Privatisation Special

Lets kick this off with 'mission impossible'. Serco are looking for an 'ethics' officer. The closing date is July 28th:-  

Serco Group plc is an international services company, established for over 50 years, delivering essential services for both the public and private sectors. It is well-respected for being a values-led company with a culture and ethos that is at the heart of everything it does. The company gives its people real responsibility and allows them to put their ideas into practice to truly make a difference for customers and the public. Serco employs over 120,000 people worldwide, including over 40,000 in the UK. 

Due to Serco`s continued focus on business ethics we are currently recruiting for an Ethics Officer to strengthen the support we provide to our senior management team. The Ethics Officer will act in support of the Directors of Ethics and Governance (of both our UK and Europe divisions) by supporting the Senor Ethics Officer in monitoring and reporting results of the ethics activities of the company and in providing recommendation and reporting for the two Directors on matters relating to ethics.

Duties include:- Champions the ethical values of the organization, promoting and embedding our ethics policies, code of conduct and business principles across the division.- In conjunction with the Senior Ethics Officer reviews, maintains, and recommends revisions and further actions with respect to policies and procedures for the general operation of the Ethics Programme and its related activities to prevent illegal, unethical, or improper conduct. Supports in the day-to-day management of the Program.- Collaborates with other departments (e.g., Risk Management, Compliance, Legal Department, Employee Services, etc.) to direct compliance issues to appropriate existing channels for investigation and resolution. Consults with the Corporate attorney as needed to resolve difficult legal compliance issues.- Working with the Corporate Investigations Team, responds to alleged violations of rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and Standards of Conduct. Work with the Senior Ethics Officer to oversee a system for uniform handling of such violations.- Acts as an independent review and evaluation body to ensure that ethics Issues/concerns within the organization are being appropriately evaluated, investigated and resolved.- Monitors, and as necessary, coordinates ethics related activities of other departments to remain abreast of the status of all compliance activities and to identify trends.- Identifies potential areas of vulnerability and risk including risks around bribery and corruption, facilitation payments, human rights, conflicts of interest, competition law etc; develops/implements corrective action plans for resolution of problematic issues; and provides general guidance on how to avoid or deal with similar situations in the future.- Provides reports on a regular basis, and as directed or requested, to keep the two Divisional Ethics Committees and senior management informed of the operation and progress of compliance efforts.

This is an important and high profile role within Serco and as such we are looking for a Compliance subject matter expert with a proven track record in influencing stakeholders in the ethical agenda. Ideally you will possess knowledge of working with public service providers, preferably central government and have an inclusive, approachable and consultative nature. In return we offer a role with autonomy and scope to progress you career in the ethics space. The role attracts a competitive salary and benefits.

Nicely timed for the run up to the party political season and General Election next year and due to the runaway success of privatising the probation service, it's interesting to see that old chestnut about privatising job centres is back on the agenda. This in the Guardian reporting on a report just published by Policy Exchange.:- 

Job centres are failing to help about a third of their customers – mainly the long-term workless – and should be restructured to enable private companies and charities to compete with government providers, a report by the influential centre-right thinktank Policy Exchange has proposed.

The report, which came out on Monday, says jobcentres are failing many of the 11.5 million people in Britain with a long-term health condition, especially those with a mental health problem. It says the employment service should be rebranded as Citizen Support and advise the unemployed on the best personalised service available to them, including the data on their previous success rates. This would give the jobless person the advantage of being able to decide which service they wanted to commission to help them find work.

The call to reform employment services is not confined to the centre-right. Sharp criticisms of their performance have been made by the Labour MP David Lammy and, from a different perspective, by the centre-left thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research. The Policy Exchange call for reform comes before a report for the government into whether the benefit sanctions regime is failing too many unemployed, especially those on the work programme.

The report claims that the system is in urgent need of reform and tries to make the case for that new buzz term 'personalisation' arguing that the next logical direction of reform is a radical new structure centred around the specific needs of the individual. It all sounds so comforting and cuddly, but this is a right-wing think tank:- 

• Jobcentres should be completely overhauled. The employment services part should be mutualised and be allowed to compete with the private and voluntary sectors as well as other public bodies to provide specialist support for people looking to find work.
• The remaining part of Jobcentre Plus should be expanded and rebranded as Citizen Support. It would effectively act as the primary and central hub for accessing government services, enabling advisors to identify an individual’s specific barriers to work and suggest providers that could help meet that person’s needs. The advisor would also show the success rate of each provider using comparison data to help the jobseeker make a more informed decision about which providers are most appropriate to help them.
• Instead of the budget being allocated directly from central government to different providers as is currently the case, the money would be allocated to the individual claimant and then be funnelled to the provider of choice who is paid on the outcomes they achieve.
• Unlike the current system, the provider of choice would act as an individual’s ‘caseholder’ – a specific point of contact. That lead provider will then coordinate specialist support suited to that person’s unique needs.

Seamus Milne writing in the Guardian on the other hand confirms that public opinion is very definitely against privatisation:- 

Privatisation isn't working. We were promised a shareholding democracy, competition, falling costs and better services. A generation on, most people's experience has been the opposite. From energy to water, rail to public services, the reality has been private monopolies, perverse subsidies, exorbitant prices, woeful under-investment, profiteering and corporate capture.

Private cartels run rings round the regulators. Consumers and politicians are bamboozled by commercial secrecy and contractual complexity. Workforces have their pay and conditions slashed. Control of essential services has not only passed to corporate giants based overseas, but those companies are themselves often state-owned – they're just owned by another state. Report after report has shown privatised services to be more expensive and inefficient than their publicly owned counterparts. It's scarcely surprising that a large majority of the public, who have never supported a single privatisation, neither trust the privateers nor want them running their services.

But regardless of the evidence, the caravan goes on. David Cameron's government is now driving privatisation into the heart of education and health, outsourcing the probation service and selling off a chunk of Royal Mail at more than £1bn below its market price, with the government's own City advisers cashing in their chips in short order. No amount of disastrous failures or fraudulent wrongdoing, it seems, debars companies such as G4S, Atos and Serco from lucrative new contracts in what is already an £80bn business – and one with an increasingly powerful grip on Westminster and Whitehall.

