Sunday 26 May 2024

A Pipe Dream?

Following on from the BBC Panorama AP programme, thanks go to the reader for contributing the following yesterday:-

The Panorama programme was carefully edited to show the worst of AP life. As others have said, they showed none of the rehabilitative work or reflective practice that is routine in a PIPE AP. Fleming House is one of the bigger hostels, so will have a Deputy Manager and a psychologist working there. However like all other APs, only 2 RWs working all night, trying to get curfews recorded, handovers updated, medication given out and the million little jobs that need doing. Yes, one of the residents didn't sign for his 7pm curfew, but he was in the AP, his whereabouts were known. (I'm not condoning him signing for him, but it could have been worse).

The AP manager didn't send off the tablets for testing. This is a new process, previously they would just have been disposed of. They would only really need testing if the resident was being prosecuted for them or if it was needed for proof for a recall. The programme also failed to mention the full span of control an AP manager has - all referrals, allocations, supervision of all staff, building manager, health and safety lead are just the tip of the iceberg. No workload measurement tool in APs. Oh and don't forget on call, where they may have to do a 12 hour night shift after a day's work.

The institutional appearance of the AP, along with the worst Facilities Management contract ever, means most AP buildings are unfit for purpose so staff work extra hard to make a residents stay as good as it can be. 

It's normal to let off steam in the office - no one expects to be recorded. AP staff work really hard. Where else would someone work a 12 hour shift without an official break? Men on 6 man lockdown in custody are brought to the door and left with 2 staff without a thought.

We aren't mental health practitioners but deal with residents that have serious diagnoses linked to risk. Then there's drug and alcohol testing. Vital for our duty of care, especially when giving out medication, but they stopped the instant mouth swab tests in favour of more expensive, more reliable urine tests, where you wait a week for the results. Now we can't even use those regularly due to the cost.

I could go on talking about the issues but I want to say that an AP is also one of the best places to work. You can spend meaningful time with residents and get to know some of them. Some residents have never had anyone who asked about their day or to share advice with. PPs are too busy and overworked to have time to get to know them properly and we can share valuable insights - both good and bad.

Despite everything I am proud to work at an AP and my colleagues feel the same. We may be the forgotten part of the service but that doesn't mean we don't perform our roles to our best ability.

--oo00oo--

Now we know the subject of the Panorama programme is a PIPE - and I have to say I hate this fetish civil servants have with giving everything stupid acronyms - we need to say something about them. This from Prison Reform Trust published by InsideTime is a good summary:-

We get regular calls asking us for information about ‘PIPE’ units, often after the possibility of a referral has come up in discussion with staff. PIPEs, which stands for ‘Psychologically Informed Planned Environments’, are residential environments which are specifically designed to support the progression of people with complex needs and personality related difficulties. They are part of the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway (OPDP) which is a connected set of interventions for people who are likely to meet the criteria for a diagnosis of personality disorder. It is important to note that a diagnosis of personality disorder is not required to be considered eligible for referral to a PIPE.

PIPEs are designed to have a focus on the environment in which they operate; recognising the importance and quality of relationships and interactions. They aim to maximise ordinary situations and to approach these in a psychologically informed way, paying attention to interpersonal difficulties, such as those issues that might be linked to personality disorder. Overall, PIPEs aim to improve the psychological health of participants, improve participants’ quality of relationships and relationship skills, and reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

The PIPE model incorporates some core components which are designed to support and develop individuals living and working within them. Staff working in a PIPE have additional training and clinical supervision to give them a better psychological understanding of their work. This understanding helps them to create a safer and more supportive environment, which can facilitate the development of those who live there. PIPEs will offer both ‘structured’ sessions and less formal ‘socially creative’ sessions in order to provide opportunities for relating and addressing issues that may be affecting progression through the pathway. Regular key worker sessions are also a core part of the model, providing an opportunity to coordinate and reflect upon your involvement on the PIPE, and your plans for the future.

In prison, a PIPE should be housed on a discreet unit, where influences from non-PIPE prisoners, and contact with non-PIPE trained/supported staff, is kept to a minimum. Residents may have to engage with the rest of the prison for activity such as employment or workshops but otherwise contact with non-PIPE staff/residents should be kept to a minimum to help contain and sustain the PIPE environment.

