Time For Another Break

Regular readers will recall that I went off to Berlin for a week last year and you all had to be trusted not to be too beastly to each other. Well, as this comment ably demonstrates, you can't please all the people, all of the time:-

Bored now.
Your horse didn't win the race.
GET OVER IT

Not the most erudite of contributions admittedly, but as it happens perfectly timed because I'm off again for at least 10 days. I will have internet access throughout, but feel somewhat under a self-denying ordinance to try and knock on the head the temptation to keep dipping in. Obviously, if something dramatic happens that might relieve the boredom felt by our disgrunted reader, rest assured I'll be on the case.

Before I sign off, I have another appeal for information as follows:-

In relation to the blog entitled 'Assessment Special' last November and concerning SARN, if any readers have direct involvement in helping develop treatment plans based on the SARN, and are not prevented from openly discussing your experiences, please contact Kush on tchr@trentchambers.co.uk

So, look after each other, keep the info coming in and think about the offer of writing a guest blog.

Election Reflections 3

Before we inevitably move on from analysis of the election last week, the more I learn and try to understand what happened, the more convinced I become that we must look afresh at our 'first past the post' electoral system. In this vein, I hope legendary London blogger diamond geezer does not mind me reproducing his take on things from a post dated 11th May:-

My most-shared tweet of the last week, by some distance, is this one.



It's an eye-catching statistic, but how could it be true? Well, I'm obliged to Ian for compiling a list of the 20 most marginal seats in the country, from which we need to consider the closest seven that are Tory-held.

Gower maj 27
Derby North maj 41
Croydon Central maj 165
Vale of Clwyd maj 237
Bury North maj 378
Morley & Outwood maj 422
Plymouth Sutton & Devonport maj 523

Had these majorities swung to Labour instead then the Conservatives would have had only 324 seats out of 650, which is technically a minority. And for that to happen, what's needed is for half of those forming the majority to switch from Conservative to Labour. For example, the majority of 27 in Gower would have been wiped out if just 14 people who voted blue had voted red instead. Not voting one way brings the majority down to 13, and then voting the other way creates a Labour majority of 1.

Gower 14 switchers
Derby North 21 switchers
Croydon Central 83 switchers
Vale of Clwyd 119 switchers
Bury North 190 switchers
Morley & Outwood 212 switchers
Plymouth Sutton & Devonport 262 switchers

Adding these seven figures gives a total of 901. OK, so that's one out from my rounded figure, but you get the idea. 901 voters choosing to back Miliband rather than Cameron would have cut Tory support sufficiently to create a minority Conservative government. And yes, that's only technically, because Sinn Féin never turn up at Westminster so the winning post is effectively 323, and yes, even with 320-ish MPs the Conservatives could have ruled from a position of effective control.

But the fact remains that there are fewer than 1000 people out there on whose choice the outcome of this election hinged. If you changed your mind in Gower, Croydon Central or Bury North, one of those people could be you. Thank goodness nobody knew who you were before the polls opened, otherwise you'd never have been left alone. Electoral reform, anyone? Or does this random selection of a handful of VIP citizens actually work rather well?

******

I thought this comment on the diamond geezer post worth bearing in mind as well:-

 .... and who can forget the 2000 US presidential election, won by Bush Jr on a margin of five electoral college votes after a recount to determine how Florida should cast its block vote of 25. The winning margin in Florida was 537, or less than 0.01% of the total votes cast in that state. That's 269 Floridians who decided the outcome.

The infamous "hanging chads" and other uncertainties gave the margin of error as anything up to 700 more votes for Al Gore.

A Modern Tale

Here's a tale of modern-day Britain and with a brand new Tory government intent on returning to 'One Nation' politics, the triteness of David Cameron's words couldn't be better illustrated in my view. From the Daily Mirror:-

'How are they expected to live?' Judge slams theft charge for desperate dad who stole out-of-date food from Tesco

Paul Barker, 39, and Kerry Barker, 29, were spotted on CCTV sifting through groceries at the back of a store which were destined for the bin. The couple are down on their luck and say they have virtually no money to look after themselves or their kids. But they found themselves arrested and taken to court after police were called to the shop in Sunderland in January.

