Thought Piece 10

Don’t panic Mr. Mainwaring!  Extended like the last two deadlines, they will never hit the target unless they pay existing staff the right salary. Trainee probation officer programme deadline extended – don’t miss out! There’s still time to apply for the trainee probation officer programme (PQiP).

The deadline has been extended to Monday 2 March at 11.55pm in:

East of England
Kent, Surrey and Sussex
London
South Central

The deadline has been extended to Monday 23 February at 11.55pm in:

East Midlands
Greater Manchester
North East
North West
South West
Wales
Yorkshire and Humber

If you’re interested there’s still time to submit your application. This is your chance to earn while you learn, gain a degree equivalent qualification, and play an essential role in your community and the wider justice system.

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Nothing says “high demand, thriving profession” quite like repeatedly extending the application deadline. We’re told the staffing pipeline is being strengthened with 1,300 trainees. Yet deadlines keep shifting. Almost as if the issue isn’t awareness… but attractiveness.

And while we’re here, just a small but important point. PQiP leads to a Level 6 professional qualification. That sits at the same academic level as a bachelor’s degree. It is not the same thing as being awarded a university degree. Calling it “degree equivalent” is shorthand for level, not status. That distinction matters not because the training lacks value, but because clarity builds credibility.

The bigger question isn’t the label. It’s whether newly qualified staff enter a service where:

• Experienced mentors are available
• Workloads are manageable
• Professional judgement is respected
• Pay progression makes staying worthwhile

You can rename a qualification and you can extend a deadline. But unless the job itself is sustainable, recruitment campaigns become a revolving door and that’s the part no advert fixes. No panic though. Everything’s fine.

Custody and Community Debate

From time to time contributions come in that seem particularly noteworthy, but are in danger of being 'lost' in amongst a number of matters being discussed. I'm not a user of Linkedin, but I feel the following discussions seem worthy of note and consideration:- 

This may need to be added over a few comments. I came across an interesting discussion on LinkedIn today about the widening divide between custody and community perspectives on probation training, recruitment, and retention. On one side, a custody SPO (and others) argue that prison staff should not only be paid more than community staff to train as probation officers, but also recognised as stronger rehabilitation professionals, even suggesting that Napo should be absorbed into the POA. On the other, a community SPO (and others) respond highlighting the distinct skills, ethos, and culture of probation practice, stressing that the real focus should be on fair pay, retention, and valuing the unique role of probation staff. Then there are those who sit somewhere in between.

My own view? Frankly, I’m not surprised by the custody SPO’s position, it reflects the wider tone of HMPPS towards probation. You can’t justify paying one group more to complete the same training others are paid less for. And the worst thing probation could do right now is move closer to the prison model, when in truth, it should be finding its way back to independence from it, and back towards social work values. I agree that Napo, in its current form, holds little weight to support probation staff, but that says more about its poor leadership and lack of clear identity and silly name, than about the need for a strong, dedicated union.

There’s a reason why probation models and youth justice services that use social workers are thriving. How difficult would it really be to take the £700 million set aside for tagging and AI, and instead invest it into a 20% pay rise across all probation bands, while giving all qualified probation officers and senior probation officers the all expenses paid fast track option to top up their qualifications to align with a Diploma in Social Work? That’s not radical, it’s just common sense. Probation recruitment and retention would go through the roof.Either way, it’s an important debate, and if you’re on LinkedIn (for what it’s worth), you might want to join in too.

The discussion:

Senior Probation Officer - OMiC writes:

From Custody to Community: How Joined-Up Thinking Could Solve the Retention Crisis:

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is facing a serious staffing challenge. Recent data shows that around 12% of prison officers left the service in the past year, while around 7% of probation officers also moved on.

The qualification issue: 

Within HMPPS, the early-career routes couldn’t look more different. On the custody side, you’ve got the Unlocked Graduates scheme — a two-year leadership programme aimed at high-calibre graduates, often including a master’s in Applied Custodial Leadership. These officers work directly on the landings, managing behaviour, leading culture change and helping people in custody turn a corner.

Then there’s the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) — the pathway to becoming a fully qualified Probation Officer. It blends academic study with hands-on training in the community, supporting people on licence, managing risk and guiding rehabilitation beyond the prison walls. What I see: As a Senior Probation Officer working in OMiC, I get a rare view into both worlds. And honestly? Every week, hundreds of officers on the landings are already doing informal probation work — supporting resettlement plans, calming parole anxieties, talking about change and future risks.

So why don’t more Prison Officers take the step into probation? I manage 7 incredible Prison Offender Managers. If one wanted to retrain as a Probation Officer, they’d have to take roughly a £12,000 pay cut for two years, and then spend another four slowly climbing back to their current wage. That’s not a transition, that’s a punishment for ambition.

The union tug-of-war: 

Since the unification of the Prison and Probation services, HMPPS has struggled to truly align its policies, recruitment or culture. Part of that comes from the POA and NAPO pulling in different directions — both doing their jobs protecting members’ interests, but often reinforcing the divide instead of bridging it. Rehabilitation needs to be prioritised over politics.

My proposal: unify and empower: Here’s what I believe HMPPS could do:

1. Unify the graduate pathways – merge Unlocked and PQiP into a shared entry route, offering placements across custody and community, without one being seen as “the better” option.

2. Align pay and progression – no more financial penalties for moving between the two arms of the service.

3. Recognise experience – if a Prison Offender Manager has proven themselves over several years, with strong management feedback, let them complete PQiP on their current salary.

Imagine the possibilities: Unified training. Shared pay structure. It’s not radical, it’s logical. The people, the skills and the passion already exist inside HMPPS. We just need to make it easier for them to move, grow and stay. Let’s make “crossing the line” between prison and probation an opportunity, not a career setback.

Senior Probation Officer - Community responds:

Really thoughtful post. It’s pragmatic to look at options, but also to remember that while there are crossovers these can be very different jobs, reflecting the distinct cultures of custody and community even within HMPPS. Probation has always had a rehabilitation and social work ethos, attracting to the training both graduates and those with valuable life or second-career experience, including many from prisons, the military, police, youth justice and the third sector.

If unions secure better pay, that will help attract and retain great staff. But I’d doubt they’d be any merging professional identities, many still see Napo as the distinct professional voice for probation, perhaps increasingly the Probation Institute is too.

I’d also like to see more inclusion of those with Lived Experience in accessing probation training which has long been acknowledged as a thing. [See Prisoners today Professionals tomorrow.] 

And maybe, call me old school, a return to “advise, assist and befriend,” as I wrote here. In concluding I consider what the future could look like too. 

Senior Probation Officer - OMiC responds to Senior Probation Officer - Community:

Completely with you — although I’d also say that, informally, “advise, assist and befriend” has almost become the quiet mantra for many prison officers these days, while the Probation Service has, somewhat ironically, drifted into being seen as the more punitive arm of HMPPS (just think of recall).

I’ll always be a champion for unions (spot the Labour voter). But controversially, I do think NAPO’s influence outweighs its actual size. It feels like a small union that punches well above its weight in terms of narrative and policy sway. I’d be curious to see the numbers, what percentage of the Probation Service are actually NAPO members?

I also don’t agree with NAPO’s stance on dissolving HMPPS. In my view, the Probation Service would be significantly weaker without that structural alignment. The truth is that the average Joe Bloggs doesn’t fully understand what probation does, nor its value to public protection. Without that connection to the prison service, the incentive to prioritise funding, wage increases, or recruitment would likely shrink even further. Dissolving HMPPS might sound empowering in theory, but in practice it risks leaving probation more isolated and under-resourced than ever.

Senior Probation Officer - Community further responds to Senior Probation Officer- OMiC:

I see a lot of good rehabilitation and reintegration work happening in probation offices.It’s fair to say that identity has become a key challenge, not just in England and Wales, but across Europe. It’s also something I wrote about recently, exploring how probation can reclaim and shape its identity. Perhaps Napo shares a similar concern, without a clear and credible identity, distinct from punishment or risk-led narratives, probation risks being misunderstood and constrained by external pressures.