Again in the Guardian, more evidence that privatisation just isn't working:-

Successive governments have pursued an agenda of market competition, outsourcing and privatisation within public services. Their aim? Innovation – the kind that clunky, state run services apparently cannot deliver. For our politicians, the market has become synonymous with better services at lower costs.

But is this actually the case? Evidence is surprisingly hard to come by. Decades of restructuring and reform have gone by without much effort to find out. What limited evidence there is gives cause for concern. A recent survey of 140 local authorities shows the majority are beginning to take services back in-house, citing concerns about rising costs and decreasing quality. Pay and conditions for services staff have plummeted and transparency has given way to commercial confidentiality. Power has been concentrated in the hands of a few supremely wealthy private providers, now dogged by a series of high-profile scandals and widespread public mistrust.

What, really, did we expect? Attempting to force innovation by pitting providers against each other naturally breeds fragmentation and opposition between stakeholders – which in turn discourages the partnerships and holistic thinking necessary for joined-up and preventative services. Efficiencies are sought by squeezing workers' time, undermining the potential for caring services; and by cutting wages, causing diminishing morale, retention rates and productivity. New targets and auditing regimes have been introduced to regulate a diversity of providers, side-lining local priorities and knowledge in the process. Shareholder value has been allowed to trump social value, eroding collective responsibility and solidarity.

As the 'we own it' website makes clear, now is the time for a grown up debate about public ownership:-

For the mainstream political classes, public ownership remains anathema. For New Labour types, nationalisation in particular is the political equivalent of the word “MacBeth” for the acting fraternity; words that cannot be spoken for fear they will bring bad luck or, more to the point, undermine their pro-business credentials. Suggestions by the Tories - and their pro-business friends in the media and the City of London - that nationalisation presages a return to the dark days of the 1970s lead Labour to beat a hasty retreat from raising any serious critique of how our economy is owned and controlled.

The irony is that it is the UK’s political class that is out of step with the times. Public ownership is back on the public policy agenda in much of the rest of the world as the failures of three decades of privatisation become increasingly apparent. In Germany and France, but also in large swathes of Africa, Latin America and even the United States, new forms of public ownership at local, regional and national levels are being introduced that take whole sectors back into democratic control. Even the European Union’s commissioner for energy policy has recently suggested that if key strategic priorities around tackling climate change are going to be met, the electricity grid across the continent should be returned to public hands.

Latest From Napo 37

Here is the latest email from Pat Waterman, newly re-elected Chair of Napo Greater London Branch:-

TO: NAPO MEMBERS

Phew...........what a scorcher

On Friday 18th July (on what has been the hottest day of the year so far) over 120 members attended the Branch AGM. Our Guest Speaker was Ian Lawrence, NAPO's General Secretary. Unfortunately Yvonne Pattison, National Vice Chair, was too ill to attend but a statement from her was read out by Patricia Johnson, Branch Vice Chair.

After the Branch had voted to adopt the Annual report and Accounts there was an election for the post of Branch Chair. I am honoured, privileged and delighted to have been re-elected as the Chair of Greater London Branch for a further two year term of office. My commiserations to Robert Hull. On behalf of the Branch Officers and the Branch Executive I do hope that he will use the experience and knowledge he would have brought to the post of chair to the service of the branch.

It was a lively AGM and I am grateful to all those who attended and participated, especially the proposers and seconders of motions and our NEC Representatives who gave a very comprehensive report back to the branch. As I said in my last e-mail (Meeting, Meetings Meetings) there were some very important meetings last week.

On Tuesday, together with the Branch Vice Chairs, I attended a meeting between the Senior Management of both the London CRC and NPS and the trade unions. We were the only trade union present. Members may recall that, in a letter to me just as LPT was about to end, our then Chief Executive said:

“The case transfer process is largely on track. It was not expected that all offenders would have been transferred by the 31st May, as those cases identified as “critical “ have a longer time period and it is not expected that these to be transferred until the end of June.”

At the meeting on Tuesday we were advised that the process of Case Transfer is far from complete. Many cases are still not in the “right” place and although over 6,000 cases were transferred before the end of May there are still over 4,000 cases which have yet to be transferred. It is envisaged that half of these transfers will be completed by the end of July and the rest by the end of August.

As the schools prepare to break up this week, those of you who have been working in the field for some time will know that the summer is always a difficult time as staff take leave. I have never known an office to be fully staffed over the summer period and that was before staff started resigning as a result of this omnishambles.

So now we are told everything will be sorted by the end of August ..........really.

The London CRC has just published on London-i a consultation paper for staff and service users entitled"Influencing the Future of the London Community Rehabilitation Company”. As one of the recognised trade unions in the London CRC we have been invited by the CEO, Nick Smart, to participate in this consultation exercise. We have as yet reserved our right to participate in this consultation exercise subject to consultation with members of this branch. Please e-mail MAIL LONDON NAPO and let us know whether we should participate and if so what we should be saying on your behalf.

On Wednesday I attended a nationally organised meeting of Branch Chairs and Vice Chairs. Ian Lawrence , NAPO’s General Secretary, addressed the meeting in much the same way as he had addressed the NEC the previous week and would address this branch two days later at our AGM.

He made clear his views about anonymously critical comments of both himself and other NAPO employees on social media. This branch has chosen to engage with social media, as part of our campaigning activities, to the extent that we have our own Face Book page and Twitter account. It is used as yet another way of communicating with members and providing them with information and links to other sites which they may find useful and relevant.

At the meeting on Wednesday Ranjit Singh, National NAPO official, launched the union’s “Recruitment and Organising Campaign: A five point plan”. This plan will be discussed at the Branch Executive meeting this afternoon.

The Branch Officers have already started an extensive mapping exercise to help us identify the “gaps” in membership. In conversation with the chair of another branch, who had devised spread sheet which she agreed to share with us, she told me that it took her two full days to map 300 members. We have close to 1,000 members so this exercise will take some time.

Napo is planning a national lobby and rally at parliament on Wednesday 3rd September. The focus of the Rally will be ‘Members’ Voices’ and on briefing MPs on what is happening to the service in reality. More details to follow but please note the date in your diary.