There are four different types of PIPE, each type with a different focus. Whilst some individuals do move from one type of PIPE to another, this is not always the case, or the expectation. There is not a ‘best time’ to go onto a PIPE unit as each person’s circumstances and sentence plan will be different.

Preparation: PIPEs focus on increasing motivation and readiness for the next phase of the pathway, whilst exploring any barriers there might be to treatment.

Provision: PIPEs are designed to provide a supportive environment to increase engagement with treatment activity, and support residents to actively apply skills and learning achieved through this treatment.

Progression: PIPEs are designed to support residents in consolidating and generalising their treatment gains, putting new skills into practice, and demonstrating improvements in behaviour.

In the community there are also ‘Approved Premises PIPEs’ which take a whole-premises approach to support effective community reintegration and resettlement.

At the time of writing there are 15 PIPE units in the men’s prison estate, located in category A, B & C establishments, and 3 PIPE units in the women’s estate. There is also a further 10 PIPE Approved Premises in the community, 3 of which are for women.

Individual suitability for a PIPE should be discussed with your Offender Manager, your key worker, or a psychologist in the first instance. They can then liaise with Units on your behalf and assist with the referral process.

--oo00oo--

This from 2014 was probably just aspirational:-

A guide to Psychologically Informed Planned Environments (PIPEs) 

Since 2010 the Department of Health (DH) and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), in consultation with a team of clinicians, have jointly developed a new initiative now widely known as PIPEs, or Psychologically Informed Planned Environments. NOMS and NHS England are now in the process of commissioning PIPE services within the Criminal Justice System to support the progression of offenders with complex needs and personality related difficulties. 

PIPEs are specifically designed, contained environments where staff members have additional training to develop an increased psychological understanding of their work. This understanding enables them to create an enhanced safe and supportive environment, which can facilitate the development of those who live there. They are designed to have a particular focus on the environment in which they operate; actively recognising the importance and quality of relationships and interactions. They aim to maximise ordinary situations and to approach these in a psychologically informed way, paying attention to interpersonal difficulties, for example those issues that might be linked to personality disorder.

Approved Premises PIPE

A whole‐premises approach, focussing on a psycho‐social understanding of residents, and supporting effective community re‐integration and resettlement. PIPE Approved Premises will integrate PIPE model requirements into the core functions of the premises and aim to provide new experiences and pro‐social opportunities for its residents. The population will include a range of offenders at different stages of the pathway, for example a mix of those who have completed interventions and those who have not. The models above could be adapted to be delivered in a community setting, focussing on a specific population if required.

--oo00oo--

Letter to InsideTime 2013:-

I am an IPP prisoner that was released in December 2022 to a PIPE hostel. This meant waiting six months inside even after the Parole Board granted release.

I got to the hostel and for those that don’t know the PIPE system, it is meant to give you more support, often to those with personality disorders. I spent six months there and found it very supportive. The staff were really good. Like everything probation-related, it’s not perfect but it’s a start.

I have no family support or network and the staff, being aware of this, make it clear that when you leave the hostel to move on they are still there to support you. This gave me a bit more confidence when I moved, as I knew should I need help I could ask. However, I have now been banned by my probation officer from contacting the hostel as “when you leave, you’re supposed to move on”.

Now considering I had to wait to get into PIPE, you would think probation would know how it works and want me to make the most of the support available. No, not the case. Now, after 12 years inside and doing all those courses they insist you do about support networks and building relationships, I am sat alone in my own place seeing my probation officer for 20 minutes a week. The rest of the time I’m sitting alone, as I am not allowed to use the support network that consisted of professionals because probation says so.

So can anyone tell me the point of the PIPE, as the support it was meant to give is not allowed by the organisation that created it.

A former prisoner

45 comments:

  1. Just a reminder that the prime minister lied to the House of Commons last week when he said no high risk prisoners had been released, the hostel I work in is full of such cases.

    “Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been challenged over the early release of dangerous criminals under a scheme aimed at easing overcrowding in jails.
    During PMQs, Sir Keir Starmer asked for a guarantee that no criminals considered high risk were freed early.
    The PM insisted no-one deemed a threat to public safety would be eligible.
    But the Labour leader pointed to an example of one inmate who posed a danger to children, who had his release date brought forward.”

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    1. Shocker!! The PM lied.

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    2. Rubbish-all mine released so far been high risk.