I concluded, and I think this is where we probably agree, that “the future of probation lies in evidence-based reform, practitioner development, and adequate resourcing.” It’s a conversation we should all be part of, and well done for putting your ideas out there. [See Shaping Probations Identity]

Senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice responds to Senior Probation Officer- OMiC:

Managing high risk and very high ROSH in the community takes skill and experience balancing risk, criminogenic needs and building a meaningful rapport take time to learn and implement. There are key skills within this mix that just aren't being taught early enough through traditional qualifications. Qualifications should align to the job role. A very real problem we have is offering criminology qualifications that offer no opportunity to access criminal justice agencies or provide students with a skill set required to make it in criminal justice.There isn't enough happening in our schools to show prison or probabtion jobs as attractive

Well-being Consultant responds to Senior Probation Officer- OMiC:

This is really interesting to read , there's also conversations to be had about why staff are leaving. As an ex senior probation officer myself I've heard of so many staff leaving owing to poor mental health and management. Staffing includes retention.

Financial Investigator responds to Senior Probation Officer- OMiC: 

Why “From Custody to Community” Sounds Great — But Wouldn’t Work (Yet) The idea of merging prison and probation pathways under one unified entry route sounds smart: shared training, smoother transitions, and stronger collaboration. But in practice, it’s not that simple.
Different roles, different skills. Custody work focuses on safety, order, and behaviour management. Probation is about risk assessment, rehabilitation, and community reintegration. Blending them risks diluting both professions. 

Training and accreditation gaps. Unlocked and PQiP have distinct standards and academic structures. Unifying them would require rewriting qualification frameworks and rebuilding university partnerships — a huge reform effort.

Culture and identity. Prison and probation services have very different working cultures and priorities. Without deeper organisational alignment, a joint route could cause confusion rather than cohesion. Pay parity won’t solve retention. Matching salaries helps, but it doesn’t fix core issues like workload, burnout, or lack of support.

Union and structural barriers. POA and NAPO protect different workforces. Blurring boundaries would trigger long negotiations over representation and progression. Food for thought.

Unlocked Graduates Ambassador responds to Senior Probation Officer- OMiC:

This is an interesting take. Sadly the unlocked programme is not likely to be recruiting a cohort for a while because they haven’t come to a procurement agreement with the government. As someone who’s just left the prison service (and an unlocked ambassador), I can say that the opportunity for prison officers to do real rehabilitative work is currently in direct conflict with how prisons are run (think regime, regime, regime) and the prioritization of security. I personally really had to carve out opportunities on my own - which often meant putting in many more hours than the core working day. I’m now looking at joining the probation service myself, so would definitely welcome an approach like the one you suggest - I wonder if it is something that has ever been considered in policy.

Andrew Bridges responds to Senior Probation Officer- OMiC: 

It’s not just the unions who won’t like your idea, Ed. Your point about the disincentives to ‘career progression’ within Probation is not new, but very well made here, and in broad terms I’d support it, based on my views about many PSOs over the years, as well as Prison Officers. There are many interests that would resist such a radical rethink. 

End

Thats it - That’s not radical. It’s just common sense. Agree or disagree, these are the conversations probation needs — not led by academics or think tanks, but by the people doing the work every day, willing to stand up, speak out, and be heard.

*******

1. Unify the graduate pathways – merge Unlocked and PQiP into a shared entry route, offering placements across custody and community, without one being seen as “the better” option.

- No. They’re two different courses for two fundamentally different roles.

2. Align pay and progression – no more financial penalties for moving between the two arms of the service.

- Yes. Probation staff should receive the same pay rises and bonuses already given to those in prisons. Equality works both ways.

3. Recognise experience – if a Prison Offender Manager has proven themselves over several years, with strong management feedback, let them complete PQiP on their current salary.

- No. That would mean prison staff being paid more than probation trainees for the same qualification and role, or even matching the pay of internal probation PSOs on the progression pathway. In fact, with prison pay rises and bonuses, they’d end up earning more. That’s unequal pay, plain and simple.

Imagine the possibilities: Unified training. Shared pay structure.

- Not if it erases the identity and value of the probation service. This is what happens when prison-led management drives the agenda. Next you’ll be arguing locking cell doors compares to probation work!

Final thought:

It’s not radical, it’s ridiculous. And that’s what happens when you use AI to draft a proposal to “unify and empower” a broken service like HMPPS.

*******

Fully agree with you. I think most of our problems have stemmed from being so intertwined with the Prisons (as do most commentators on here I believe) Probation should go back to being seen as an Alternative to custody not an extension of custody as we in all sense are today. Prisons have it relatively easy in the sense they can lock them away, seg them, and chuck them out even if they have no address or referrals to support services. They don't have to worry about SFO's unless they stupidly wrongly release them which with today's technology beggers belief. It's not a comparable job apart from we deal with the same people, but that's like saying a brain surgeon and a chiropodist have a similar role...

********

Shows how disconnected from reality probation managers are once they step through the prisons gate. They have to say all that as they’re line managed by prison governors which makes no sense at all. How Prison Officers are submitting a 26/27 payclaim when probation staff get nothing is beyond me.

It's Niche Jim!

As Napo members set off for Eastbourne and the AGM, I thought I'd reflect upon two recent conversations with friends, one a former colleague and another via an entirely different route. The subject of this blog came up with the former saying "I don't read it - I used to, but it's niche" and the other saying "Way too niche!" 

Yes, I get that. I've always felt it's been a useful platform for recusants to gather and lets be honest, they are 'moving on' and not being replaced. I recall a few years ago chatting to an academic who had persuaded some of his students to attend the annual Bill McWilliams lecture in Cambridge. I asked him if he'd ever come across the blog, or if students had? No was the answer and that sort of surprised me because any idle google search of 'probation' will bring the blog up near the top. What does that say about curiosity generally, not to mention 'professional curiosity', or lack of as frequently highlighted in HMI inspection reports?. 

In recent years I've had occasion to chat with several academics delivering probation training at the three contracted universities and it sounded pretty dismal to me. The feeling was that for many students it was viewed as a very cost-effective route to employment other than probation with more than a suspicion that what might be termed serious 'study' not being really required. It was surprising to hear that significant numbers hardly ever attend lectures and are almost unkown to tutors. Essays can often show scant evidence of research, sources are routinely 'surprising' and many therefore achieve dismal marks. When challenged regarding the recording actual probation work, there was a strong suspicion of students being 'creative' in what was actually being undertaken. I can fully understand how a wide-ranging and discursive probation blog wouldn't feature much on the radar.

Interestingly, I notice that the contract for training, value £93million, is currently being tendered:-

"This requirement is for the delivery of the Community Justice graduate diploma as part of the PQiP programme. The PQiP is the mandatory training route for all Probation Officers that are employed by the Probation Service. The Offender Management Act 2007 s10 sets out the Secretary of State for Justice's right to publish guidelines about qualifications, experience or training required to be a Probation Officer, with effect from 1 April 2016 and as set out in statutory guidelines, all Trainee Probation Officers (Learners) must undertake the Professional Qualification in Probation to qualify and perform the work of a Probation Officer. HMPPS are the only employer of Probation Officers, and the PQiP programme is the only route for training Probation Officers in England and Wales. The PQiP programme consists of a BA Hons degree or graduate diploma in Community Justice and a Level 5 vocational qualification in Probation Practice.

The academic components of the PQIP that will be delivered by the Contractor will comprise of a Level 6 academic qualification, with Level 4 and Level 5 academic components used to give advance standing onto the core programme (Level 6). The PQiP learning will be delivered through cohorts of learners on a 6 monthly intake cycle, through 4 entry routes; Probation Services Officer Progression (PSOP), Standard PQiP full-time (post-graduate), Standard PQiP (post-graduate) part-time; and a full-time PQiP non-graduate route. The part-time routes can take between 21-30 months and full-time routes can take between 15-27 months depending on learners' prior learning levels.

The service commencement is estimated to start in March 2027, following the mobilisation phase which will include developing and finalising the curriculum and ensuring the course is appropriately accredited."       

I understand that in addition to the current providers Sheffield Hallam, DeMontfort and Plymouth, several others have expressed interest and there's a rumour applicants might even include the likes of Sodexo!  It's always struck me as somewhat alarming that all the current academic institutions happily agreed to bind their staff from making any public statement deemed critical of HMPPS, MoJ or government policy! So much for academic freedom and no wonder much of the criminal justice system is in such a mess if one chunk of academia with detailed inside knowledge that might be deemed critical is prohibited from speaking up. It also got me thinking about academic papers generally. I've often wondered who they are written for and who indeed will ever read them? 

In running this 'niche' blog for a long time, I've necessarily had reason to sift through many papers and journals and boy are most pretty impenetrable. Those that might be viewed as consise and make a strong case in plainish language are rare in my experience. I would say however that the blog has served to bring much academic endeavour to a wider audience, but sadly there's growing evidence that the job no longer requires it. Maybe it never did, but however it happened, there was at least a shared probation ethos, but I'm not so sure any more. I guess it may have just become irrelevant and a  'niche' concept, but at least I can say we tried to keep the flame alive and the blog continues for as long as recusants want it to.       

Not Just Befriending!

Many thanks to the reader for pointing us in the direction of the following from SkyNews Money team last month:-

'My job has made me cry and feel anxious - but I genuinely believe we make a difference': Life as a probation officer

Dreaming of a new career? Sam Gildersleeve talks to our Money team about the realities of being a probation officer.

If you've ever spent your morning commute daydreaming about starting afresh with your career, this feature is for you. Each Monday, our Money team speaks to someone from a different profession to discover what it's really like. This week we chat to senior probation officer Sam Gildersleeve...

The starting salary depends on your role... To become a probation officer, you need to complete the trainee probation officer programme, known as the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP). The starting salary for a PQiP is £26,475 (or £30,724 with the London weighting of £4,249). Once qualified, your salary rises to £35,130. With experience, you can apply for promotion to a senior probation officer role.

The PQiP programme... combines classroom learning with hands-on experience in the role. You're paid while you train, and you receive protected study time. Depending on your qualifications, the programme can take 15, 21 or 27 months. Once qualified, you'll be registered as a probation officer and added to the Probation Professional Register. This recognises your competence in managing risk and supporting rehabilitation with the right knowledge, skills, and professionalism.

There are also many other roles... within the probation service, including probation services officers, victim liaison officers, programme facilitators, unpaid work supervisors, case administrators, receptionists, and staff working in approved premises and prisons.

I manage a team of 13 staff... including probation officers and probation support officers. I'm responsible for overseeing risk management and ensuring we work closely with partner agencies like children's services, the police, mental health teams, housing providers, and prisons to manage risk effectively. A big part of my role involves performance management and providing supervision to my team - helping them reflect on their caseloads and professional development. I really enjoy supporting my team to grow in confidence and ability.

Our team currently oversees... more than 400 people on probation.

I work 37 hours a week... Monday to Friday. I'm not personally on call, although some senior probation officers provide out-of-hours cover for approved premises. As a probation officer, you may work later in the evening to accommodate people on probation who are working during the day.

The camaraderie really depends on... the day - some days are busier than others. But we do socialise as a team, especially for birthdays or celebrations. We work in a challenging environment, but the support and humour within the team make a real difference.

I haven't made any solid plans to retire... I still feel too young to think seriously about retirement! I'd like to keep working as long as I can, maybe part-time eventually. We're part of the Local Government Pension Scheme, which is a great benefit. The employer contributes 26.5%, and I contribute 6.5%. It's a very generous scheme and gives peace of mind for the future.

In terms of perks... we get between 25 and 30 days paid annual leave a year, according to length of service, if you are a full-time employee. We're eligible for a Blue Light Card, which gives you discounts at loads of places. You can also win free tickets to events. We have access to wellbeing and counselling services, free physiotherapy (which really helped when I ran the London Marathon), health MOTs, eye care vouchers, and MoJ rewards like free drinks from Cafe Nero or Greggs. There are probably perks I haven't even discovered yet.

I haven't ever felt scared... but occasionally I feel anxious - which I think is healthy. You're often meeting people in challenging situations, so being cautious and prepared is important. I always treat people with respect, explain the purpose of appointments clearly, and listen. That often diffuses tension.

The scariest situation was when... a person on probation with complex mental health needs, homelessness, and substance misuse became very aggressive when I asked him to complete a drug test - a condition of his licence. He threw a bottle and became verbally threatening, and was asked to leave. He later waited outside the office for me. It was frightening, but I was fully supported by my manager, who arranged a safe journey home and provided a personal alarm. The incident was reported to police, and safety measures were put in place. I was reassured and able to carry on with my job.

Of course there are days when I don't want to go in... just like any job. But I do really enjoy my role. It's busy and at times intense, but I genuinely believe in the service and what we do. That belief keeps me motivated.

The most rewarding part of my job now is... seeing my team develop and succeed. But when I was a probation officer, it was supporting people to change.

I worked with a young man involved in drug dealing after being groomed by a gang. On release from prison, we built a personalised risk management plan together. He was housed safely and found a job, away from his old contacts. Over time, he grew in confidence and completed his sentence without being recalled for the first time. At his final appointment, he simply said: "Thanks for believing in me." That meant everything.

Most people don't really know... what a probation officer does. They're usually curious and interested, and often say: "I couldn't do that." I'm always happy to explain the role and share how much good the service does.

The biggest misconception is... that we're just there to befriend people on probation. People don't see the behind-the-scenes work to manage risk and protect the public. Probation is often invisible in the media - unlike the police, courts, or prisons. There's no TV drama or documentary that really captures what we do. Maybe there should be!

The job can be... unpredictable. Things crop up that can change your day. But the team is incredibly supportive. People always help each other out when needed, which makes a big difference.

The job has made me cry... though, it's rare and usually depends on the situation. While I have cried before, I don't see this as a weakness, and it was mostly due to frustration at feeling that perhaps I wish there was more that I could do to help an individual. We're all human, and that's part of caring about the work we do. There is a great support network within the probation service, mainly from colleagues that are always willing to support.

One moment that stands out is... when I was working with a young man involved in domestic abuse. He reflected on how his actions had wider impacts - the "ripple effect.". Later, he told me he'd felt angry during an argument but remembered our conversations and chose to walk away and kick a football instead. That insight and self-control showed real progress.

The reason people reoffend varies but... common reasons include a lack of stability, poor housing, unemployment, substance misuse, mental health issues, and limited support networks. It's rarely just one issue.

This role is for people who are... resilient, empathetic, and curious. You'll face complex, often challenging situations, and need to make decisions that affect lives and protect the public. No two days are the same. You'll work with people at their lowest points, and will need to build trust to help them change.

The probation service values... diversity. We want to reflect the communities we serve. If you bring life experience, emotional intelligence, and a willingness to learn, this could be the career for you. Visit our website to find out more - and who knows, maybe I'll meet you one day!

New Recruits

I'm guessing some regular readers will have noticed the blog has been undergoing a bit of a resurgence of late and the sharp-eyed might have noticed that having gently passed 10 million towards the end of last year, we've sailed past 11 and 12 million in no time at all and are now making rapid progress towards 13 million. I wish this meant something, but sadly a bit of analysis shows the bulk of traffic as coming from Vietnam and unlikely to be real readers but rather 'bots' for some purpose or other. Despite this, I do detect a bit of engagement with real readers and contributors, for which I'm very grateful and especially given the parlous state probation currently finds itself in. 

A recent wag wryly pointed out the following:- 

1000 new probation officers. That old chestnut!

2025: 1,300 new probation officers to be recruited next year
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/probation-service-to-cut-crime-by-focusing-on-dangerous-offenders

2024: Prisons crisis: Probation Service to get 1,000 extra trainee officers
https://www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article/prisons-crisis-probation-service-to-get-1000-extra-trainee-officers

2023: We have hired a record 4,000 probation officers since 2021
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66431061.amp

2022: 1,500 new probation officers to protect the public
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/1-500-new-probation-officers-to-protect-the-public

2021: One thousand probation officers recruited to protect the public
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/one-thousand-probation-officers-recruited-to-protect-the-public

2020: Public safety boosted with 1,000 new probation officers
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-safety-boosted-with-1-000-new-probation-officers

But of course some new recruits are coming through all the time and its been suggested that the following article by our recent essay winner and published in Probation Quarterly last December might be of particular interest to the new cohort of PQiP's:-

Probation and Community Supervision: A 'Magic' Journey

A good starting point to explain why I feel I have an informed opinion about probation and community supervision begins with my history and what brought me to a career as a supervisory practitioner in the Probation Service. I grew up in and around inner cities, and as with many places, there were varying experiences and influences. The reality was that crime, deprivation, disadvantage, and adversity were apparent. Still, there were opportunities, and positive influences from family, friends and existing or future graduates, professionals, community leaders, and so forth. I found that life was partly about choices and opportunities, and at times, we all navigate complex situations and circumstances. I think that when I learnt to do this for myself, I fell into a career in which I could help others to do this too. Subsequently, I trained as a probation officer approximately 21 years ago, so my HMPPS Long Service Medal is well overdue.

The work we do as probation practitioners relies on the belief that people can change and requires the building of good working relationships with people on probation. The probation supervision setting can provide a vital opportunity for individuals to be supported to identify, pursue, and review necessary or desired changes in their lives (Rex, 1999; Ministry of Justice, 2012). As a probation officer, I’ve seen first-hand what helps people to move away from offending and to change their lives for the better. I have learned that past behaviour is not the only predictor of future behaviour, because it is important to recognise current behaviour and future potential too (Hylton, 2014). Sometimes there isn’t any immediately observable or measurable success, and sometimes individuals reoffend. This is because changing behaviour and overcoming problems is rarely a straightforward development, where problematic behaviours and circumstances suddenly stop, and positive or desired ones will instantaneously follow (Hylton, 2015).

The key drivers of offending are yet to be fully understood at the individual level, as are the types of interventions that could be most effective (Home Office, 2018). Many will desist from offending after identifying or making changes which enable them to establish a position of stability, safety, and the building of social capital, therefore helping them to legitimately connect and reconnect with society (McNeill, 2006; Weaver and McNeill, 2007; Home Office, 2018). This can include personal, circumstantial, and situational factors such as maturity, education, homelessness, unemployment, finance, debt, mental health, addictions, relationships, and other factors that can be supported in principle (May, 1999).

Findings suggest that individuals supported by tailored interventions and access to specific services can be assisted to improve circumstances through professionals building open, trusting, and consistent relationships with them (Rex, 1999; Phillips et al, 2024). I’d like to see more of this ‘wrapping a package around the person’, and the development of collaborative supervisory and inter-agency approaches to meet needs, address risks and support desistance.

On Probation 

A former Regional Probation Director (Steve Johnson-Proctor) once said,

 “Never forget that the greatest source of support for any Probation worker is to be found in the enormous knowledge base of their colleagues’ shared experiences”.

Accordingly, to draw attention to the importance of supervisory probation practices and the impact they can have in supporting individuals and reducing reoffending, I’ve shared some examples of experiences working in supervisory settings, with a range of supervised individuals who have exhibited a variety of behaviours including serious violence, group offending and recidivism. These experiences have been anonymised, and their inclusion is undoubtedly selective, in accordance with my more memorable experiences, of which there are many.

Supervisee 1 was one of my earlier supervisory experiences, an older individual with a history of anti-social behaviour and a pattern of assaulting public-sector workers. I knew much of the theory but sat thinking about what to say to this person who, I assumed was different to me in so many ways. Yet, I found we were not that different. We spent weekly supervision meetings over the next year talking about their anger and behaviour triggers. I had learnt techniques from rehabilitation programmes and had access to an independent anger counsellor. I used the concepts in individual supervision sessions, ‘red flags, green flags’, ‘perspective taking’, ‘anger cues’, and ‘fact, opinion, guess’. My learning was to try simple methods, like talking and listening about the thoughts and feelings underlying the offending behaviour. This enabled the introduction of strategies they could use to calm and reinterpret emerging frustrations, rather than reacting aggressively to them. Positively, the Supervisee became increasingly motivated to talk through situations they had encountered and avoided.

Supervisee 2 left school at an early age and had endured transient accommodation since their early teens. They had moved away from offending as they felt they were “too old”, had cut ties with former associates, were supported to improve their educational skills, and later helped into mentoring and employment. When exploring their motivations through one-to-one programmes focused on attitudes, thinking and behaviour, they eventually shared that ‘lightbulb’ moment and explained, “after I was stabbed, I couldn’t defend myself anymore. I had to learn to use my head and talk myself out of problems. I’m good at it now, I’ve a job and a home [and most positively] soon I’ll be doing your job”. Through talking we were able to ascertain that at the route of this desistance journey was a desire to ‘stay alive’ and be received back into their family network with trust and respect. The Supervisee certainly had my respect, and it would be a pleasure to one day find them working as a probation practitioner.

Supervisee 3 had in the past been loosely connected to various offending groups (gangs) and attributed their offending to being in the wrong place, lack of money, falling out with family and homelessness. The factors they explained as helping them to move away from offending, were having a stable partner, becoming a parent, and completing a vocational qualification in prison. The Supervisee was positive about completing the qualification, as this had led to a job and legitimate income quite soon after release. At the end of the supervision period, the Supervisee expressed their appreciation for “keeping them motivated, believing in them and encouraging them to do better”. This reiterates the importance of probation practitioners building good working relationships with people on probation, as this can be a motivating factor in changing behaviour and reducing reoffending.

Supervisee 4 was a young drug user with significant health problems. We arranged their supervision and drug service appointments on the same day to support them in engaging. We always met outside because they refused to enter the building for fear of being ‘set up’. Every week we’d walk up the High Street to drug services which they only did because we’d pass McDonald’s and I’d buy the Supervisee chicken nuggets. My manager had a fund put aside for this as it was the only way we could get them to engage. My learning with this Supervisee was simply that, sometimes just showing humanity works (and ditching pre-prepared supervision plans). The goal was to motivate the Supervisee to consistently engage with services to primarily address their drug use. After the supervision ended, I’d bump into the Supervisee from time to time and they’d update me on their progress and ongoing relationship with drug services, which always reiterated the value of the relationship I managed to develop through taking this less prescriptive approach to their supervision.

Supervisee 5 distrusted the police, probation, and the mental health team, and was vocal about this. We overcame this through regular joint meetings with all supporting agencies, during which we just let the Supervisee speak. After about 3 months we had built trust and eventually, we got to a place where we could say “let’s try it this way”, and they’d listen. That’s how we helped the Supervisee engage, reconnect with family, keep a home, and improve independence. The power of communication and taking the time to develop the relationship was essential to the success of this Supervisee.

Supervisee 6 counted their sentence in football World Cups, so when imprisoned for somewhere in the region of 12 years, they were like, ‘boom, 3 World Cups and I’m free’. We once spoke about how they could have made better choices at an earlier stage and they opened up about their journey. At the end, they got up and said, ‘scrap that, I wouldn’t change a thing, I’d have ‘grafted’ more and invested it all in Bitcoin but wouldn’t have committed that last offence’. It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but they were reflecting, showing remorse, and expressing they could have done things differently which is at times all we can ask for as probation practitioners.

Supervisee 7 is my most memorable story and concerns a young person I worked with through their time in prison, back into the community, the family home, and into college, all while struggling to keep away from negative peers. I remember shortly before the end of the supervision period the Supervisee got into university and dropped in to share the news. When I congratulated the Supervisee for what they had achieved, they said, “We did it together”. In truth, I did very little and for me, this is what probation and community supervision work is about, helping and overseeing people lead and change their lives for the better.

The Overall Message 

There is no ‘magic ingredient’ to these stories of rehabilitation and change, a question a Justice Minister once asked me. The real explanation is in the commitment of supervised individuals in pursuing and achieving progressive life changes, and the dedication of the professionals within probation and community services working together to support them. The importance of the supervision session and investing in developing practitioner skills and availability, including the empowerment to be creative, autonomous, and flexible alongside access to suitable resources, is key to the effectiveness of rehabilitation approaches. This could be further explored through the continuous focus on understanding and improving what is achieved within the ‘black box’ of probation supervision and the wide-ranging roles of supervisory practitioners (Hylton, 2015; Raynor, 2019).