Please also note the following date:

National AGM 9th -11th October in Scarborough (more details to follow)

And finally:

People have sometimes commented on how angry I seem. I make no apologies for this. I am angry; 

• Angry at seeing a profession, in which I have worked my entire adult life, being destroyed.
• Angry when I read about the aggravation so many of you are experiencing as you try to do your job
• Angry about the stress many of you are experiencing as you try to grapple with IT systems that are not fit for purpose
• Angry on behalf of you all as you become increasingly frustrated on behalf of your clients as well as yourselves.

And so I will, with the help and support of the Branch Officers and Branch Executive, continue doing what I have been doing. In the words of Johnny Cash:

I won’t back down (if you don’t know the song look it up on YouTube and be inspired)

Pat Waterman
Branch Chair

Manchester in Meltdown 2

As an experienced officer I have never known a time like this. Here in Manchester, managers have a habit of saying 'yes we will do' to everything. I think if Chris Grayling said someone clean my arse, some manager will turn round and say 'yes we can do'. Of course the manager won’t be because they are too busy chatting away whilst the work force is worn down to the ground. They are just pushing and pushing to make it all work when nothing is fitting together. I’m reaching breaking point and worry that either I will go off sick, will snap or even just walk out. Who will they blame, it will be me no doubt.

******
At least you have been offered money we have been directed to do PSR's in Manchester. If money was offered however, I would refuse. It sounds though the whole service nationwide no longer has the same practices and policies everyone is on survival mode.

******
In Manchester the membership fee to join Probation Institute is being paid by our CRC. Management have been actively encouraging us to join by telling us how good it is. Even willing to pay the membership for every person in the CRC. Can you believe this shit? In supervision, my manager spent more time trying to convince me of joining rather than spending time discussing the f***k up which the split has caused. 

In a recent staff meeting we were even asked to explore the benefits of privatisation & the 'creative opportunities' available for staff. Biggest pile of shit I've ever heard. Trying desperately to convince us that crap will be good. What bit do they not understand, staff do not want privatisation. 

******

As someone who is working flat out in Manchester the idea of the mutual with Sodexo will not be a mutual but a full takeover by Sodexo. The management who are puppets of the profit making machinery are full steam ahead. I worry about myself and my colleagues as we know very well, that at the end of the day we will not be working in probation but for Sodexo. If Sodexo think this is going to be easy they need to think again. We fully intend to expose and leak info to media of as many issues as possible.

******

There are areas of Manchester with OMs holding 70+ cases in the NPS. The split went very wrong there.

*****

It’s chaos in Manchester CRC. Been allocated a domestic violence case and my manager has instructed me to put him on three week reporting so that I can take on more cases. Before I even got back to my desk I was allocated a further ten cases. I am getting cases allocated to me that I do not even know about. I have complained to my union but they do not seem able to do very much except asking me to send examples into NAPO HQ. What good will that do. I need help now. 

On Thursday last week I had a phone call from reception saying that an offender is here to see me. I was not expecting anyone, did not know he was coming, he does not know me, I have no prior information or history of who this person is & I am expected to induct him without a case file. It turned out that he is a sex offender low to medium risk. I went to see my manager and complained. I was told just get on with it. I tried to explain to my manager that this is not professional practice and was told that no one will be investigating anything and just do whatever you can. When I tried to argue against this I was told that if you do not like it you can leave. How can anyone work in such a climate i.e. health and safety of their staff is actively being ignored. If this is how things are now I can’t imagine what it would be like post share sales.

*****
Trouble is when you are that saturated and overwhelmed you have no energy for a grievance although in reality that is what is needed. Manchester needs a big shake up as they got all their figures wrong and they were harsh with their shafting, arseholes they deserve what they get which is an enormous meltdown. They have treated the CRC staff disgracefully.

******
"Had to do a report for an Initial Child Protection Conference. Took longer to upload the thing onto Delirious than it did to write it! And it took three of us to work it out". - Same problem in Manchester, and then you loose it. I have been doing my PSR's in word, then the clericals can cut and paste them into a document. Its great it now takes 2 to 3 people and lots of man hours to write a report.

TR Week Seven B

"....and we have to identify cases for trainees to manage, so will that be the rapist or the murderer?"

This is actually a very relevant comment. I've been in the job for *cough* years and one of the things I enjoyed was mentoring a TPO. All TPO's start off co-working low risk cases, first time offenders etc, cases you have identified that the offender is unlikely to offend in the future. How does this work post split? I do not have one offender on my books who I would be happy to co-work, without micromanaging the whole thing, distracting and impacting on my time and potentially undermining the TPO. On the flip side, I cannot see many of my colleagues who have been shafted into CRC wanting to help out somebody who is doing their job, and is possibly less qualified, after they have been kicked in the teeth; it does not sit well. Additionally, will the CRC (post sale) be able to train TPO's, or indeed get paid for it?

******
I believe it is only a matter of time before the MOJ/NOMS comes for individuals on code of conduct/OSA issues. This is not going well for Grayling and he (or perhaps his successor if he is replaced in the Cabinet reshuffle) will turn his ire on the workforce soon. So I guess it is vital to keep recording what is happening whilst we can.......

******
In Lancs biggest pressures are in smaller offices, trying to run Court services/write reports with smaller team, managing the farce of dual office duties etc and still have pressures that will come from summer leave....

*****
Last week our NPS started using PSOs to write PSRs, something that we haven't done before. At the same time POs in CRC aren't even permitted to write sessional reports. For us, this is the start of role boundaries moving. Any other examples out there?

*****
It has been like this in our LDU since day one. Agency staff are being given overtime to paper over the cracks. CRC staff no chance. I was told nearly a year ago that I would be in the CRC by my line manager. Needless to say we had clashed on several occasions. No shaft just a settling of scores, Which I was not allowed to question as the chief said she had to support her staff.

*****
The whole system has been an absolute shambles. The selection process to determine who is CRC/NPS is the most discriminatory process I have ever come across. I find it difficult how colleagues are not up in arms about this. Sometimes I question what exactly IT will take for colleagues to say 'enough is a enough'.