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    3. And homeless to

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    4. Mine have been high risk from December 2023. One Medium now recalled but also increased to high. Asked for them not to be released, but the threshold is so high it's not worth asking in most cases and the prisons 'hide' behind the ECSL if you have the audacity to voice your concerns. Probation Reset is for ECSL benefit unless they're MAPPA or sex offenders- to stop Probation 'moaning' about the influx. Why the faceless ministers aren't concentrating on the Low and Mediums risk cases until sufficient quantities have been released before going to high as they said they would doesn't make sense. Mind you, prison high risk is not the same as community high risk and if prisons under assess risk (as court PSRs often do for RSR purposes) it (their medium, our high) doesn't matter, they're dumped on the community anyway. Such a well thought out process. As there is no government at present because of the impending election, then ECSL should be suspended.

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    5. From Twitter:-

      "‘If you have the audacity to voice concern’ but please do voice them ! And most importantly record them, as inevitably SFOs will arise. Record every minute detail."

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    6. From Twitter:-

      "I’m not so sure about PSR’s under assessing risk. You go with info you have which is often way less than when the PSR author completed the OASys as part of the process. Then we have RAR guidelines which dictate what can and can’t be proposed regardless of need, based on Ogrs."

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  2. I give respect to all probation and hostel staff, they do a difficult job. PIPE and not, many are not run well and this one was an example of that. The lack of resources and the poor attitude of some of the staff was testament of the bad management in probation.

    There is no justification for the manager leaving a bunch of confiscated pills on his desk for a week. I cringed at the constant F’ing and it was shocking the residential workers falsified records and couldn’t be bothered to check emails about residents needing to be recalled.

    When you work in hostels it’s well known you need to be on your A game all the time. If not then headlines like this cause havoc for the APs place in the local community.

    “But dangerous criminals are running away from one probation hostel where a member of staff was caught falsifying signing in records for a released sex offender.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13453289/amp/probation-hostel-criminials-bbc-panorama-investigation.html

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  3. “The Panorama programme was carefully edited to show the worst of AP life.”

    I have seen worse. It’s not good enough and the buck stops with the senior managers who’ve been all too silent since Thursdays Panorama!

    If this AP was run well we wouldn’t have seen any problems at all. With a manager and deputy manager on site there should not be any significant problems at all. They are unlike regular hostels that have no manager on site from 530pm - 9am and cover staffing shortages by using residential workers, PSOs and on-call managers who don’t know what they’re doing to cover single and multiple evening and weekend shifts after a days work. I’m glad these so called PIPE hostels have been exposed as they’re just as bad as the rest.

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    1. “So can anyone tell me the point of the PIPE”

      Nope!

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    2. https://insidetime.org/mailbag/if-these-programmes-work-why-scrap-them/

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    3. Around five years ago, the Prison Service brought in offending behaviour programmes called Horizon and Kaizen. These replaced CALM and SOTP, after alarming independent reviews found that they tended to increase risk instead of reducing it.

      When this occurred, Inside Time published my letter describing the new programmes as the same wolf in a different sheep’s clothing. I also postulated that in around five years’ time it would be no surprise to see both Horizon and Kaizen being removed.

      My prediction of five years ago is now proven true. Prison psychology departments are trying to sell this move as improving and building on their learning, and are claiming Horizon and Kaizen have shown success. If this is true, then why abandon them altogether? The logical step would be to make any necessary adjustments while retaining them.

      After all, tens of millions of pounds have been ploughed into the Horizon and Kaizan courses. To replace them entirely if they are working will cost the public hundreds of thousands more. Amid the extreme financial constraints that the prison system claims it is facing, this does not make sense.

      Is it not more likely that somewhere sits the government-commissioned independent study that has found Horizon and Kaizen haven’t worked as is being claimed by Prison Service Psychology Services, and instead increase the likelihood of reoffending and risk? After all, it wouldn’t be the first time the Ministry of Justice has tried to suppress highly-critical, independent reviews of its offending behaviour courses and pathways.

      Anyhow, here we are again. Some five years on from my previous article. I will now predict the same again – namely that in five years’ time, the new suite of cure-all programmes will be abandoned and yet more suspicious claims will be made of the success of those being discontinued.

