On Being a PQiP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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