*****
I'm a PO in South Wales. We have NPS and CRC staff in meltdown. Both sides holding 65 cases each which is well and truly above the work load management tool (which is suspiciously now not working?). The rate of new allocations for the CRC is very high, a PO informed me that he received 6 new tier 3 cases within 4 days that was after he informed his line manager that he couldn't cope with his workload! 

I'm in NPS and am struggling with the high level of reports and still trying to get to know all my new cases. The sift still makes no sense to me, with some excellent experienced staff being in the CRC, whilst newly qualified are in NPS? Managers seem to be walking around blindly, living in another planet whilst the staff on the coal face a struggle to keep their heads above water! Today alone, we had 4 members of staff in tears and that was before 10am!

Been told that in some offices staff are working until 11pm to keep up with the demand of reports. You wouldn't catch me ever working late, I know it's easier said than done but all you're doing is attempting to paper over the cracks. TR WILL NEVER EVER WORK!! Please someone save us before we lose all our good staff either by stress or because they got out!! Staff are being treated disgracefully, the basic good management of staff and consideration of welfare/duty of care has been thrown out of the window. I look forward to the work related stress cases before the Court!! CRC's best get your cheque books out......

****
Also in Wales we have been asked by ACE & managers if we would like to volunteer to join a CRC workstream to do a 'Gap Analysis' of our areas of expertise. They are basically looking at all current Tenders and asking Partners to give all their work info to have ready for when the new company takes over. Asked for staff to give briefings on new housing law, and directories of outside contacts and agencies we work with. Turkeys getting ready for Christmas!

*****
Wales....probably the first area where this brave new world first reared its head when our trust appointed the truly odious Sarah Payne. In the NPS, they continue to hold peer review days of cases...where two people go through supposedly random selected cases. Prior to the split you can imagine how poisonous this got and people were really slagging cases off and what the OM had or hadn't done. You can imagine what this has done for already awful morale that we continue using up resources and taking people away from their work to continue to partake in this fucking charade.

******
I'm still writing emails & entering delius. Catching a ride to glorious isolation in the morning. Partner can drive as I won't be home til after midnight. Grayling take note, this is for the clients, not you - you pisstaking tosser. £30k pa for 200 hours a month. I shouldn't but its not about TR, its about the clients. Shoot me dead, but those guys and gals should not pay whats due to grayling and co.

******
Napo, Grayling - what should I do next? Over 50 CRC cases, 29 brand new this month, no oasys on the new cases (either nothing at all or no-one can find them). Left home at 7am today, had to see clients at remote office with no access to IT this morning. 3 cases being released this week, all complex, all involving dual diagnosis (mental health & substance use/dependency), all NFA; 2 very demanding cases in the community, one with learning disability, the other with aspergers - neither with allocated social work support as they are adults and funding has been withdrawn for all but "acute" cases. 

New procedures for CRC supervision requires all new cases to be assessed using new toolkit BEFORE completing ISP oasys. Just finished 2 hour interview with distressed DV victim (and client of mine) where safeguarding social worker was reassuring him about safety of children. Male victim, no resources for male survivors - funding cuts. Three hours totality on phone during course of day trying to get chaplaincy or similar to notify case in custody about sudden family death. Saw 6 clients today (incl dv survivor). No time to enter a single case contact from today on delius as yet. I'm now on 3 weeks' annual leave - but still 40 mins drive home. Stay behind & enter the records and get home at midnight? Go home and leave clients + colleagues in the shit? Drive directly to airport and get a job in New Zealand?

******
As someone coming to the final years of my working life, I do not have that time to squander so I will be off to a new job in the next few months. Less pay etc but I cannot, in all honesty, allow TR to taint my working life for much longer. If I was younger I suspect I would stay and fight my corner, along with my colleagues, but, post 60, it is a big ask.

******
Working my socks off - come in early to do a report and have been blocked out my computer. Short staffed and fed up.

*****
Derby is short staffed and feel abandoned by management.

*****
West Mercia has really poor management, no diversity to speak of, perhaps one black face in each office and lends no support to staff. Please don't get me started about West Mercia!

*****
A number of offices in West Mercia can't make outgoing calls. Rumour is that phone bill has not been paid! 2nd day of no phones might I add.

*****
Gloucestershire going down! NPS staff sickness rate is rising due to workload. Stressed out staff trying to manage case loads and extra PSR writing due to the split where about 60% of report writers were sifted into CRC. They are now talking about CRC staff covering PSRs.

Also, I heard a rumour that all enhanced voluntary redundancy applications for support staff have been turned down!!! Not sure what to make of this - surely they can't need 3 different Finance, Estates or HR, Computer staff? The cynic in me thinks it could be a smart move by MoJ - offer the enhanced VR to ensure they collate and manage all the number crunching that was needed to set up this unholy mess. Still, a real kick in the teeth and I can't see how the applications could be refused.

*****
I wrote my resignation letter today and then realised I don't have another job to go to & I have a mortgage to pay! Yes, TR is that bad!

******
I think they threw away the original fag packet that the plans were originally worked out on.

******

TR is not saving money! We are now at crisis point. Both NPS&CRC in Wales are advertising agency Probation Officer jobs at £24 per hour.

******
IT system so slow today it took me 30 minutes to print out a pre sentence report. 1 page every 5 minutes!!

TR Week Seven A

I am in a nice simmer of fury tonight and could provide more unintended consequences ...how about the delius entry that couldn't be accessed to check the offender arriving at probation from outside area for whom a warrant was outstanding.... high risk of course...and who sat in the waiting room with vulnerable woman with her child in tow...and therefore breached his SOPO on probation premises.....or the offender who gives the court an address where he is prohibited from living at as his child resides there on CP Plan but he is not allowed there with the child and CDO for some still unfathomable reason could not access her IT...or the probation officer who has been assured by the manager no extra work will be given and then gets 2 more psrs because of staff sickness and then has a full meltdown and is signed off straight away for 4 weeks.....

******
I share everyone's ire at the idiot Grayling. But I think in the event of a tragedy the audit trail leads back to the old trusts senior management teams. They knew full well what this idea would bring and opted for the Nuremberg defence. Grayling is (I believe) ignorant, whereas our leadership know the complexity of what we do. Yet they stayed supine and only a very few gingerly raised some concerns. Imagine what would have happened if all SMG's just said 'No'. Call me an idealist if you like but there you go.

*****
There were lots of things they could have done. I still can't quite compute the shocking reality of hearing my colleague tell me over the phone that they cannot access 'the system'. They don't know who is walking through the door. This is MADNESS. It feels strange that Management have allowed this to happen so easily. They have been bullied by this discriminatory Govt without any co-ordinated effort to resist it. It's called wilful blindness and others suffer as a result.

******
Aren't the new RSR and CAS forms completely pointless & a waste of valuable time. Saying the same thing that's in the OASys already?

*****
More demoralising of the experienced CRC staff, today at our office 2 newly qualified officers got contracts with NPS, one has had 2 previous interviews and didn't get through and the other has been on the trainee course twice. We didn't even know that there was any vacancies, so much for the "most experienced staff going to NPS", they now have newly qualified staff that have never held a high risk case load. Its absolutely disgusting how CRC staff are continuing to be made to feel.

*****
Totally agree, breaches rejected by NPS staff who then refuse to discuss because you are CRC staff. Made to feel like second class Probation Officers who are no longer capable of doing their job!

*****
Refusing to discuss a rejected breach is taking even this insanity a step too far. Raise it as an issue. As an NPS court officer I would be furious If I worked with that kind of attitude around me and would not tolerate it.

******
Breaches done by CRC and rejected by NPS which then leads to further delay increases risk. Recent case were DV client was breached on grounds that he failed to attend his appointment. Enforcement action was timely. Order was returned to court but, because a home visit was not conducted, a decision was taken to withdraw the breach a few days before his Court appearance. A home visit was conducted where he lived alone in his flat. There was no response. A further appointment was offered and when he failed to attend, a fresh set of breach papers prepared and sent into court. 

By now there has been a delay of several weeks before he last attended the office. Before the next court hearing the offender stabbed his partner and charged with section 18 wounding. This could well have been an SFO case. Guess who would have been conveniently blamed, not the f**king senior managers who are implementing this pile of shit system. Not the breach officers in court, who is being instructed to carry out their work by the f**king manager. The blame was squarely put on the CRC PO. Why, because one f**king home visit was not done. 

We could have protected this victim if the breach was allowed to continue, given that his index offence was DV. Maybe his court appearance at breach court could have shaken him up and he realises that he needs to get his act together. Maybe he might not have attended court at all in which case a warrant would have been issued and the police would have been looking for him. Is anyone going to tell the victim that maybe if we prosecuted him at the first point this could have been avoided. No. The fact is that our actions failed this woman and as a consequence she was subject to a serious assault which almost cost her life. How can management sleep knowing that TR is increasing risk? They can because they don’t give a shit about you or me. They don’t give a shit about the victims. The only thing they care about is their own sense of power and covering their own backs. That’s the f**king reality of what we have to work in. 

I don’t apologies one single bit if my language is offensive and I have caused offence. I am offended by TR and offended by the way the procedures are failing victims. 

And if you asking why I'm anonymous, then fucking guess why... in case I get bullied for exposing the dangerous practices which are occurring in the name of TR. 

******
I would not have rejected your breach and have never in long service come across or used such a feeble excuse for not proceeding with a wholly appropriate course of action in timely manner with view to enforcing order of the court and protecting known victim. I agree with everything your have said, I empathise with your anger and frustration that your work has been obstructed by nonsensical decision making leading to as you rightly say, potentially avoidable harm...

******
Yesterday, from just one CRC PO in one office in England - a DV case rang me from another county. Told me he'd been arrested & charged last week with a new s.37, bailed to court, can't go home. Living in a caravan in a layby. Nowt forthcoming from our police intel because they can't talk to me without a 5 page written application from me with specific questions. I used to get emails or phone calls on the day if one of my cases was in the cells. 

And another case awol after prison release - couldn't get police intel as to whether she was in cells anywhere or involved in any new offences because I'd been unable to correctly answer a question in the 5 page application. I know nothing about her as there's no case file (yet) and no access to IT records because they're locked to NPS. I used to ring the intel unit direct, have a good chat and both sides had a mutual understanding. TR is Bloody dangerous and bloody stupid.

******
I have seen elsewhere that the police have probation on their business risk register - that is appalling! It has taken years to develop the relationship and it could be lost in the blink of an eye.

******
I work in the IOM and get some very probing questions by the Inspector at the Police station. I've been totally honest about the situation and he is not too impressed at what is going on, to the extent that he has raised it with the P&CC at a recent meeting.

The officers I work with are now shouldering a greater % of the workload, this simply due to me being allocated non IOM cases which whilst not as resource intensive, still need ISP's, still need apt, still need referrals. Welfare visits are now a thing of the past and I feel very much out of the loop, something picked up on by both my IOM colleagues and offenders. Anyone who has worked or has knowledge of the IOM cases know that if these offenders go off the rails, it's unlikely that it will be one victim that suffers but many.

Still, as long as it's not Grayling or his cronies and PbR is on the back burner, who cares about the proles?

*****
Our crc team is outrageously understaffed and overwhelmed by cases - no amount of money would justify report writing 'on the side'. How can it have become so wrong so quickly? It takes a very special fuckwit to do so much damage in such a short timescale.

*****
NAPO in Gloucestershire sent an email this week to a senior NPS manager to highlight that things in NPS are past breaking point and requesting they address the situation immediately. Not sure what they can do, apart from looking to recruit temp staff. Which will be another kick in the teeth of CRC sifted colleagues!!!

MoJ - stop spouting the bullshit. You will be left to carry the can when someone is killed as a result of this mess, whilst Grayling will be off destroying another service and maintaining that he left everything just peachy and safe. Have the courage of your convictions and whistle blow.

*****
No-one in our office will help NPS out. More because they chose CRC to get out of NPS - yes I know its strange but not all POs in CRC were shafted there but that's not to say they'll help NPS out. I also firmly believe some POs deliberately shafted to CRC so that they would have some POs with lots of experience and be a saleable asset to bidders. The whole thing stinks.