Mr Barker told officers the pair were hungry and they knew there would be unwanted food available. But they were both charged with theft and Paul admitted the offence at Sunderland Magistrates Court. Kerry is yet to enter a plea and will appear before magistrates later this month.

District Judge Roger Elsey handed Mr Barker a conditional discharge and refused to impose any financial penalty. He asked the court: "How are they expected to live? It seems to me the appropriate punishment for taking food which is of no value is an absolute discharge. "I clearly can't make any financial order."

Prosecutor, Jeanette Smith, said the pair were seen in the rear compound of the Hetton Road Tesco Express store, Sunderland, removing a pallet of food. She explained that although the items were to be thrown out, they were in a secure compound, adding that Tesco's policy is not to give away discarded food.

Angus Westgarth, defending, said that when the offence occurred the couple had not been given benefits and had no way to fund food. He said: "At the time, they hadn't had benefits or any money since December. It just seems that the state has failed them. They were told they would not get any benefits for a year from December. He is having to duck and dive to feed himself. 

"Without a crystal ball I can see that this will continue to happen. He is trying to survive however he can. I think they call this way of living 'freeganism'. They take waste food and consume it. They are managing to live as, I think, Social Services are paying some money for housing. Their children are living with grandparents because of the situation."

It's interesting that the solicitor quoted 'freeganism' which, according to our old friend Wikipedia, is a political movement spawned in West Coast America, whereas I suspect the British variety is rather more about a desperate act borne of being bloody hungry:-

Freeganism is the practice of reclaiming and eating food that has been discarded. Freegans and freeganism are often seen as part of a wider anti-consumerist ideology, and freegans often employ a range of alternative living strategies based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources.

The word "freegan" is a coinage derived from "free" and "vegan". Freeganism started in the mid-1990s, out of the antiglobalization and environmentalist movements. The movement also has elements of Diggers, an anarchist street theater group based in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco in the 1960s, that gave away rescued food.

Election Reflections 2

Before we move on to other things, here's three bits of information I've gleaned from Twitter that proves conclusively to me that we must change our electoral system. If Labour has any sense, they'd do well to nail their colours to this mast and take a leaf out of 38 Degrees book, amongst others. 

This shows how many votes you needed to get a seat in Parliament last Thursday:-  



The election result was decided by just these constituencies where there was a change in party:-  



Finally, according to the Electoral Reform Society, this would be how the seats would stack up under a Proportional Representation system:-

CON 244 LAB 201 UKIP 83 LD 52 SNP 31 Greens 25 DUP 3 PC 3 SF 3 UUP 2 SDLP 2 Alliance 1

Bleak Futures Week 19

We had our updated briefing last week. Basically it was admitted it's a complete mess. No estates sourced yet, but CRC are moving end September. No idea where people will be working whether that be the hub or out in the community. No idea who will deliver services etc. We are now into the first week of May and still NO ONE knows the plan.....

*****
The facts are, though, that the Prison Service has moved a lot of prisoners to be in resettlement prisons. Almost all of the designated resettlement prisons have 85%+ prisoners from the home CRC and most CRCs have very small numbers of prisoners with 12 weeks or less to serve who are not in resettlement prisons.

*****
Hmmm this may be the case in the male estate but in the female estate I doubt it very much as women are often held far from home due to the fact there are few female prisons and in some areas none at all so it is highly unlikely that the women will be sent to resettlement prisons in their home areas because there is unlikely to be one. Now if successive governments had actually implemented the recommendations of the Corston report this would have been solved a long time ago.

*****
I'm a dinosaur and an old git and from what I see it is this exclusive group of officers who are holding things together by just carrying on with things the way they work not the way lickspittle new managers have been told to do things. This is the group that can see through the bullshit and who won't be bullied. From what I see there are quite a lot of 'Sodexo positives' out there who hope that by pushing their masters line they will be spared the coming cull and offered a place at the top table. Eyes open please....they're just using you to do the dirty on your staff before they come for you. Being an old git means that you have seen this before. Who was it that said if you fail to learn from history you're destined to repeat it? Still not too late to tell it like it is.....