The way forward in shaping wider solutions for probation strategies to improve re-entry, resettlement, and rehabilitation should come from frontline supervisory practitioners and those successfully ceasing offending and completing periods of supervision. With the right conditions, the people in prison and on probation today can and do become the professionals and leaders of tomorrow. Therefore, future justice policies must benefit from incorporating input from those currently in prison and on probation with positive messages against the negative forms of behaviours and lifestyles of which they were formally part. (Hylton, 2014; Weaver and McNeill, 2007).

Jamal Hylton

Advice for NQOs

Oh man, you have any idea how comforting it is that I found your blog. It just makes all my feelings (and my colleagues’) valid. Now here’s my situation and I would really appreciate some advice.

I qualified in December 2024 so only two months ago. Last couple of months of PQiP were overwhelming but I haven’t complained not even once during PQiP however I did take a full month of a/l as I really felt that I needed it. When I was about to come back to work, I had a death in the family and had to take another week off (unpaid) to deal with everything . Now keep in mind that I left on leave with 18 cases. When I came back, the next day I had a meeting with my new SPO who assured me that I will be protected the first months (gradual increase in cases and no HROSH allocations and constant support, especially given my personal circumstances). By the end of that week, I already had 33 cases in my name (some allocated while I was on a/l), 4 of them were HROSH, 3 co-working HROSH and some ROTLs and caretaking not even in my name - all within a WEEK! I literally can’t even look at my SPO no more as he literally lied to my face! I requested a supervision meeting and he just didn’t seem to take me seriously, reasoning that I am more than able to cope with it because I’m so good at what I do. He wanted me to take this as a compliment but I know it’s a “push” disguised as a compliment actually.

Oh, I forgot to mention that other NQOs from my cohort have many LROSH cases in their name and no HROSH, meanwhile I have 0 LROSH, only complex MROSH and HROSH.

I really love this job and I cannot believe that I already, so soon, got to the point where I want to quit. I feel like I have been lied to and the “business needs” are always a priority even before personal circumstances.

My question is: Will I still get my top up degree if I leave the service? Or should I wait and give notice only after I receive it? Will leaving 3 months after qualifying impact my status as an NQO? Assuming that at some point (if things get better) I will return?

I’d really appreciate some advice :) Thanks in advance!

--oo00oo--

Being good at your job or being gaslit to convince that you are is something probation does a lot of. As an NQO your caseload should be protected and it should be a mixture of cases up to certain B-2 level. Nothing above unless it's a co-work (even though you do most of the work).

If you're qualified then 'the board' that certifies you means that your degree is intact. I would look for other work if it's getting too much or have another conversation with your SPO. It's probation shooting itself in the foot with a lack of PDU culture uniformity. In other words, if you don't get on with the culture or you don't feel supported or you feel others are being treated better, you'll leave. 

At least they got rid of the 8-10,000 word dissertation to send most people over the edge at the end of their PQIP. I was bullied through much of mine and given cases as PQIP out of spite and because of low staffing levels, including a very dangerous rapist. I went to MAPPA without much training and was expected to carry out Maps for Change, even though a PQIP isn't supposed to have contact sex offence cases. I had 8 professional discussions, but I got through it. 

They exploit the fact that you're new, that you don't want to upset the apple cart and not have a reputation as someone negative or unable to handle it. They also exploit good staff as many organisations do, whilst the not so good manage to coast. Protect your health and your work/life balance - these are your priorities, not Probation's who are target driven to the impossible whilst still Jedi mind tricking you that you're great. 

It's all ok until an SFO turns up. Juggling so many plates with complex cases, it's bound to happen. It's not how you approach the work, but the workload itself. Probation emphasise the opposite and put the responsibility on you. You haven't been there long enough to find your lane. Don't volunteer for cases and downplay the 'I love the job' angle. 

For a supposedly compassionate end of the criminal justice system, it can be very toxic indeed with SPOs being absent of empathy whilst reminding you to have them for the POPs. 6 years in and it's a daily negotiation. Look elsewhere for something more befitting you. Don't leave until you have another job and when you look back on it, the training will have some value for anything you chose to do next. Good luck.

--oo00oo--

Don't burn any bridges get through your academic and any practice reviews to consolidate the training outcome. Don't give practice managers any reason to block your end certification remember it's also a practice based qualification not just the training period. Soon as your sorted, resign go to a different area where possible Good luck.

Guest Blog 99

Future victims and a denial of cost cutting

Programmes is in a mess. Absolute turmoil, staff in meltdown, off sick or leaving in their droves nationally. Yet when we talk to our OM colleagues we are either met with a shrug, or indifference. Well, good luck, as shit rolls downwards.

Due to a job evaluation that has taken over two years the highly qualified band 4 officers who deliver sex offender programmes are being ‘re-banded’ to Band 3. Many have decades of experience with this cohort, imparting knowledge and risk assessments to OM colleagues and the courts.

Equally highly qualified Band 3 PSOs (many of whom are educated to Masters level) are taking on the sex offender group work. This is not the job they signed up for, and numerous have the attitude of ‘why should we, for ten grand less?’ Considering the Band 3 has such a low starting salary its now possible to be paid more in an admin level job in local authorities and councils. Now we value admin colleagues but lets face it the stress of dealing with DV perpetrators or those who offend sexually is markedly lower in admin than a PSO in programmes.

Recent VLO banding to Band 4 was of course welcome, but this is even more a kick in the teeth to PSO’s in Programmes who will often spend in excess of over 70 hours face to face with people on probation (BBR totals around 70 hours face to face work). The only PSOs who deal face to face with High Risk sexual and domestically violent offenders in the service are now wondering should they jump ship into Band 4 VLO positions, or head into a Domestic Abuse Safety Officer (DASO) role? But, hang on – they can’t because all band 4 roles are ringfenced for the Band 4 programmes officers being transferred in. Band 3 PSOs are facing a future as Intervention Facilitators, unable to access any other PSO roles in courts, or sentence mangers as they will be second class employees. They will be seen as external candidates for the PQiP route, closing every door internally. All TM roles are being allocated to the Band 4 probation officers being thrown out of the sex offender programmes. Therefore the TM training pathway and interview process for BBR and TSP is being watered down, resulting in the TM’s of the future never having delivered these programmes before telling those highly experienced BBR facilitators how to do their job.

The JES appeal is being appealed by NAPO as it was widely inaccurate and yet radio silence from the Unions to the wider probation service.

Many suspect the handling of this process is reminiscent of a nicely packaged up Interventions service heading for the private sector. Sold off twice – charming. Wonder how the public would react if they knew that highly specialist teams dealing with this cohort are being disbanded ready for another Grayling moment?

In the meantime in many regions of England and Wales there are no programmes being run for sex offenders, Band 3 teams cut in half, hampered in their attempts to offer domestic violence rehabilitation work, long waiting lists building up. What a shambles, again.

Anon

Fancy Being a Probation Officer? 4

Remember when initial allocation of a case was followed by a groan, then to be informed “they are in custody” - gave a sigh of relief and respite. However, under the ever-changing ECSL tectonic plates, release dates of prisoners now calculated in something akin to an FA Cup draw or ‘Wheel of Fortune’ format, rather than being something planned and embedded. The pressures and chaos this creates, along with an already substantial and sustained level of change, is leaving staff utterly bewildered. I am now of the opinion that if a custody case is allocated it will now be met with a groan.

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As much as early release of prisoners will cause significant problems for probation, probation itself is part of the problem. There are many thousands in prison on recall, not because they have re-offended, but for non compliance. It's penal ping pong. Prisons release and probation recall. Prisons are full because there's too many routes into them. Is there really any need to have everyone leaving prison subjected to at least 12mths probation supervision?

****

With all this going on we’ve been told we must fill in weekly timesheets to explain our hours. Our SPO then told us from Monday she’s coming into the office 5 days a week “to model it to you all”. Not sure what’s going to be modelled. This SPO sits in her office with the door closed firing off emails and gossiping to her cronies all day. Ask her about a case she’s like a cat caught in the headlights.