*****
Bureaucracy in prisons is undermining the whole system, Offender Supervisors are spending their days chained to their computers completing OASys and variety of reports and risk assessments. The result is prisoners are not being seen, stresses are building and violence is on the rise. Many in prison have mental health issues and many have been damaged via their contact with the state or damaged from within the home. They need to be seen, they need to talk about their problems but this is the last thing on the minds of overstretched prison staff. 

I fear for the well-being of staff and clients in what is becoming a long hot summer in the prison estate. Prison managers have no idea how the impact of a fragmented Probation Service will affect them; blindly they follow the demands imposed on them by the fools in Westminster and NOMS. They are managerial Zombies similar to our very own senior management, "forgive them for they know not what they do".

*****
The whole operating model for TR is based on ignorance, erroneous assumptions and a lack of informed and consequential thinking. This also applies to Grayling's prison policy. It is a time-bomb that is going to go off any time. A tragedy is inevitable and prisoners are already dying. How much evidence is enough?

Taking the Piss

Lets start with some classic bollocks from the NPS CEO Michael Spurr writing in issue 15 of 'Getting Started'

I’m really grateful for all the hard work colleagues have been doing since we moved to new structures last month. I know that the transition has not been easy and that implementing the changes has placed additional pressures on everyone.

In particular, I recognise IT glitches and the need to operate with temporary ‘work-arounds’ for some processes have added to the pressure and created understandable frustrations.

Overall, work continues to be delivered to high standards across the country and that is a tribute to the professionalism and commitment of Probation staff in CRCs and across the NPS. But I know we need to improve the IT service you are receiving and colleagues are working hard to do that.

There will be a major IT upgrade later this month which will resolve most of the current technical issues and remove the majority of ‘work arounds’. This upgrade will also restore the link between N-Delius and IAPS and will therefore provide significant service improvements.

NPS Deputy Directors and CRC Chief Executives are working together to ensure that the new systems operate cohesively. Adapting to the new working   arrangements was always going to be a challenge and create some inevitable tensions and teething problems.

Any change of this scale is bound to do that – but during my visits and discussions with Probation staff, I’ve been impressed by the determination to work through the issues and to get the ‘job done’. We must continue to do that – to work together to deal with issues as they arise and to develop and refine new ways of working to meet our responsibilities to offenders, to our partners and to the public.

Looking forward the new structures will provide real opportunities to improve practice and consistency in the NPS and to develop new approaches and innovation in the CRCs.

We have received a good range of bids for each of the Contract Package Areas and these are now being evaluated. Share sale will take place by the end of the year – and new arrangements for ‘Through the Gate’ services and supervision of offenders serving under 12 month prison sentences will be introduced across the country. 

The Transforming Rehabilitation reforms are now a reality; they are fundamentally changing the way we work. But we all retain a common goal – to ‘prevent victims by changing lives’, and effective partnership working both between the NPS and CRCs, with prisons and with local partner agencies will remain critical to the work we do for the public. 

As CEO of NOMS, I have accountability for ensuring that the whole offender management system works effectively, and maintaining a culture of collaboration and positive engagement across all parts of the Agency and with local partners is a key responsibility. 

Thank you for all you are doing to deliver the changes required – and for your dedication to the vital work we do for the public. 

Michael Spurr, NOMS Chief Executive Officer

With chaos everywhere, here's Mark Leftly in the Independent:- 

What crisis? Ploughing on with probation service reform

If you thought that teachers hated their erstwhile Education Secretary, you should talk to probation officers. Their anger at the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, makes even the most left-wing teachers look like apologists for Michael Gove.

Probation has been in chaos since the start of June, when the service was split ahead of 70 per cent of it being handed to private sector managers later this year. Bidders for what are called Community Rehabilitation Companies include France’s Sodexo and the FTSE 250 group Interserve.

Napo, the probation union, has sent a bulletin to MPs with examples of how the changes to the service’s structure have left it at “crisis point”. These include a temporary officer leaving due to the working conditions, meaning that 21 people at high risk of harm, including sex offenders, are currently unallocated.

Michael Spurr, chief executive of the National Offender Management Service at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), said it was “inaccurate to paint a picture of ‘upheaval’” and “inaccurate to suggest that the transition has resulted in excessive workloads”.  

“Inaccurate” is the MoJ’s buzzword for this issue. It was the reply I received from the press office when I asked for comment on the Napo parliamentary bulletins. The ministry’s position is, then, that probation officers have simply got it wrong when they say case files have been lost, offenders not met, and that the stress of the changes has been unbearable.

An MoJ source told me this week that when Mr Grayling is “cornered, he comes back fighting” – only the language was a little more earthy. As a result, deny, deny, deny has become the mantra.

It reminds me of the 1984 Christmas special of Yes Minister, when wannabe PM Jim Hacker echoed Otto von Bismarck: “First rule of politics: never believe anything until it’s been officially denied.”

In delivering the final insult to us as a profession, we don't even have a proper minister any more. Here's Ian Dunt writing on the politics.co,uk website:-

Chaos in prisons – but the minister goes part time

For a little while yesterday, Andrew Selous' biography on the Ministry of Justice's website mentioned the fact he was unpaid. And then, as a handful of home correspondents on Twitter noticed, it disappeared.

Since then, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed to the Howard League that he is in fact unpaid. Selous will only be paid for his role as assistant whip. So the role of managing Britain's prison estate is not just a part time one – one which was only filled as something of an afterthought. It is also the lesser of the part time roles. It's not much more substantial than a hobby.

Filling the role of prisons minister in the reshuffle was a shambles from the start. It was clear everyone felt it was a hot potato. The estate is full, cash is being haemorrhaged stuffing extra prisoners into private prisons against contract, and the total number of prison officers has fallen by 30% over the past three years. A draconian new 'right-wing' regime is imposing ever-harsher penalties on inmates, including a humiliating programme of de-personalisation and solitary confinement. Many experts privately warn they are expecting riots over the summer, especially if there are prolonged heatwaves.

Since November last year, when the draconian new rules were introduced, the number of suicides in jail has doubled compared to the same period a year ago. There were 42 suicides in the first half of this year, compared to 30 the year before. "Deaths have risen sharply in recent months," Nigel Newcomen, the prisons and probation ombudsman, said recently. "It is too early to be sure why this rise is occurring, but the personal crisis and utter despair of those involved is readily apparent, as is the state's evident inability to deliver its duty of care to some of the most vulnerable in custody."