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    4. Shame of course that Rishi Sunak having a hissy-fit on Wednesday led to cancellation of the planned BBC Newsnight programme on this very topic. Due to Tory-imposed cuts on the BBC, Newsnight has been decimated and chopped down to a 30 minute studio discussion only. The programme will never be broadcast.

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    5. PoPs on PIPEs in APs?
      Surely there must be courses somewhere that teach probation speak as a second language?

      'Getafix

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    6. Jim is there a link to the I player for the programme then we can easily encourage others to watch ..

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    7. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001zhqg/panorama-undercover-can-probation-keep-us-safe

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    8. Great thank u

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  4. The culture at that AP stunk. Regardless of editing, there were so many problems there

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    1. Probation hostels have the same problem probation offices and officers have. They can’t make up their minds if they’re an enforcement agency or a social work agency. Is a probation hostel an extension of the prison with strict rules OR a place for released prisoners to find resettlement and support? From what I saw on Panorama they’re neither!!

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  5. Some interesting stats on the mental health and sick days taken by HMPPS.

    https://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/national/24347193.prison-staff-on-brink-take-equivalent-770-years-mental-health-sick-days/

    'Getafix

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  6. While we're talking of pipe dreams...

    The state pension could become unaffordable as soon as 2035 if Labour and the Tories pledge to protect the triple lock in their election manifestos.

    The cost of paying the benefit will outstrip National Insurance Contributions (NICs) as the ratio of workers to pensioners shrinks, according to analysis for Telegraph Money by the Adam Smith Institute.

    The think tank warned that the ballooning cost to taxpayers meant the state pension was “very likely” to become fiscally unsustainable between 2035 and 2045. It means action will have to be taken to cut the size and scope of the benefit.

    https://www.aol.co.uk/money/state-pension-start-collapse-whoever-070500863.html


    https://www.almondfinancial.co.uk/pension-breakeven-index-how-does-the-uk-state-pension-compare-to-the-rest-of-europe/

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    1. Well the Telegraph and Adam Smith Institute are hardly likely to give a balanced view on anything! State Pensions are not funded from hypothecated taxes like NI - that concept went out the window years ago and evidenced by Tory plans to abolish it! They plan to get a big chunk of the money back from pensioners by not increasing personal allowances any way. I can see we will have to do some fact checking around here over the next six weeks.

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  7. bbcr4 pm finally showed some interest in probation work today.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001zlzc

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    1. A PO speaks up "Four High Risk offenders released in last week".

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    2. Just found this produced by the Howard League.
      It might provide a good little tool to monitor the prison overcrowding crisis on a weekly basis, and even give an indication of which regions are most under pressure to release prisoners early.

      https://howardleague.org/prison-watch/

      'Getafix

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    3. Prison watch
      Our weekly prison watch provides figures on the prison population from the Ministry of Justice.

      There are 87,089 people in prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales. Sensible steps to reduce this number would make communities safer, by easing pressure on the system and enabling more people in trouble to get the support they need to move on from crime.

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  8. Couldn't make this up. To good not to share.

    https://x.com/YesPMQuoter/status/1794560983379177615

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  9. https://insidetime.org/newsround/capacity-crisis-minister-misled-parliament-over-early-releases/

    https://insidetime.org/newsround/capacity-crisis-homeless-early-releases-are-unforgivable/

    'Getafix

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    1. Well I never! Thanks 'Getafix

      A Government minister misled Parliament by wrongly claiming that prison governors have a veto over the early release of potentially-dangerous prisoners.

      Laura Farris (pictured), the Victims and Safeguarding Minister, was speaking in Justice Questions on May 14 when she was asked about the End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) scheme, an emergency measure which allows prisoners to go home up to 70 days before their release date to free up places in overcrowded jails.

      She said from the House of Commons dispatch box: “We have a governor lock. That means that the governor of any prison can prevent an individual prisoner from being released early if they do not think that it is suitable to do so.”

      Her words were printed in Hansard, the official record of Parliamentary proceedings. In fact, governors cannot veto ECSL releases. They can only refer cases to a panel of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) officials, who may decide to overrule the concerns and release the prisoner regardless.

      On May 20, six days after Farris spoke, the Hansard record was corrected. The rewritten version states: “We have an exemption process. That means that HMPPS can prevent an individual prisoner from being released early if there are concerns about their risk.”

      The correction was made after Labour’s shadow prisons minister Ruth Cadbury drew attention to the discrepancy. Responding to Cadbury, Prisons Minister Edward Argar said: “It remains at the discretion of the Prison Service to prevent the ECSL release of any prisoners where releasing an offender earlier presents a heightened risk than if they were released at their automatic release date. A panel formed of HMPPS senior leaders take decisions over exclusions following advice from prison and probation staff.”

      Nevertheless, the correction does not appear to have deterred other ministers. On May 22, Home Office Minister Chris Philp appeared to echo Farris’s earlier, uncorrected form of words when he stated from the Commons dispatch box that the ECSL offers “a governor’s veto of early release if they believe there is a threat to public safety” – and repeated, minutes later, that “the prison governor can veto the release of a prisoner considered to be a danger”.

      Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, has reported a case where a high-risk prisoner was released under ECSL despite pleas from staff for him to be excluded from the scheme. In a report on HMP Lewes, Taylor wrote: “During our visit, [a] high-risk prisoner with significant class A drug misuse issues and a recent history of suicidal thoughts and self-harm was released from the segregation unit to homelessness under the ECSL scheme. This release took place despite appeals for the decision to be reversed and staff having serious concerns for his and the public’s safety. He was recalled to custody before the inspection had ended.”

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    2. The other article:-

      A prison watchdog has said it is “unforgivable” that prisoners are being released early without homes to go to, under the Government’s emergency scheme to tackle the capacity crisis in jails.

      Elisabeth Davies, national chair of the Independent Monitoring Boards, said the End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) scheme would only work if it was ‘holistic’, with accomodation and probation support being provided for men and women let out before their release dates.

      She warned that the scheme as currently operating was destabilising prisons by adding to the level of “churn”, with places being filled as soon as they become vacant. She said: “Places are freed up, people are being released – they may well be recalled. They’re released, then replaced by new prisoners. It has led to that overall impact in terms of stability.”

      Her warning follows criticism from Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, who in three recent inspections has observed men being released homeless under ECSL, only to be recalled to jail days later for breaching their licence conditions. Taylor called it “astonishing” that prisoners could be eligible for ECSL despite having no fixed abode.

      Davies was speaking at a press conference last week to mark the publication of her first annual report since taking on her role, succeeding Dame Anne Owers. Her report, covering English and Welsh prisons in 2023, also highlighted the problem of “inappropriate” transfers which, she said, raised security concerns and made it harder for prisoners to progress with their sentences.

      It stated: “In adult prisons, people were shifted around the estate wherever there was room, which was not always in keeping with the support they needed at that point in their sentence, or the local area they would be released to.

      “Some prisoners who were more violent, disruptive, or involved in ongoing crime were held in lower category prisons, or moved into more typically settled parts of the estate, causing significant disruption, frequently needing to be moved back as a result. Over-18-year-olds were held in YOIs to free up adult prison places, but this contributed to a lack of stability in the youth estate.”

      Other concerns raised include prisoners spending too long in their cells, without work or education; disrepair of prison buildings; and staff shortages including of prison officers, healthcare staff, education staff and probation workers.

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    3. Is this rehabilitation at it's best?

      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/30/up-to-half-of-prisoners-released-early-recalled/

      'Getafix

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  10. Approved Premises – Consultation Opportunities

    Dear Colleagues,

    HM Inspectorate of Probation is holding a series of consultations around its plans to launch a programme of approved premises (AP) inspections.

    We continue to welcome your views on the details of our proposals and invite you to get involved through one of the consultation opportunities below.

    Our online consultation

    We are asking for your views on our proposed standards for AP inspections and how we plan to deliver them. Our aim is to focus on the things that make a difference to the quality of work in APs, aligning strategic activity with frontline delivery to residents.

    Visit our website and download our consultation document here.

    You will have the chance to review our plans and respond to 13 questions that will help shape an approach that best provides reassurance and drives improvement across APs.

    This consultation closes at 23:59 on 21 July 2024 - we hope you will take the opportunity to respond.

    Our consultation events

    The Inspectorate is also sharing its plans for inspecting Probation Service approved premises at three consultation events in June and is inviting interested parties to contribute to the programme’s development.

    You’ll hear from:

    Head of Probation Inspection Programme, Simi O’Neill
    Head of Policy and Standards, Helen Mercer
    HMI Inspectors, