Today's topic is supposed to be about the newly updated and published Probation Workforce Strategy document, but I'm not sure I have either the energy or motivation. It's quite a short document by most standards, but I just can't get past the over-whelming feeling of FUWA and increasingly FUWI: Fed Up With Acronyms and Fed Up With Initialisation.
I keep getting this nagging thought that probation is DUIOA: Disappearing Up It's Own Arse as a result of an awful lot of people sat around with the sole objective of DEIaSOL: Distilling Everything Into a Set Of Letters. This methodology just doesn't sit comfortably with probation ethos in my view, cementing as it does that ever-so-tidy bureaucratic command and control ethos so endemic in HMPPS.
I'm sure it started out with the Best Of Intentions (ok that's enough letters Ed) but I have to say, considered in the context of what's been happening in the probation world of late and consistently catalogued on this blog, the warm words seem to bare scant resemblance to the reality. For example, from the opening paragraph:-
The Probation Workforce Programme has taken the opportunity to review our Probation Workforce Strategy, reflecting on the considerable progress that has been made in achieving our commitments, including the recruitment of 2525 trainee Probation Officers from 2020 to 2022.
But as Russell Webster helpfully points out in his analysis piece on the document:-
Since the strategy was first published, the government’s Transforming Rehabilitation privatisation project has been reversed and the Probation Service has been re-unified. This move (which was completed in June 2021) was thought to herald the end to under-staffing. Unfortunately, the problems have only got worse over the last year and a half. While HMPPS has succeeded in recruiting just over 2,500 new trainee probation officers between 2020-2022, it has been haemorrhaging experienced staff with 2,171 staff leaving the probation service in the last year alone (the latest available figures are for the year to 30 September 2022). 43% of those leaving had been in post for five years or longer.
We know significant numbers of new recruits drop out of training or leave shortly after qualifying; the staff survey results indicate widespread anger and low morale; there are increased allegations of bullying and sickness levels are high. Systemic and structural failings are not being addressed honestly in SFO's with frontline staff being thrown under the bus instead. We are now beginning to see a willingness to whistleblow regarding managerial pressure being applied in terms of risk management for resourcing reasons. There are more examples of shenanigans bound to emerge, such as doctored records with staff having to organise their own copies for their own protection.
Readers must make up their own mind as to the voracity of this document and whether it truly represents anything other than warm words, sanctioned by HMPPS top brass in order to convince people SIH Something Is Happening or is it just GTTM Going Through The Motions.
Have we reached the point yet where the civil servants charged with sorting out the staffing issues and rearranging the deckchairs have been in post longer than any of the frontline staff?
ReplyDeleteIf probation training were a cake it wouldn’t be a good recipe.
ReplyDelete1. Take 2500 new trainee probation officers.
2. Add to toxic probation offices filled with probation officers, probation managers and probation administrators who are overworked, underpaid and lacking experience.
3. Mix in generous amounts of stressed and unhappy probation practitioners to learn from and apply large caseloads of offenders.
4. Add a dash of JFDI, bullying and other mixed messages from management and incompetent training teams. Trade union, support networks and Probation Institute are optional but won’t add flavour or texture.
5. Bake in Probation PDU for 15-21 months with inadequate training, high sickness rates, NPS - CRC staff cliques and a threatening SFO blame culture.
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle with qualification certificate, stupid performance briefings and meaningless congratulations from Regional Probation Directors, Heads of Operation and Amy Rees.
Tip: Don’t be concerned if cake is sunken in middle, undercooked or burned to a crisp.
Anon 09:50 Oh brilliant!
DeleteHowever the recruitment drive continues and everything is fantasamatosie according to the experienced staff being rolled out for promotion purposes.
Deletehttps://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23295539.alexandras-interest-criminology-became-career-parole-service/
ALEXANDRA Naughton had an interest in criminology, and the reasons people break the law, long before she decided to become a probation officer.
DeleteHer curiosity and work for a criminal justice charity led her into the profession five years ago, and she has not regretted her decision.