*****
Bloody nightmare week, horrendous IT problems, 6 days no email, had to get admin to do my safeguarding referrals as practitioner colleagues too stressed trying to recover work for court deadlines. Colleague also had the dreaded call case allocation not done (it was) ok then it's blank (it wasn't)...just bizarre. Then told by IT that the upgrade was done last weekend with no-one realising it was not compatible with parts of system (citrix and lotus notes) Just who are these people designing these systems? Or more to the point, just who is commissioning such not fit for purpose crap?

*****
In some ways from the outside looking in point of view, this is absolutely hilarious. In one way because it was so predictable.

I just wonder how long it will be before some enterprising lag decides to sue the MoJ and the relevant CRC for failing to provide the TTG services promised from May 1, 2015 if they are released with only the £46 and no support. After all, if it is contracted that that is when TTG was due to start and people don't get the promised support, then breach of contract ensues.

*****
Can you name one prison where there should have been a TTG service in place on Friday but there was not? I know that Purple Futures, Sodexo and Working Links all reported the service in place in all of their prisons on 1 May. So in which ones has it not happened?

*****
They'll all be claiming payments for TTG services from first of May- whether its operational or not. If they don't claim payment for TTG services from that date, then they risk being accused of contractual failures.

*****
Although one would like to assume that MoJ contract managers, and prison governors, would notice if a service didn't really exist.

*****
They lie. End of. As long as the facade is maintained the charade will continue. MoJ contract managers collude because TR failure is their failure. The only way forward is for the bidders to wake up to the enormity of the task and the MASSIVE potential for reputational damage.

*****
We used to refer to Skills4work and generally clients would report back that they had been offered courses, or voluntary work! However, once on their books they would keep an eye on case and if the client, through their own ingenuity, found work, S4W would call us and ask if client could produce a payslip or other evidence of work, so they could take credit for placing the client in work! I always refused, as it's lying, fraudulently claiming credit for another's endeavour! Shameful!

*****
No, they pretend they have provided the service to get paid that way they focus on the easy hits to get paid with minimal effort. Just like Shelter used to claim their payment for finding accommodation for prisoners by providing one nights B and B (often in v questionable accommodation) and then they were homeless on night 2 but it didn't matter 'cos they could claim the payment.

*****
After almost 25 years I'm serving (as it now seems like a sentence) the last month as a probation officer. I still remember the pride I felt when I got my first job but now feel only sadness when I think of leaving. I don't have another job to go to but simply can't face any more. What really pisses me off are those in management (many I remember coming in as new TPOs) who pretend nothing is wrong or they are teething problems. At first I believed them (I knew them to be honourable people or so I thought) but what is happening now & is planned for the future by our CRC bosses is just wrong on all fronts!

*****
This is ironic but since the privatisation I've never had so many re-offend on my caseload. I've had a CO offend and get 6mths custody, I've just done my first recall in 12 months and I've 3 re-offended. Absolutely nothing I could've done about any of it.

*****
PbR pilots.....disappointing results. Not sure why anyone who works with our client group finds this a surprise. We told them time and time again yet Mr Grayling, Messrs Spur, Allars et Al all knew better. Please keep your fingers crossed that Mr Grayling is out of a job on Friday..

*****
Glad I'm not running the Sodexo CRC Contracts! I'd be very concerned and worried if I was in that particular hot-seat at this moment. It doesn't even look as if they did good thorough due diligence. Oh, yes, nearly forgot, they've also pissed off most, if not all, of their CRC workforce.

*****
Interesting development. As Sodexo's CRCs get rid of 70% of their Band 5 SPOs, Seetec's Kent, Surrey and Sussex CRC is recruiting SPOs at Band 6.

*****
My friend spends far too much time in pubs in London and he has big ears and he let slip that he's heard that Sodexo is looking to do 'deals' with the likes of those winning bidders who won conurbations and not huge great green grassed shires where their operating model falls apart. He says that they never wanted shire counties and now see them as a bloody great albatross round their corporate necks.

Man in the pub says that all the 'that there London talk' is about how they can ditch the big counties...quick.....watch some underhand deals being done whilst the rest of the country watches the election and stand by for announcements about 'wonderful new innovative partnerships'. You thought they'd been quiet. Not a bit of it....a heady dose of realism has hurt them hard with lots of talk about duplicitous government....surely not..

*****
Did you see the other day that unpaid work bods are being taxied to projects because of the van situation? I can't be exactly certain but I'm quite confident it would've involved a 40mile round trip. Not cheap but better than sending them home and getting the potential bad publicity.