****

If we are all due to be called back into the office five days a week, watch the sickness rates increase exponentially! Flexible working prior to Covid was a joke and you needed a letter from your mam and the local priest to be granted a work from home day. We also do not have the infrastructure for it. They have changed most if not all offices to only hold 60% of the work force in the buildings.

****
I’ve just received a call from my SPO. They are releasing a very high risk case on 2nd April and apparently there’s lot more of them. POP is on a standard recall but his sentence is less that 12 months custody so those cases are all being altered to fixed term recalls and being released, regardless of risk or MAPPA. Ive asked if this was national and he said he was but this is the first I’ve heard about it. I’ve been told not to share this with my colleagues because the legislation is not yet finalised. They also don’t want all staff seeing the list of names on there and they said this is because it’s confidential data but they don’t normally have a problem when we can see each others POP’s names on PP Dashboard, daily performance reports or when we need to cover another PP’s case on delius. Maybe they don’t want my colleagues to see the list for other reasons.

****

"I’ve been told not to share this with my colleagues because the legislation is not yet finalised. They also don’t want all staff seeing the list of names on there and they said this is because it’s confidential". This is an absolute shitshow. Back awhile the term Omnishambles was coined. This is on a whole new level: Omnishambles on Amphet. Ministry: doing what exactly? Doubling down on failed strategy. Ministers presumably hiding under their temporary desks,
Civil Service: doubling down on failed strategy and waiting for eviction of Ministers, so they can advise the New Boss to be Just Like the Old Boss.

Professional Leadership 1 HMPPS: that leader is a prisons leader. Number one priority get some space in the prisons, probation - whatever that is - will have to cope

Professional Leadership 2 Probation: (where is the Chief?) No idea

Local Management: Fractured coms, headless chickens, rabbits in headlights

Frontline: not enough staff, and being churned out of training into the frontline on a wing and a prayer.

...in the trenches, at all levels actually, good decent people are trying to get the best done for people, living and breathing human beings who should be entitled to a competent service. In every place, a knackered stressed person coming out of prison is faced with a knackered stressed person in a probation office and neither of them have much options. Omnishambles squared.

****

I am more than qualified for PQiP - at level 7 already - but I won't make that transition from PSO because of what I read about from current NQO's and RQO's, who criticise the excessive caseload, stress that creates due to the extra free time put in to meet deadlines - and there is the fear of SFO's which is more likely to come from a PO caseload than a PSO's. What is the point of working hours free of charge only to paid per hour the equivalent of a much less stressed specialist PSO?

****
The academic side of the PQIP is somewhat easier now the 8,000 word dissertation requirement has been removed. Caseloads are not in the mid-20s/30s before qualifying because of the high profile tragic and horrific cases that have caused Probation to reflect rather than the daft conceit of piling work on as a trainee in preparation for the high caseload to come. This never tackles the caseload, but further puts the emphasis on the NQO/PQIP- this is a 'get out of jail free' card for Probation to continue to culturally emphasise that it's the NQO's fault of how they manage cases not the caseload itself. PQiPs don't have to do duty if they're doing a PAROM - when the kitchen sink was thrown at me when I did my training. But will they be prepared to undertake high risk on their own without co-working? 

Cases all start with proper work made in the courts or prisons with meaningful work to prepare them for community testing - not the attitude that most offenders have when they believe that when they leave prison that's the 'end of their sentence'. Much more has to be done at the Court or prison end of the system so as to make the COM's job just slightly less arduous. In addition, cases are often more or not a success if the allocation is made as well as it can be. This comes from risk literacy and making sure that an NQO doesn't have a case of abiding magnitude that they feel overwhelmed and this may turn into an SFO.

****
The ads for the job are basically lies. A lot of the trainees that join would make brilliant probation officers. But they’ve been lied to, they’re disillusioned, and they want a better working life. Nobody can blame them for that. They may lack life experience, but they don’t lack intelligence. They value themselves. The younger generation would rather walk out of a job that makes them unhappy, and find jobs that pay less, if it means they’re happy, and not burned out every moment of every day. I respect them for that. They’re being honest with themselves. They’re valuing their worth and their mental health.

Maybe it’s not the trainees that should be criticised, but the recruiters. Recruiters know how pressurised the job is. The high staff turnover is a clear indication of that. Recruiting for numbers doesn’t work. There needs to be a re-examination of the recruitment process. Having hundreds of people join only to have hundreds of people leave again is a waste of time and resources. All it does is add to the pressure the existing staff are already under. It’s an optical illusion so the powers-that-be can say they’re recruiting X number of people to help ease the pressure, when in reality they’re just making it worse, through being dishonest about the leave-rate. Criticise the right people, and not those who try.

****

I qualified 18 months ago and have never felt so undervalued in a job. My WMT is 175% and my anxiety is through the roof for fear of an SFO. I do not feel supported. I cannot manage risk when I do not have the time to spend with the people I manage. I'm ready to quit.

Fancy Being a Probation Officer?

I'm hearing that recruitment for PO training has fallen off a cliff, standards are falling along with retention rates. I wonder why folks?

Seen on Twitter:-

"I see that PO training is being advertised again. Although I would never advise someone not to apply, I would urge caution. Chat to other probation staff and make sure you know what the job is. If you want to go for it I wish you the best of luck."

"Guy I know was asking me about applying. In every convo I had with him over ages, I warned him to lower his expectations. Eventually got on PQiP and lasted 2 weeks before returning to his old job. Couldn't believe the paperwork, demoralised staff and lack of contact with cases."

"Sadly the job is not the vocation we signed up for anymore. Desperately sad to see new colleagues leaving after a few months. Long and short HMPPS are not interested in rehabilitative work with people, just risk assessments that are generic." 

"Still relatively new having started in 2015. Often think I've been insulated from how bad it is, as it's been like this all the way through. YJS seconded currently - the longer I'm separated from probation practice, the more my eyes seem opened to the chaos colleagues experience."

--oo00oo--

Postscript

This came in over night and seems extremely prescient:- 

"Probation isn’t going to be sorted out anytime soon. They have gone for low hanging fruit by recruiting young female graduates rather than individuals (male or female) who have life experience. The job is not glamorous and without general appeal. It has been under attack as a profession both from psychologists and the civil service with criminology given a minor role.

The recruitment net has mostly dragged in the wrong type of fish but there are a few with potential. There is a big problem group of millennials who think older more experienced officers are toddlers who should retire asap. I don’t think anyone can blame the old guard for being defensive as they have been put upon time after time and many have been at the top of the salary range for decades seeing the main grade job degraded and perks we used to have such as lease cars, lower caseloads, and professional development opportunities become the stuff of myth. 

The job now mainly involves sitting in a poorly equipped airless office typing information into shoddy IT systems with the occasional irritating interruptions by people on the probation conveyor belt. The skill in the job is all but gone replaced by endless regulation designed to take away any professional judgement or autonomy. 

You should hear some of the newly qualified officers berating those who have been in the job for decades when they know nothing about life let alone probation work. In years gone by they would have been PSOs and supporting POs but now they think they know it all because they can whizz around computer systems and love filling in forms. Doing assessments is a bit trickier. There are also loads of administrators that no one really knows what they do half the time. There is no penalty for their failure or incompetence as bodies are in short supply and those that would previously be sacked are allowed to cruise along apparently believing the crap work they are doing is good enough - few experienced people to say otherwise. 

Most of the smarter POs have decamped long ago and would never be tempted back to the meat grinder. All the PR and flashy videos are peddling lies. It is dirty work now done extremely badly by the majority being propped up by the hard pressed few who refuse to quit. It is the few that I support and are keeping the flame alive for a better probation service."

On Being a PQiP

I can't really blame PQIPs for getting their degrees and buggering off. I was bullied in my PQIP, exploited because of too few staff; undertook tasks I was not expected to do, and was told that after the task had been completed. Told continuously about "what happens when you get 50 cases, if you can't handle 35 now"- I dunno, I'll jump out of a window. 