Alexandra spoke as part of a recruitment drive by HM Prison and Probation Service in south Essex, underlining the importance of her role and others like it.
The 31-year-old enjoys being able to see a change in people as they start to rebuild their lives.
“Working with people through their criminal justice journey, both in the community and in prison, is a great privilege. Being able to see the change in people as they startto rebuild their lives is incredibly meaningful,” she said.
“The most positive aspect of my job is seeing people turn their lives around and do things they never thought they could. I have people I have supported to get a job, sometimes people who are in their fifties, and it is the first time they have found employment. It’s very rewarding.”
Alexandra believes there are some misconceptions about the role and the daily experiences of working with people who have had community orders and have been released from prison.
“Some people may think I must be around horrible people all day and it’s a really hard job, but I believe that if you go in with an open mind and talk to people they appreciate it,” she said.
“There are some challenging times - we are not made of stone. I have found my supportive colleagues help me through any times I have had challenges and I do the same for them.”
So, how did Alexandra get into this role?
“I have always been fascinated about crime and why people commit crime. I was volunteering for a criminal justice charity, helping people find employment, when I first came into contact with a probation officer,” she said.
“The next step was to become a probation service officer working with low-level criminals.
Then I decided to train as a probation officer and completed the trainee probation officer programme. There’s not really a job like this one, it can be tough, but it can also be surprisingly joyful and sometimes very moving too.”
Alexandra said the most important trait needed is curiosity and an open mind, adding: “If you’re non-judgemental, kind and thoughtful about others, you’re halfway there!"
It concerns me that there robot Probation Officers spout this PR nonsense about how great and rewarding it is.
DeleteI don’t see the rewards and great career on low pay, high sickness rates, the blame culture, the sexism, racism, bullying and general lack of professional respect.
We need to stop lying to those who would be better off with pursuing a career elsewhere.
I have always been fascinated about crime and why people commit crime. I was volunteering for a criminal justice charity, helping people find employment, when I first came into contact with a probation officer,” she said. “The next step was to become a probation service officer working with low-level criminals."
DeleteThis Disneyfication of a once-proud profession is excrutiating. They read like job applications written by adolescent AI programs.
If we are going to get on top of risk and ensure all assessments are up to date (OASys being the tool whether we like it or not) - I wonder what the national backlog of OASys is ? 20k or so ?
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty. I’ve stopped listening to people saying how probation need to do the job when they themselves are not ant the coalface well away from the heat. Usually in some non coalface related job. It’s easier to say what to do and why. It’s another thing to actually do it. Interesting how most people jump at the chance to get out of frontline no matter what grade! Point is, it’s tough and I take my hat off to anyone doing coalface related work.
ReplyDeleteYes this is exactly the case
DeleteI agree. The moment someone starts about performance and silly unnecessary processes they’ve defined as “risk management” I switch off.
DeleteFollowing the wonderful recipe, here's another analogy
ReplyDeleteBusiness Pitch,
- ours now being a business rather than a service.
Sales Team: get your brightest and best right up next to the primary customer. Invest: Get professional and well researched PSRs into courts, delivered by highly qualified sales team who have a good relationship with the customers. Trust: get the customer to trust. Crack out a good slogan (eg Advise assist befriend) We like targets: set targets to divert from custody to…
Product: Get a credible evidenced based product. Make it personal and responsive, get your best onto this. Our courts are local: clients are local, solutions are local: keep it local. Get your evidence to our local operatives, then
Foster Entrepreneurs in your localities to strike up deals. Let them be nimble and for heavens sake get head office to get the resources out of head office and to the localities so they can identify opportunity and strike the local deals they need.
Risk work: the market is at present a bit hysterical and risk averse: and to top it all, there is a mathematical fallacy going around that it is feasible to eliminate risk. Have some calm negotiations, well away from the hysteria, about the realities.
After sales service: Head office are insisting on dragging unwilling clients into our post sales and product operation. Ditch this immediately and offer after sales service only to any client who requests it. Top return for investment: work with the motivated.
Savings: see above
Anon 22:12 Brilliant!
Delete