There's significant increase in male self-harm, which has risen annually by 3,000 since the coalition came to power in 2010. Last year, there were 23,183 self-harm incidents in prison. Murder rates are also increasing, with four alleged homicides in 2013 – the highest number since 1998.

As the chief inspector of prisons in England and Wales, Nick Hardwick, told Newsnight: "If you look since the beginning of the year, our inspection findings have dropped significantly. We are seeing a lot more prisons that are not meeting acceptable standards across a range of things we look at. And I go to most of these inspections and I see with my own eyes a deterioration.

He went on to describe "people being held in deplorable conditions who are suicidal, they don't have anything to do and they don't have anyone to talk to". He added: "We need to look at what's under our noses and sort that."
We are witnessing a self-inflicted prison crisis, the result of an overuse of incarceration, cuts to funding, free-market experiments, macho-posturing and a refusal to look at the evidence of what actually reduces reoffending. But far from doing anything about it, the government appears to be losing interest. The prison minister job was an afterthought. Now it is filled - part time and unpaid - by a man with no track record on prison issues.

This is not the way you'd treat a matter of priority. There's only one logical conclusion: the prison system is in crisis and the coalition doesn't care.

Finally, to round this depressing blog post off and as the radio silence from Napo continues, I'm genuinely mystified. Why would the General Secretary waste 10 minutes of an important Chairs meeting berating both myself and this blog? Perhaps even more significantly, why didn't anyone present at least attempt to counter his bluster? 

It brings to mind an NEC meeting earlier in the year when Joanna Hughes dared to ask the General Secretary some questions and was treated to an astonishing verbal haranguing for her pains. Not a peep out of the assembled throng I'm told, although the collective embarrassment was palpable apparently.

Only after the meeting were complaints passed to the monitors and both a verbal and written apology were forthcoming. My point is to illustrate the dysfunctionality of leadership and accountability that exists at the top of Napo. I've heard the NEC referred to as 'wimps' and I continue to maintain that they are completely incapable of exercising line management of the General Secretary.

Why does this matter? Because we're supposed to be fighting a battle against TR, that's why. It's what I'm doing. It's what this blog is doing. It's what I think the vast majority of readers and contributors are doing. I just wish we could be assured that Napo at the top was as committed and capable. Oh, and just for the record, I'm not interested in talking to the General Secretary either. His line manager would be a different kettle of fish on the other hand.

I really don't care how unpopular I am down at Chivalry Road or Petty France. I will continue to speak as I find and challenge bullshit and bluster from wherever it comes and especially when it interfere's with the current fight to save an honourable profession.  

Let me spell it out. In terms of fighting TR, what we are witnessing at Napo HQ is nothing more than some 'going through the motions'. The absolute minimum necessary that tries to give the impression that 'something' is going on. I'm outraged by it and I think many others are too. Things are getting desperate and we don't want to hear bleating about the evils of social media - we want to see some bloody action! So, just to reassure readers, this blog will not be taking a holiday and will carry on the fight against TR throughout the summer. 

As ballot papers go out to Napo members, stay tuned if you share my concerns and worries for the future, not just of the probation service, but our union as well. We have the opportunity to debate the issues as openly as possible and send a clear message to all the candidates that the membership are in no mood to tolerate the status quo. Chivalry Road has got to be shaken up! 

Tagging Special

I wonder what the supervision of the under 12 month cohort will look like. A while ago now I thought I read somewhere that it won't necessarily be supervision like it is now and that recall won't work in the same way either. I wonder if everyone will be put on a tracker and that'll be it? Does anyone have any links to literature on this?

*****
I think they threw away the original fag packet that the plans were originally worked out on.

*****
Your faith in the rigour of the system is admirable, and to be commended, but I fear it is misplaced. Literature? Highly, highly unlikely. Grayling's attitude requires no evidence, he goes with his gut. Frankly we need to stop attributing honourable motives to these people. They have none. It is all balance sheets and bonuses for directors and those on the various levels of the payroll. PS-MoJ, we know you track this blog. Some of us, as you can see, see right through you ;)

******
It begs the question as to WHEN the short custodial sentences will be allocated to (mainly) CRC. If they are at sentence stage, then it will be impossible, and I stress that word, to visit and assess each and every client. What is likely to happen is that those doing less than 6-8 weeks will be given a discharge appointment to see their OM, many of whom will FTA. So then we are back to breaching/recalling them, adding costs and time to the process, costs and time to the Court process, cost and time to the recall section, cost and time to the Police who have to look for them. Now I cannot see how this is going to be effective!!

And, if this was not bad enough, we all know that when many people decide to go AWOL as there is a warrant out for them, they just stop signing on. Sooooooo where will they get any money from?

Bingo. They'll likely rob it. So crime goes up.

So we now have an increase in cost, time, effort and crime. And that's before we get to the impact on the CRC.

*****
Oh, and I've also used the Buddi tags. They are quite good at keeping an eye on your customers...right up until the point that they cut it off. And throw it away.

So now they have charges of Criminal Damage and compensation for the lost tag, which will be taken from benefits (after 3 months to set it up) leaving them short of money and then they go out to steal. If ever there was a 'thing' which personified 'Omnishambles' then TR is it.

Sit back, do the bare minimum and nothing else and just watch the whole fucking thing explode....just remember to keep your head down in case of shrapnel!!!

*****
I was involved in the IOM/PPO pilot for satellite tagging and unless there has been a massive change in the technology in 3 months you still need a house to plug the beacon into and a power supply to keep it charged. It is also massively intensive manpower-wise as it requires a lot of work to cross match offences with peoples locations if it is going to be used for investigation/enforcement purposes.

*****
Yeah, the battery (which was half the size of a house brick) needed charging each night and the offender was plugged into the mains for 6 hours as the tag remained on his leg with a power cord stretching to the plug. At least I knew where he was, maybe this is what they are alluding to :) Oh, and who will pay for the additional electricity as I know many of mine were on a pre-paid meters?

