Failure of the State

To be perfectly honest this blog has been running for so long there doesn't seem to be much we haven't discussed at inordinate length, but every now and then a contribution strikes a chord and sometimes I notice a bit of a theme. Guest Blog 86 the other day is a good case in point that for me gets to the absolute nub of things and why this job has always been so special (my emphasis):- 

"The Probation Service I belonged to believed that our clients are citizens and individuals entrusted to our care. We advised assisted and befriended. We understood that the state fails some of its citizens and our role was to get onside and help the hapless navigate the clumsy state arrangements for them, sort themselves out a bit, keep them out of trouble.

We were removed from, but funded by the State: I was always inspired by that: that the State was generous enough to know that it had failed some of its citizens, and to fund an institution that would be critical as well as helpful."

This theme was touched upon in Professor Raynor's paper from yesterday which noted probation's development as part of the post war Welfare State, 'conditional suspension of punishment' and care of the individual:-

"The evidence-base of practice remained primarily psychological, and there was less time to address social circumstances and social needs or to link people into the other services from which they could benefit."

and strongly echoed by this contribution:-

"The one thing I have learned in my many years in The Service is that criminology is in many ways a huge con to deflect from the impact of social deprivation and trauma. We will never be able to deter people from crime if we continue to separate it from the impact of social deprivation and and unless we develop a holistic medical model. When you meet with a lifer and dig deep, tracking back as far as their birth you will often see a picture of severe deprivation in infancy, trauma, the care system, moving into borstal and such like. Drug and alcohol problems often associated with disadvantage and trauma, lack of positive parenting and little concept of healthy relationships or the tools needed to survive life. The festering roots of their almost inevitable crime are laid bare. We will always be limited in terms of what we can do until as a society we fully commit to ending social deprivation and focus less on capitalism as the so called solution. As soon as you get out of the office and drive through one of the numerous sink hole estates in most cities and towns the truth of this will slap you in the face. So many of my service users are very ill. Physically ill and mentally ill. We call it personality disorder but the real disorder is societal disorder that breeds poverty and trauma and permanently impacts on the life chances of children growing up in these communities through the generations. It's uncomfortable but we need to face this and at the very least acknowledge the unfairness of it all."

 I notice I wrote of my thoughts on the matter almost exactly ten years ago here:- 

The Scheme of Things

"I suspect I've always had a slightly different view of probation and how it fits into the scheme of things. Quite early on I came to view my job as someone paid by the state to try and apply sticking plaster to the consequences of failed social policies of one kind or another. I've always felt this view has more relevance than the one often heard from the political right that people just 'choose' crime. In effect they say it's just all effectively a 'lifestyle' choice. Nonsense in my view, and as a consequence I'm always alert to any evidence that might come along that could support my own particular viewpoint. It just so happens that in the last couple of days, just like buses, three have come along.

First off here's news of a Parliamentary Committee confirming just how bad Residential Care can be for young people. All my anecdotal evidence collected over many years confirmed this ages ago, which is why I was so surprised to hear Martin Narey, the former Chief Executive of Barnado's, say a couple of years ago that more kids should be taken into the care of the Local Authority. I suspect all probation officers can recite many instances of where someone's life really started getting much worse as a result of being in a Children's Home. For far too long it's been a Cinderella service, typically poorly paid, under-resourced and sadly the preserve of the most in-experienced staff.

Then there's another report into the failure by the NHS to provide proper treatment for patients with mental health problems. Again, boy don't we know that as probation officers! I wish I had a pound for every Pre-Sentence Report I've written over the years, identifying significant mental health issues that are connected with offending behaviour, require urgent medical attention, but knowing full-well that it will not be forthcoming. Sadly the Medical Profession has never felt itself bound by Court Orders which make treatment conditional. To be honest I've always felt that Forensic Services have been a Cinderella branch of the NHS not fully understood by commissioning managers. Maybe they feel it should be funded by the Justice Ministry as being somehow for the 'undeserving'. I particularly note with disgust that £400 million ear-marked for the 'talking therapies' has been otherwise appropriated in the absence of compulsion. So much for local accountability.

Finally there is the news that nearly 7 million people in this country 'are just one bill away from disaster'. Yet again all probation officers will know just how precarious many of our clients financial situations are. Many exist from week to week by means of complicated informal borrowing arrangements involving friends and family. Having absolutely no access to any savings, as a consequence disaster is a common occurrence. This situation has not been helped since a decision was taken some years back to stop probation officers having access to the wonderfully named 'Befriending Fund.' Typically this money could be dispensed pretty much at will by officers, and up to £10 without management authorisation. These mostly small sums often provided food and shelter in emergencies and I'm sure helped to avert all manner of bigger problems for society. But, as with so much discretion, it was swept away in the name of probation becoming a punishment service and we are where we now are.

I firmly believe that all these recent examples show how offending and the work of the probation service fit into the wider context of society and quite often in my view demonstrate failings in social policy. It is completely unjust to blame us for not bringing down re-offending rates when many of the causes of criminal behaviour are not being addressed and we are not being given access to the tools necessary to do our job."

I strongly suspect I've touched on the theme many times over the years, but interestingly in those days it generated just one comment from TheUrbaneGorilla:-

"Sticking plasters at Hiroshima" as I think someone once said. Here's one SPO who has regularly put his hand in his pocket in the absence of the Befriending Fund. Of course, if I was an MP, I could probably claim it back. But I'm not."

I'm pretty sure another reader used this expression recently, but I can't seem to find it now, nor indeed the origin of it. Hopefully this situation might be rectified shortly.

So, is it any wonder why we're in the mess we are and tensions continue to run high? I remember being shocked reading many of the contributions to the secret Facebook group a couple of years ago with significant numbers stating an intention to vote Tory - a party wedded to making life even more difficult for our client group. How is it possible practitioners are unable to join the dots up? But of course probation are all civil servants now and part of the very state that continues to fail people.