PQIP is hazing- like a fraternity testing your mettle to see if you can cut it so 35-50 cases is normalised not addressed as being too high a workload. Court placements where you're supposed to be protected and then used as auxiliary to paper over chronic staff shortages. Co-working cases that you're exploited to end up doing yourself- to circumvent the high risk cases not being allowed to be in a PQIP's name. 

Probation is it at war with itself let alone the prison service or the civil service. It does itself NO favours having this dire, exploitive work culture normalised by PQIP task setting. Many PQIPs are quite young. They can pick and chose what career path to take. They're clued up not to want to be exploited and bullied and they leave. Improve this culture and the purpose of Probation, which requires canny buy-ins from new recruits and you might have staff retention longer than the training programme or fewer drop outs. 

Probation is its own worst enemy. It's within its gift to improve those aspects of which I've mentioned. Or be dammed and doomed to repeat this cycle, ad infinitum.

*****
Many PQiPs' enter the Probation Service simply to achieve a free degree and then swan off to another role elsewhere. This has to stop. If PQiP's gain their degree, there should be some contractual obligation to stay within the service to recoup their investment or else make them pay for the degree course as they would if they had applied directly to University, via a student loan.

*****
In defence of PQiPs I don’t see them cynically gain their qualification to then swan off. I see people coming into our service, many of whom have high hopes and good hearts but they are seen almost from day one as the cavalry, there to rescue us from our terrible situation. Yet, they have condensed training, no mentors and SPOs/PDU heads pushing to allocate cases before they’ve even had the relevant training. I had a harrowing conversation with one who left with two months to qualify (passing everything, not failing the qualification) seen as a good colleague, she was broken. Went straight back to her old job, I’ve suggested she posts about her experience and wish she would.

*****
I’m amazed HMPPS hasn’t clocked the ‘free degree’ issue yet. They will soon, just as social workers, nurses etc now have student loans it won’t be long for the PQips.

*****
In my experience, PQIPs joined with the intention of probation being a career, not a free degree. That changed after 3 years as a red site with no serious solutions and a huge workload that didn't allow you to do a proper job, driving people out of the service, often to YOTs.

*****
When I questioned the workload I was basically told that it would get much worse and that if I couldn't handle it as a pqip then I should leave. I'm not surprised so many quit.

*****
I found my PQiP period to be absolutely fine, with a great deal of support from both my PTA and SPO. What it didn’t do, however, was prepare me for the onslaught of a WMT over 150% or the pressure of the inevitable SFO’s.

It's The System That Needs Fixing

It's Monday and I was going to post something about the abysmal refusal of the government to do anything about IPP sentences and the dreadful position many prisoners find themselves in, but it will have to wait. 2,500 hits to this website on a Sunday is pretty unusual and I take it as a strong indicator of the anger and despair growing amongst probation staff. 

As a profession, we currently have the eyes and ears of a big chunk of media upon us, keen and eager to know more about what we do; why we do it and why the hell it's all going wrong. More importantly, it's also an opportunity to start a conversation about how to fix it. The following contributions came in yesterday and add to the growing testimony to an organisation that needs fixing: not fixing individuals found to be at fault.

--oo00oo--  

I don't know anybody who wants to be in case management. Such is the stampede whenever an alternative position is advertised that caseworkers have been blocked from applying for them. Its incredibly unhealthy. Those with the PO qualification have hardly anywhere to go anyway as programmes and court work no longer at their grade.

****

How many qualified probation officers are there in the probation workforce team, effective practice team, performance teams or on other secondments? If this were the police or army they’d all be directed back onto the frontline to hold caseloads.

****

An excellent call which serves to highlight the real stresses which are so great and which leads to staff looking for ANY way out of the front line….I know of several OMIC staff who would rather leave than return to the office and Community Supervision.

****

I also know people who don’t want to go back to case management from other teams.

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Be honest, how much time are Probation Officers actually spending with service users? Personally I have noticed the amount of time I can spend with them shrinking rapidly over the last few months. It seems to get worse each week. I don't want to be chained to the desk, I didn't come into this to be nothing but a pen pusher. I came in to work with human beings and try to improve their lives and those of the public impacted by their behaviour. All the pressure is to complete assessments, records, reports and very little time to do any meaningful work.

Why doesn't the service collect these stats? Of course they won't as they know it will be damming! At the moment I would say 20% of my time working face to face max! This is the problem being affiliated with the Civil Service, that monstrous bureaucratic machine. I knew it would be like that as I knew people working for civil service. We need to be an independent service again, working within our local authorities and serving local people and organisations . It's the only way!

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With a caseload of 60+ which is made up of 2/3rds Med RoSH and a third Low, it’s a battle. It is a Sunday afternoon and I’m working. More fool me … maybe… but I am not alone.. Be honest; lot of us are today updating Delius, completing RMPs, clearing the decks as best we can ready for Monday. I am looking after the grandkids, they’re doing homework I’m playing catch up! My age is my saving grace…. How does a young PO or PSO with family do this job? Truth is, we do what we can. Some of our cases get a lot of attention because they present as being desperate and need our time. Somehow we find it; but at a cost to others. 

At least I can fight my corner on what I do as knowledge and experience counts. I want to tell my younger colleagues it will get better, that they’ve made the right choice and can make a difference. They have and they can with the right leadership. The reality is… we only have managers who can fill your inbox with edicts from on high.. targets, paint by number toolkits which they have no understanding of. Yes they are under pressure as well, but it is within their gift to push back and say stop this nonsense. Now more than ever we need leadership and less management. Sadly, I cannot say I would follow our current senior management: not even out of curiosity..

*****
Read the news, spot checks are incoming. Senior Managers are not asking for your fealty or opinion. They are telling you what is required. How you manage your probation work is up to you. Despite your “knowledge and experience” you are working on a Sunday, probably not out of choice, probably not even claiming overtime. You are losing not winning. You are complying and fighting to stay afloat, not “fighting your corner”. You are not doing better than those “younger”. Probation across the country is “inadequate” and every probation officer knows it because we haven’t the time or resources to do the job. It’ll be the same next week and the next, as it was last week and the previous. Managers can not and will not “push back”. It won’t “get better” and only you can say “stop”. I’m sorry to burst your bubble. This is the truth all probation officers need to recognise. The saying goes, it is at the precipice people find the will to change.

*****

Identifying risk correctly may provide the assessor with some protection when things go wrong, but just identifying the correct level of risk won't by itself prevent SFOs. Even whilst in prison people are prosecuted for serious offences, including murder and rape. A probation service that positions itself as the vanguard of public protection is on a hiding to nothing. There's always going to be SFOs committed by people subject to probation, and probation will continue to shoulder the blame. Where else would blame be attributed if not to those charged with public protection? Staff shortages, high caseloads, inexperience and burnout are all things that have to be considered as contributory factors and mitigation, but ultimately an SFO will always be seen as a failure.

In many ways those arguments are like the offender on licence caught shoplifting who says they're homeless, cant get benefits, can't access services they need, but ultimately as much as the circumstances can be understood and even sympathised with, it doesn't prevent the prosecution and the consequences that follow.

Probation needs to be able to do more for the people they're involved with to prevent reoffending. Probation staff need a professional qualification that allows them autonomy in the decisions they take, and be given the right to defend and explain their decisions when something goes wrong. They need time to spend with the people in their charge, and they need the ability and autonomy to tap into whatever local services they feel necessary that might help to stop someone reoffending. Endless assessments only identify problems, and that process becomes pretty pointless if you're unable to find solutions.

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This may, or may not seem contentious. But can I suggest that there is another way to respond to the terrible work situation many face. I retired 3 years ago but I spent 5 years counting down to that date. I had returned from a spell in NOMS and was ill prepared for the absolute shit shower on my return to an SPO role in Yorkshire. It soon became clear to me that in order to remain sane I had to manage my work in a way that kept senior managers at arms length without alerting them to the fact that I was only doing what I wanted to do and generally ignoring the rest. 