*****
I voted but really didn't know who to vote for, I hope the party that gets in will have an effect where I don't have to watch a grown man crying in probation as he hadn't eaten anything for a week, had a disability and had been sanctioned because he couldn't go to an interview due to his mobility scooter having a flat and not having the money to repair it in time. It really upset me today and all we could offer was a food voucher... makes me so sad.

*****
I was a PO from 2007 - 2015. I didn't leave 'because' of TR but I found a job elsewhere and was feeling tired of how my PO life had become. I feel saddened by the TR mess. So I feel a special happiness this morning that Simon Hughes especially lost his seat and that the LD party in general have been trashed.

*****
I work in the Court team as a PSO. Over the past two - three months I've seen both a rise in people appearing for Shop Theft (with mitigation being Benefits Sanctions) and the Court mainly sentencing to Conditional Discharges. I think many of the Bench in my area are aware of some of the issue which are now occurring under the Tories and I was wondering if this has been replicated across the country? I fear that with the planned welfare cuts we are going to see a lot more of these cases.

*****
We had someone in last week on shop theft, he was very miffed that he wasn't put in prison, he was very vocal about why he had done it. Some steal to feed a habit, others are stealing to feed themselves, mostly due to being sanctioned.

*****
I work in Manchester Mags Court. The number of people who are appearing before the bench for shoplifting must have doubled compared with previous years. People are committing offences simply because of being sanctioned and have no other means so are going out offending.

******


We have a new Justice Secretary and whilst not quite going as far as the Howard League in congratulating Michael Gove on his new appointment, this blog wishes him the best of luck in sorting out the comprehensive mess left behind by his psychopathic predecessor. This from the Guardian:-

Michael Gove is to be returned to a major government department as justice secretary in the wake of the Conservative general election victory.

In a second round of senior appointments since the election, the prime minister is reshuffling Gove, who has been his chief whip in charge of party discipline since July last year, to the Ministry of Justice, taking charge of prisons, sentencing and criminal justice.

Gove was removed as education secretary last year to head the whips’ office, reportedly at the behest of the party’s general election strategist Lynton Crosby, who feared that the former journalist’s “toxic image” could be a vote loser. At the time Gove’s wife, the journalist Sarah Vine, made her feelings clear about the cabinet minister’s move out of the limelight by tweeting a link to a Daily Mailarticle that the newspaper headlined “A shabby day’s work which Cameron will live to regret”.

Downing Street sources have always insisted that the move was made merely to bring a key operator into the centre of the election campaign at a crucial time.

Gove’s return to a government department appears to confirm the prime minister’s trust in him, although it will inevitably dismay many outside of the Conservative party who were enraged by his trenchant views and combative style during his time at the Department for Education.

Gove is seen as a genuine radical unafraid of ruffling feathers by many within the Conservative fold, some of whom will be disappointed that he is not returning to the education department.

Of Young Pups and Grumpy Old Has-Beens

I think there's a gulf between those who have grown up (professionally speaking) in recent times, and those who have longer memories & experiences. Neither is right or wrong, but times and practice are significantly different. My DipSW Learning/training experience bears no relation to the current TPO experience. 

My time as an assessor didn't have any resonance with my practice teacher's efforts to knock me into shape. It shouldn't be a case of going against grain, it is just different for so many reasons. Grumpy old gits sometimes find it hard to be eclipsed by young pups, whilst fresh blood can be feisty and enthusiastic and blind to the privileges that experience brings.

*****

If there's another "dinosaur/old git" comment in our shared building today I won't be needing my redundancy, but I will need a PSR after I've given one of the smug NPS newly qualified POs a good slap. NPS manager isn't interested in addressing it. CRC manager says it's not his staff member so he can't do anything about it. Looks like it'll have to be 2 falls and a submission a la Mick McManus, or a thick ear a la Frank Bruno. I haven't a fucking clue what happened to professional standards in the probation service. Where did they go?

*****
I am a new NPS Trainee and looking at this thread and the negative comments about trainees is quite offensive to be honest. I am not a 'young pup' and since I have started it has been assumed that I am fresh out of uni and have zero life experience possibly because I look younger. I have been very respectful to colleagues about the changes etc., but consistently met with rude comments.