******
Most of my current caseload have been on one of these trackers at one time or another over the past 12 months (the police pay, I'm in IOM). I agree with what everyone else is saying - there just isn't the manpower to keep an eye on their whereabouts every minute of the day and that's with only a small percentage of offenders having a tracker. Also, when they disengage and want to do a runner they just cut it off. They have their advantages don't get me wrong but they are in no way a panacea and would be pointless for most people.

*****
OMG, can you imagine the breach process...and the extra business through the magistrates court where incidentally Grayling want recalls reviewed rather than via parole board, the latter being too busy because of the increase in oral hearings as a result of the recent supreme court decision, which in turn will require more attendees from probation and prison staff which in turn will leave probation office/prison staffing levels reduced when TR has already caused massive disruption to staffing cover and workflow....isn't it going swimmingly Mr Grayling?

*****
The whole operating model for TR is based on ignorance, erroneous assumptions and a lack of informed and consequential thinking. This also applies to Grayling's prison policy. It is a time-bomb that is going to go off any time. A tragedy is inevitable and prisoners are already dying. How much evidence is enough?

*****
Grayling is like Teflon, nothing sticks, and he gets away with what ever he chooses to do everyday. TR is shyte and he is an arsehole and it looks like we have to live with it. It doesn't seem to matter how many prisoners die, what riots and upheavals are going on in the CJA, he's still around and no one can seem to override the mess he is making. He has got a free hand to do what ever he likes and at what ever expense. Someone higher than him must be supporting his plans for him to carry on recklessly.

******
Quote from a CRC CEO:- 

"MoJ have told all prime bidding contractors to relax on through the gate under 12 month plans as they will specify something that will roll out in April!"


Unlike the MoJ, the Scottish Government have conducted a widespread consultation exercise on the use of tagging and handily published an extensive briefing document. Of particular interest are the following reservations identified for the new GPS system:-

In considering any possible uses we need to be mindful of what the technology limits are. For example:
GPS usually works in most domestic homes, but may not work inside all buildings,
GPS usually works while travelling in cars, however may not work on trains,
GPS drift (movement in accuracy of signal) might occur when static for long periods of time and near water,
GPS accuracy is affected by nearby tall buildings and does not work underground, however,
GSM Location Based Services (LBS) can be used to fill in where a GPS signal is unobtainable.

A perceived weakness of GPS is that it generates masses of data which can be difficult to interpret. However, that perception may in part come from those unfamiliar with electronic monitoring systems more generally as the level of data generated in essence is not all that dissimilar to the current data generated. In practice, there is the option to have secure Web Based access to the information so that service professionals could access the information themselves remotely, so for example an appropriately trained probation officer could access an immediate update on an offender's location if that would be beneficial. Alternatively, the monitoring company could "package" the information and communicate it on to the relevant parties in a way that is easily interpreted, such as a report.

The presentation of the locational information on the map allows the location of the tag to be seen over any date range and allows for multiple inclusion and exclusion zones. These zones can be of a number of different shapes (circles, rectangle, polygons etc.) any size, to different time schedules and with or without buffer zones (buffer zones are areas that are set just outside an exclusion zone to which entry generates an early alert to possible boundary encroachment). So, you could be excluded from a specific space (for example, a football stadium on a Saturday), or excluded from any building (such as a public house on a Sunday), depending on the order or licence requirement.

Exclusion zone set of irregular shape, with buffer zone

There are no absolutes about accuracy or performance of any GPS device. However we can reliably say what the likely accuracy of any one "fix" is within a particular range. (A fix is where the GPS system locates the tag in a particular place at a particular time). Depending on the strength of signals to the nearest satellites a fix might be accurate to 2-5 meters, 5-10 meters, 10-20 meters etc. "No absolutes about accuracy" does not mean the data can't be used it just means that whoever is using it needs to understand the difference between fixes that are accurate to 2 meters as compared to entries that are accurate to 20 meters. Additional assurance can be gathered from multiple fixes. So, if an offender has generated 20 fixes or data points at regular intervals on a map within 5 minutes, while any one point may be subject to drift, nineteen others all showing an offender proceeding in a certain direction gives you a great deal more certainty about the result showing his or her movements. The possibility of drift though means that GPS has some limitations as to how well it can be used to enforce a boundary. This is a major point to consider in thinking about possible uses of GPS. Any monitoring system that uses GPS therefore needs to make sure that the correct evidential weight is given to GPSinformation obtained.

For example, an individual skirting around the edge of a restriction boundary may be shown as encroaching on the boundary as a result of drift. This can be dealt with by way of buffer zones set up electronically around boundaries so that an entry into a buffer zone generates an early warning about a possible boundary encroachment. Similarly as outlined above, multiple data points would help eliminate the possibility that any one "fix" was as a result of drift. Furthermore, by using a combination of RF and GPS, you can use RF to monitor an offender curfewed to their home during the night and GPS to track their whereabouts out-with that location during the day. The RF will give you a more certain curfew to the boundary of their house.

Illustration showing how GPS data displays on a map and demonstrating that each of these dots will have a measurable level of accuracy - making correct interpretation of the data very important.

While advances to battery technology have increased in recent years, GPS can be very draining on batteries and battery life depends on the frequency with which the system provides updates on locations (every 10 seconds, every 30 seconds, every minute etc.). The battery recharges from flat in 1.5 hours or for up to 1 hour every day. In practice, the tag would need to be charged daily. The development of an "on body" charger means this now becomes an easier task to perform whilst at the home address. As a consequence, the tag does not need to be "plugged in" or removed in order to charge it. Instead the "charger" is charged and then clipped over the tag to pass on the charge while the offender can move around within their property during this process. If in the course of ordinary operation the charge is low then the tag vibrates to give a low battery alert. The tag uses assisted GPS in order to get a faster initial locational fix and it contains sufficient memory to store over 1 week of data. Battery life can be remotely checked by the monitoring company.

It is important to note that charging equipment will involve the cooperation of the tagged individual. Therefore any GPS system without incentives to charge the equipment or sanctions for not charging the equipment would seem likely to encounter a high degree of non-compliance as a result of non-charging of equipment. This is a difference from the way the current RF system operates where there is less of an active role for the offender in maintaining the operation of the monitoring equipment.

Just as a reminder, here's a thorough report prepared by Napo in 2012 detailing just how crap the present system is.