPS colleague trying to use shared services who has hearing issues and is told to email rather than phone ( yes this has happened) but email will only get a response in 7 days as opposed to hearing colleagues who can get a response instantly on the phone.<br />6.Breach processes - CRC staff having cases rejected by NPS enforcement officers but not told why and only discover this by a delius entry because NPS staff told not to communicate directly with their former colleagues, there is not time. <br />7. Cases still unallocated or being warehoused and held by managers so NOMS can say they have been allocated..but really they are held until a resource ( that's PSO/PO) becomes available. So remember for 'case' we really mean a person with complex needs and risks to be assessed. Perhaps sexual offending, perhaps domestic abuse,perhaps mental health, perhaps child protection...perhaps SFO???<br />8. Duty of care...to service users and to staff being totally disregarded <br />Truly an Omnishambles of Epic proportions! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-80125433287481251402014-11-02T17:07:50.701+00:002014-11-02T17:07:50.701+00:00Good radio programme and well done to everybody wh...Good radio programme and well done to everybody who contributed. Please please can you think about helping out with Napo's requests as it's really important for the Judicial Review. Joanna Hughesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-23105503890462509592014-11-02T16:41:53.462+00:002014-11-02T16:41:53.462+00:00I had a different role from PSO colleagues when I ...I had a different role from PSO colleagues when I ran TVSOP as well as the other programmes. Then I was sifted to CRC and now I do the same as PSO grades, so I'm screwed. There are some band 4 roles that don't demand a PO qualification and this is how some POSs can get SOTP trained.<br /><br />By and large, SOTP is, and should remain, a band 4 responsibility.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-71066838207807873072014-11-02T16:29:37.595+00:002014-11-02T16:29:37.595+00:00You really should expand on your assertion - this ...You really should expand on your assertion - this is just untrue - just give a clue to your thinking. If thousands read this blog daily, then I would say it's likely to be influencing opinion. Access to information alone can shape opinion. Leaking information makes a difference: think of the Belgrano and Clive Ponting, the Pentagon Papers, Wikileaks. Leaking is good for the public and bad for those in government.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-40738702861346642542014-11-02T16:09:40.417+00:002014-11-02T16:09:40.417+00:00Am v confused about grade of SOTP tutors: in my ar...Am v confused about grade of SOTP tutors: in my area all are PO grade (Band 4) and "sorted" into NPS. West Yorks recently advertised for Band 3 (PSO) Grade SOTP tutors - how can this be right? Two different grades delivering the same role????Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-41471672800092731052014-11-02T15:40:43.298+00:002014-11-02T15:40:43.298+00:00Yes - the days of client centered work - voluntary...Yes - the days of client centered work - voluntary aftercare went with the 1991 Criminal Justice Act (the one where all the Home Office training material talked about "just desserts" (as in "I'll have the trifle") rather than the intended "just deserts". How we laughed). Happy days indeed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-57027135744607882222014-11-02T15:17:31.585+00:002014-11-02T15:17:31.585+00:00Yes, I remember it being called Probation and Afte...Yes, I remember it being called Probation and Aftercare Service, at some stage in my early memories, when they also did Social Enquiry Reports, which were short and benevolent and descriptive and didn't much address past history. That ended in 1991 or 2, as the new Criminal Justice Bill/Act took hold and the Service became more 'professional', with the start of reduced 'benevolence', but still had plenty of scope to use your initiative. My leaning was to the old school but was trained in the new era. <br /><br />I do remember that when an Order finished we would write to them, (congratulating them for successfully completing their Order) and advise them in the letter and at their last appointment, to pop in if they ever had any concerns. We would even see and advise people who had not been on probation, but who would call in for help, after they had been rejected by other public offices - council, social services.... until it got too time consuming.<br /><br /> I also remember people near the end of their Order, when all work had been completed, reporting to a Friday Reporting Group, where they could have a coffee and a game of pool! (but I bet the new en masse reporting systems won't include pool and coffee, (and the clients will never reach anywhere near the statutory end of their Order, as they will have long been terminated before they can re-offend, regardless of risk, or even, dare I say- because of risk.....)<br /><br />But oh - those were the days - thanks for the memory.MLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-76768783458535910662014-11-02T15:16:25.878+00:002014-11-02T15:16:25.878+00:00This is just untrueThis is just untrueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-40853840690240004012014-11-02T14:50:09.439+00:002014-11-02T14:50:09.439+00:00Dropped when we 'moved centre stage' 1991Dropped when we 'moved centre stage' 1991Probationrelichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18112270151571230925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-9678965083213022832014-11-02T13:54:45.538+00:002014-11-02T13:54:45.538+00:00Sodexo: French company. Reminded me of this speec...Sodexo: French company. Reminded me of this speech from Johnny English 2003<br /><br />Oh! Oh, it's cold! It's cold!<br />What is the one commodity...<br />the world never seems to run out of?<br />Criminals, gentlemen.<br />Lawbreakers.<br />Every nation in the world struggles...<br />with the issue of overcrowded prisons.<br />So, what do we do with all these villains?<br />Find the solution to that problem...<br />and the governments of the world would pay you through their nose.<br />Fortunately, I have found a solution.<br />We empty every prison on the entire planet,<br />we take the resulting tidal wave ofhuman scum...<br />and we put it here.<br />The moment I am crowned king,<br />I will turn England into the largest prison...<br />in the history of the world.<br />210,000 square miles...<br />of prime real estate...<br />conveniently separated from true civilization...<br />by 20 miles of ocean...<br />and soon to be available...<br />Come on.<br />for the entire world to dump its human waste in.<br />According to current projections,<br />we will not run out of prison space for the next 500 years.<br />So, tonight one, and only one, of you...<br />will leave here owning 49 percent...<br />of this venture.Sunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-85444245474945566722014-11-02T13:49:32.432+00:002014-11-02T13:49:32.432+00:00perhaps NAPO should seek 'critically endangere...perhaps NAPO should seek 'critically endangered' status for the species of the 'tireless probation officer' as we will soon be extinct. I will be awaiting the VR offer and will join the ever decreasing numbers of the species. After the dust has long settled there will no doubt be an urge to protect and reintroduce the species as governments are excellent in reinventing the wheel over and over again and spinning it along!! Good Luck to all my colleagues, and to everyone currently embroiled in this mess... take care of yourselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-14352663903373104852014-11-02T13:16:00.093+00:002014-11-02T13:16:00.093+00:00The Service I joined in 1985 was called the XXXX P...The Service I joined in 1985 was called the XXXX Probation and After Care Service and assistance was offered voluntarily to anyone coming out of prison. We carried on doing it for years and don't really remember being told not to. Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-82059030986207454042014-11-02T13:06:38.528+00:002014-11-02T13:06:38.528+00:00I joined service in 1982. Used to visit under 12 m...I joined service in 1982. Used to visit under 12 month clients in prison on a regular basis. All prisoners were offered contact. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-26820059339570998092014-11-02T13:05:44.703+00:002014-11-02T13:05:44.703+00:00thanks - I was working for a vol organisation, wor...thanks - I was working for a vol organisation, working with under 27's on probation, and based in a probation office in Nbria, from '90- '92, then l left to do DIPSW,( returning for the 11 weeks and 6 month placements) I wouldn't have known the intricacies of supervision before I went on training. Maybe it ceased with the CJA 1992. Or maybe it was operating selectively around the country. (I know someone who worked in Surrey then - I should have asked him!) You have confirmed it did exist tho'- thanks.MLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-63175446872852295722014-11-02T13:03:58.327+00:002014-11-02T13:03:58.327+00:00One of the strengths of this blog is the anonymity...One of the strengths of this blog is the anonymity it affords user. And despite this tag there is only incidental trolling, as overwhelmingly the contributions are grounded in experience of probation work. So, it is good to know that it is not appreciated by those in positions of senior management; good to know that they cannot control and manipulate the information flow. And this reduces their power and exposes them to having their corporate flaws and operational deficiencies exposed. The good thing about social media is that voices normally unheard can start to count and when there are enough such voices can achieve critical mass to make things happen that otherwise would not have happened. It means the Kevin's of this world have to watch their backs, because the dirty washing will be hung out to dry – in public. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-381110905949994042014-11-02T12:49:44.143+00:002014-11-02T12:49:44.143+00:00Voluntary throughcare was around when I started in...Voluntary throughcare was around when I started in 1990. Option was available in Surrey for at least a couple of years after that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com