There is an us and them attitude prevalent and I find it quite vile coming from an organisation of people trained not to be judgemental. If this is what we are supposed to aspire to, then of course we are going to come across as smug. We have already tolerated a huge amount of disorganisation in our recruitment. Managers are reluctant to fulfil their basic obligations and we are grilled publicly when we take the initiative. I think it would be useful if people on here are mindful of the fact that we are all human.

*****
Come on, Sodexo. Hurry up & get Chris in a headlock, sort out how you're going to honour the redundancy agreements enshrined in the CRC contracts, get the slicing & dicing over & done with, get shot of them owld moaning minnies & let the dog see the rabbit. The quicker you act the quicker the CRC can thrive. You've now got the government you need to help you make this profitable. You've got the opportunity to heave the nay-sayers overboard at relatively modest cost.

The longer you let them hang around the greater risk they might cost you more. Make the incision, clean the wound; physician heal thyself. It's time for a new paradigm in managing social dysfunction. Plenty of us want to work in CRCs. Let those that don't go; let them join the NPS or social services or Tesco. I want to be surrounded by enthusiasm & energy & like-minded colleagues, not miserable sods who whinge about "the good old days"; "it was never like that in my day"; "we wouldn't do that". So come on! Lets make those changes and get this CRC show moving!!!

*****
You are clearly a company man (or woman). I am thrilled for you. The problem is that there are huge holes in the operating models. We are duty bound to draw attention to them. To wait until they reveal themselves is negligent.

*****
No 'operating model' has ever been without flaws. Radical non-intervention, nothing works, what works, prison works, we are an enforcement agency, we are the world, Eithne's merry dance, dances with wolves, noms, nimbys, desistance, dyspepsia, etc etc.

Targets for Change is maybe the only piece of practice that has proved its worth across the 20th & 21st centuries. That was castigated when launched, but it has proved effective & durable.

So, duty bound, let Sodexo & the CRCs worry about the holes in their models. Either work with the changes or retire to your allotment. Neither you nor any of the whiney "it's not right" brigade have made any significant lasting difference to the wider population of those who commit offences. You may have been compassionate, empathic, enabling & supportive, but not a lot has changed in reality.

So let the CRCs try to hit their targets. The battle is lost, the CRCs are in situ. If they reduce reoffending by any amount, hurray. If they don't, then you can shout "yah boo sucks" from your greenhouse. I personally believe not a lot will change, just that the measuring stick will be re-calibrated to suit a new scale. No, I'm not a corporate bunny. It's simply hard enough dealing with clients who are low and defensive and intractable every day, I don't want to have to deal with miserable, reluctant colleagues as well.

*****
The problem with the argument above is the assumption that any of the magic bullets listed was ever anything more than one more tool. Targets for Change has remained because it is not one tool but a wide selection of tools. That is not the point. The issue is the removal of the other thing that has stood the test of time: the offender/practitioner relationship. The call centre approach will render all other interventions meaningless.

I will be going when the time is right. Not because I do not believe in the value of Probation but because I do not believe that the proposed models are anything more than a pretence. I am too young for an allotment but I will be looking for something that has some integrity. It will not be a Sodexo CRC, of that I am sure.

*****
One is never too young for allotment. And you are right in what you say that kiosks or telesales are not helpful. I'm just weary of grumpy old has-beens making my working day more difficult than it needs to be.

*****
I work positively & enthusiastically & without prejudice with all of my caseload; and I understand the CRC is politically (and probably practically) toxic, but I haven't the energy, time or patience to work 100% with my caseload and then be subjected to the incessant whining & moaning & time-wasting of colleagues who, because I'm stressed to fuck & non-stop busy, are not helping me by loading me up with their stress.

I used the phrase "Grumpy old has-beens" because most (not all) are in the twilight of their professional careers, are evidently distressed by the decimation of probation, but are still yowling on day after day some 2 years down the line. I don't disagree with their complaint; I don't dislike them; I just wish they'd shut the fuck up, behave like professionals they tell everyone they are, & do some office duty!!

*****
No wonder people around you are complaining, it probably relates in large part to having to work next to the likes of you, ignorant, naive and evidently of the self (deluded ) opinion that you are simply the best. How dare you. Many of those people you patronise and don't dislike, how very generous of you, would likely have been those that invented half of what you do and think you know.

*****
I'm taken a bit aback by some of today's reactions. I've read through this thread & I see it differently in that I see someone saying that the damage is done, accepting CRCs are here, saying they want to work but find the office environment stressful. And yet not one response has recognised that. Everyone seems hellbent on hurling abuse. We don't know the poster's gender, age or qualification/s - yet a number of replies are very specific in their abuse. Perhaps they know the poster?

I'm a 50+ year old male PO. I didn't feel attacked by the post. I felt sad that someone finds their workplace and colleagues contribute so significantly to their feelings of stress, and thought how poor the local management must be. And I also had to pause and think how often I grumble to new colleagues about TR and reminisce about the golden olden days. Perhaps the post is complaining about me?

Election Reflections

What another amazing election! Scotland virtually declaring UDI and in the process proving the claim that voting SNP would ensure we'd get another Conservative government. But at least Nicola Sturgeon's scope for causing mischief at Westminster has been reduced somewhat by the emerging national picture.

It's not just Nick Clegg who is likely to fall on his sword, but Ed Miliband as well with the news that the loathesome Ed Balls has been ousted by just 422 votes, thus serving to confirm how bad things have been for Labour. It looks like it was the UKIP vote that enabled the Tory to oust him and his wife Yvette Cooper could well become the next leader, yet another Labour politician I simply can't abide.  

It does make you wonder about many of your fellow citizens when after five years of pernicious 'nasty party' policies, David Cameron looks almost certain to return, but this time with a majority, albeit a very slim one. It will be fun though seeing how he deals with his troublesome back-benchers. It also makes you wonder if Ed's brother might not have been a better bet after all?

Thank goodness we've seen the back of TR apologist Simon Hughes and Nick Clegg has certainly been suitably humiliated. The Liberal Democrats screwed up big time, setting back the cause of Electoral Reform when they had the chance, actively promoting the destruction of a successful public service and becoming utterly seduced by the trappings of power and as a result they paid the price. 

It's great to see the dreadful George Galloway get his marching orders from Bradford, but in contrast really pleasing to see Caroline Lucas holding on to Brighton. The Greens did well, as did UKIP, but that just serves to highlight how the 'first past the post' system must go as it effectively disenfranchises so many people. UKIP getting 3.5 million votes, and the Greens 1 million but only 1 MP each, is not democracy in my book. 

It looks like Nigel Farage is unlikely to get a seat in Westminster and therefore if he's true to his word he will be standing down from leading UKIP and despite Boris Johnson winning comfortably, his aim of becoming the next Tory leader will be on hold for some time. It will be fun seeing him laying down in front of the bulldozers with his Labour opponent when a third runway at Heathrow becomes government policy!        

An Election Message

Well, the day has finally arrived and those of us without a postal vote must brave the weather and do our duty in some draughty community hall or other.

I suppose it's partly to do with my age, but I would never countenance not voting, particularly given the long struggle it took to gain enfranchisement, so it's good to see even Russell Brand has changed his view on this, albeit a bit late in the day for those who failed to register in time. 

Despite what the politicians might say, including David Cameron, every vote doesn't count because many people live in very safe seats where legend has it even pigs with rosettes could get elected and the votes are weighed, not counted. But I firmly believe it's still our civic responsibility to turn out, because it's right.   

Our 'first past the post' system is crap and will never deliver a result remotely close to the true wishes of the people, but I think we must still vote in order to ensure our politicians never get the idea that we're apathetic about what goes on in our name. Actually I think many of us are angry about politicians and politics, but feel completely unable to influence things. 

For over 30 years I've acted as a Polling Station Presiding Officer and routinely have to try and answer complaints from voters who typically say, 'No one's been round' or 'I've had no leaflets' as if it's my fault. I bite my tongue of course and politely say it's up to the candidates, but I really want to say 'it's a safe seat and they don't give a toss'. 

Sadly, only Nigel Farage has consistently highlighted the need to ditch this long-outmoded electoral system that only ever suited a two-party state and disenfranchises the majority. Lets hope we can put the case for change once more, only this time get the Liberal Democrats to support a fair and understandable alternative.  