Now I know people will say that I knew I was leaving and had little to lose, but it got me through 5 years. Just imagine what could be achieved if the majority of staff started to manage the service rather than letting the service manage them. I targeted a number of avenues. I spent the first few months perusing a number of policies. The sickness policy was a boon as I quickly worked out how much sick leave I could pull without drawing too much immediate attention. I also stopped filling out sickness absences that only involved a few days. That way staff avoided being drawn into a prolonged HR process. If the computer packed up I went home. If the systems aren’t working then that’s not my fault. The organisation failed to give me the tools to work so I didn’t. And more importantly I didn’t rush to complete a deadline if the computers failed. The service was to blame not me. So they got the blame. 

If my manager insisted it got done then I didn’t do something else and made it clear that hadn’t got done as the service was to blame. Then I started to take sick leave. But I was careful and planned it well in advance. On one occasion I got wind that I was going to be moved. So I waited until closer the time to move and promptly went off sick. Long term sick is better than a couple of days. Always take as close to 6 months as you can. I know that seems extreme but stress on a doctors note works a treat. Put your feet up and let your manager know how keen you are to come back…but don’t. 

When you eventually return the phased return is a joy. Until it ends then you wait until…another until you can repeat. Just one month with stress and this time a bit of anxiety. You have to break through the garbage we are fed about working hard and the usual tripe about a fair days pay for a fair days work blah blah blah. It’s engrained in us and our colleagues but you have to draw a line. Your objective shouldn’t be about damaging the organisation that’s just a by-product. Keep it simple like working to your contracted hours and easing the work place demands. Use work policies to your advantage. Health and safety policies can be very helpful. Do not involve the Union. They are not your friends and they will not support you. Get your support from like minded peers. 

May I suggest you start with your working hours. Once your weekly hours are completed go home. Do not work from home and do not work over a weekend. Study your contract and use it to your advantage. You can not be sacked if you refuse to work more hours than you are contracted to for. If the computers fuck up then push back. Do not rush to complete the work as this is not your fault. These are just few examples I’m sure you can think of others. The strategy is yours to decide. I can go on about work place sabotage but I think I have said enough now. 

So in conclusion game the system to your advantage. If you put your head up ensure you are on solid ground (the policies support you). Stick to your hours. If the systems fail you put the blame where it’s needed. Don’t be nice and offer to do it later that evening. Because I know you will want to. Undermine at every opportunity. Use the sickness policy. And when you get really pissed off hit the fire alarm it’s amazing how long that takes out of your day oh and remember it’s not your fault it went off so please don’t rush around or make up your hours just go home.

Lets Find Someone To Blame

Here we have the first indication of how the MoJ intends to deal with the probation problem, helpfully outlined in this Telegraph article yesterday:-

Probation officers face annual spot checks after series of blunders

New checks on officers' abilities to protect public from violent offenders come after 'unacceptable' failings led to murder of Zara Aleena

Every probation officer in England and Wales faces an annual check on their ability to protect the public from violent offenders after blunders that led to the murders of two women and three children, the Telegraph can reveal. All 18,000 probation officers will undergo a spot check where at least one of their offenders’ cases chosen at random will be reviewed by watchdogs to check they have made an accurate assessment of the risk to the public, and that they have in place all the necessary safeguards.

Staff in London will face six-monthly checks after a series of devastating HM inspectorate reports found “shocking” standards of supervision across the capital and “unacceptable” failings that led to the sexual assault and murder of Zara Aleena, a 35-year old law graduate. She was killed by Jordan McSweeney in a random late night attack in Ilford, east London, just days following his release from prison after probation officers wrongly classed him as medium rather than high risk and failed to recall him to jail for breaches of his licence.

It was the second case in a month after inspectors found similar errors with triple child killer Damien Bendall, 32, who was also wrongly assessed as “medium risk” which meant he walked free from court on a suspended sentence before murdering his partner and three children with a claw hammer. The cases prompted Justin Russell, the chief inspector of probation, to warn it was “impossible to say” the probation service was keeping the public safe from released violent criminals because it was “not getting it right” in its “core function” to safeguard society.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Fara Naz, Zara’s aunt who has acted as the family’s spokesperson, said: “A lot of people will say that there are rare people who commit monstrosities and that Aleena was very unlucky. But, actually, her murder was facilitated by a state that wasn’t doing its job.” She said it was important “front line officers aren’t blamed”, but that their managers and the way competence is assessed throughout the system was scrutinised to prevent a repeat of the tragedy. “If I am a manager and my team is operating well, that’s down to me,” she said. “If I’m not doing a good job, then it’s down to the person supervising me. So ultimately, who is accountable? It’s very important that we don’t just blame the probation officers.”

She welcomed the spot checks announced by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), but said they did not go far enough. She is backing a call by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, for all released offenders rated as medium and high risk and being supervised by the city’s probation service to be reviewed to ensure the assessments are sound and safe.

In a letter to Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, and Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary - as seen by The Telegraph - Mr Khan urged an independent inquiry into McSweeney’s case to establish; what was known by prison, police and probation staff; what was done to mitigate the risk; and what more can be done. He also called for increased resources after HM inspectors warned in November that 500 vacancies in London were contributing to a staffing crisis that meant cases “could not be managed properly”, and that the “assessment and management of the risks of serious harm to the public are far from satisfactory”. They found nine out of 137 “medium risk” offenders in London had been wrongly categorised and should have been deemed as “high risk of serious harm”.

Under the new spot checks, any probation officers judged to have got it wrong will have their caseload reviewed, and receive extra training and support. The MoJ said a review of hundreds of “medium risk” cases in London had begun in November. It said urgent work was underway to improve the quality of risk assessments nationally through updated mandatory training for all new staff and strengthened quality checks of risk assessments, while an extra 2,500 probation officers had been recruited.

An MoJ spokesman said the murder of Zara Aleena was an “appalling” crime. “We apologise unreservedly to Zara Aleena’s family for the failings in this case,” he added.

--oo00oo--

Meanwhile, this is the reality as expressed by someone yesterday at 21:46:-

All I can say right now is it's exhausting. Not so long ago we were all accused of being risk averse! Now it's the opposite and we are threatened with exposure and SFO's if we don't tow the line, do everything perfectly, tick all the boxes, send people back to custody or breach them after two failures even though they are homeless and struggle to remember what day it is. 

We are supposed to pull rabbits out of hats and wave magic wands to get people housed when there is no housing, get their mental health back on track when that service is pretty broken, sort out their relationships, mend their broken lives and heal their trauma, we basically have to do it all whilst chained to the computer screen churning out endless reports and doing mindless e training to show we have covered our arses when the next SFO comes in. The task has become impossible and meanwhile the new PQiP's fill up the desks that the experienced staff have vacated when they implode and go off with stress. 

I have never felt so exhausted in the job, I was even hoping I might get thumped the other day by an angry 'pop', ridiculous term, as I could at least have taken a few weeks off. Can't see me lasting too much longer at this rate. Used to love the job and spent most of the day seeing the punters, doing home visits, proper prison visits, going to various meetings and a bit of computer time but now it's become a sedentary desk job interspersed with trying to pretend I can actually do RAR days and supervise people in the 10 to 20% time that's left over! How can that be right? The idea that some PO's can manage caseloads of 60 or 70 is frankly ridiculous. We have very little admin help and the time it takes to negotiate all the bureaucracy is ridiculous. 

Management solution to coping with the crisis is to pile even more pressure on us. It's frankly ridiculous. PO's need more status and far more support. Start respecting us, listen to us and do what we say will work, bottom up and not top down. I have no respect for the ACO's that hide away pumping out more bureaucracy. They should have a few cases allocated to them so they can see the reality and how much time supervision of just one case can take up. Give all the ACO's and SPO's a couple of token cases and watch the colour drain from their faces, especially the SPO's who moan that they are not earning much more than a PO! Do they think their job is any harder? 

This is a bloody tough job, you have to be incredibly resilient to cope, yet maintain compassion. Sadly that compassion is lacking in the service as a whole. We are treated like robots and when we crack we will be shoved out into the junk yard because the service thinks the new PQiP's will be more malleable. Sadly they will likely use the service as a stepping stone and move on when they realise the dream job they were sold was a lie.