Regular readers will know that I was a keen advocate of spoiling the ballot paper during the ridiculous charade of electing Police and Crime Commissioners. This tactic would be much preferable in my view if citizens really can't bring themselves to endorse any of the current crop of politicians, or parties.  

It will come as no great surprise that this blog will not be endorsing the Tories, or more accurately the 'nasty party' and in my view the Liberal Democrats must be punished for having actively supported the TR omnishambles and demise of an honourable public service and profession. 

As I live in England, certain electoral options are not open to me and as much as I would welcome electoral reform and a referendum on membership of the EU, I really can't bring myself to support UKIP. I always vote Green in European elections, safe in the knowledge that every vote does count under Proportional Representation, but a general election is different and I really do want to ensure I do my bit to keep a Tory out. Hence I will be joining the many hundreds of thousands of voters forced into voting tactically because of our crap voting system. 

Lets hope and pray we will soon be delivered of a more enlightened and compassionate government than the one we've had to endure over this past five long years. I'll sign off with two messages that particularly resonate with me:-   

More Bad News for CRC Owners!

We have today's blog by Russell Webster to thank for highlighting the latest dismal results from the 'trail-blazing' prison PbR pilots. You will recall that Chris Grayling hailed these to be massivly successful, even before the results were in, and used this dodgy 'evidence' to sell the whole TR omnishambles. Lets hope his political epitaph will be written in just over 24 hours time. 

Disappointing outcomes for Doncaster and Peterbrough prison PbR pilots  

Failure to meet payment by results targets
The latest MoJ reoffending stats (published on 30 April 2015) found that overall reoffending rates are pretty constant with the overall one year reoffending rate for all adult and juvenile offenders who were cautioned, convicted or released from custody between July 2012 and June 2013 identical to the previous year at 26.2%.

[Reoffending results always lag at least 21 months behind the period they cover to allow one year for any reoffending, an additional six months for the system to process any re-offences and then about 3-4 months for the data to be analysed and the report produced.]

However, the real interest in the set of figures can be found in Annex A of the report which presents the latest reconviction figures for the reoffending payment by results pilots from Peterborough and Doncaster prisons. These pilots have been high profile since their inception mainly because the Justice Secretary Chris Grayling talked them up constantly as an example of the changes he wanted to achieve through his radical overhaul/privatisation of the probation service, known as Transforming Rehabilitation.

The last set of results, published on 7 August 2014, found mixed results with both prisons exceeding their targets, but Doncaster only doing so by a small margin. This current set of results are much more disappointing.

---oo00oo---

Conclusion
These are very disappointing results for the MoJ. Normally, there would be an expectation of a high level of performance from pilots with such public exposure where the partners had chosen to participate and, indeed, had championed and driven the initiative from the outset.

It is my experience from being involved in evaluating dozens of criminal justice pilot schemes that the main challenge is typically how to replicate this initial success in any national rollout.

Therefore, it is an extremely worrying sign for the new private providers of probation whose revenue will be, to an increasing extent, dependent on reducing reoffending rates, that these high-profile pilots are performing so poorly.

Some early comments on this blog:-

What a surprise - PbR projects at Peterborough and Doncaster are failing. In fact Doncaster re-offending rates are higher than the national rate. RW comments how this is terrible news for the new TR providers as things usually slip further when such pilots are rolled out nationally. Oh dear. So when CHris Grayling asks what we should do with stubbornly high re-offending rates, his answer is to increase them.

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For Purple Features and alike this is very bad news, cos their ratios of payment through results goes up as the contracts goes on. They have taken on something they didn't understand the complexity of and to make things worse, the breaking up of the Service has led to extra layers of complexity and fragmentation. In short, they are going to lose money hand over fist, and the public will be less protected.

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I think it may even be worse then what meets the eye at first glance. The offenders involved would have been carefully selected to give the best chance of achieving the statistical data required to call the pilots a success. The privateers who won the contracts for TR won't have a carefully selected cohort to work with.

Probation in the News

As we have often complained bitterly, the plight of the Probation Service hardly ever gets any airtime or decent press coverage and ignorance of our situation is pretty universal. 

So, with only 72 hours to go before the polls open, it's particularly good to hear a powerful piece in the Independent get a mention on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme 'what the papers say' slot. It's also worth adding that it's largely your testimony on this blog that is helping keep at least one national newspaper's interest going - so keep it up guys.    

Probation service 'staffing crisis' leaves public at risk from violent criminals

A “staffing crisis” in the probation service due to cuts and reforms is leaving the public at danger from violent criminals – with women who have suffered from domestic violence among the most vulnerable, unions and campaigners have warned.

At least 1,200 staff will have left the probation service by the end of this year and the skills shortage means lower-grade employees are being asked to pick up the slack, taking on complex cases involving sexual and domestic violence. Rules to make sure only the most-experienced officers work on domestic-abuse cases are being disregarded as the service fights to stay on top of rising workloads. The losses are a result of planned redundancies and hundreds of staff retiring or changing careers due to disillusionment.

Frances Cook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the rapid loss of experience could have a devastating impact on women. “There are only 9,000 probation officers to start with, and I think domestic violence is a particular worry. If somebody has already killed someone you know you need to treat them very carefully, but we know that domestic violence can escalate very quickly. Two women a week are killed by their partners.”

Around 500 probation officers have chosen to take early retirement or leave the service since the Government split it into two, outsourcing the least-complex work to privately run groups known as community rehabilitation companies (CRCs). Ministry of Justice figures confirm that more than 200 had already departed by late 2014.

An additional 700 redundancies have been announced by Sodexo – one of the largest private companies to win a contract to manage offenders, and which is now operating six of the 21 CRCs across England and Wales. Many of the employees transferred from the public sector to private firms as part of the reforms are also considering leaving.

“We have already got a staffing crisis. With the redundancies as well there are significant staff shortages around the country,” said Tania Bassett, head of press, parliament and campaigns at the probation officers’ union, Napo.

Napo reports 375 probation vacancies in London which are being covered by agency workers, but agencies are struggling to find sufficiently experienced staff. New staff being recruited into probation will not be fully trained for at least another 15 months. To keep on top of the workload, jobs that should be carried out by highly experienced officers – those holding a degree and earning up to £37,000 a year – are being passed on to “probation service officers”, an entry-level job which pays as little as £20,000.

Ms Bassett said the situation was not only dangerous for the public but damaging for staff too. “If you haven’t got the training to work with sex offenders it can have a very emotional impact on individuals.”

One senior probation officer, who did not wish to be named, said: “Collectively the service is having a nervous breakdown and my guess is at least 80 per cent of staff are just looking to get out by any means. The damage is done; there’s worse to come and there’s absolutely nothing that can stop it. I’m pessimistic about the future and it will take a couple of serious murders, prison riots or similar for politicians and the public to take the slightest notice.”

Under the new probation system, low-grade cases of domestic abuse fall under the remit of the CRCs. Plans for private companies to computerise much of the job, requiring offenders to log attendance on a screen rather than meeting an officer face to face, mean years of experience in how to help prevent an escalation of violence may be lost.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said she was “very concerned about the implication for the safety of women and children” due to the loss of experience. “Specialist knowledge is of the utmost importance when it comes to working safely with perpetrators and survivors of domestic violence,” she said.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said the number of people working in the National Probation Service – the part of the service that remains in the public sector – was rising.

“Staffing levels in the National Probation Service are closely monitored to ensure public safety. We are on track to have 1,000 officers in training by the middle of this year. The community rehabilitation companies allocate staff as appropriate to ensure medium and low-risk offenders are safely managed.”

Yvonne Patterson, 49, is a probation officer in Scarborough. She has been employed in the sector for 13 years and now works within the National Probation Service.

“There have been a number of people who have left in my area of work. There have been big numbers in other roles. Some staff have chosen to leave, some have taken early retirement when they would have worked on longer but they said, ‘we have had enough’. They don’t want to be part of it. A number at chief officer grade have said they won’t play any part in what the Government’s chosen to do.

Some were really, really good people who have been there for 25 or 30 years. They chose to leave because they could see what it’s turned into. Since the split happened, it’s a very different environment to work in. People that ended up in the community rehabilitation company side were made to feel like they weren’t good enough. They felt very under-valued. It’s not a nice place to be anymore. I used to like going to work, but if something else was to come along I would certainly seriously consider it.”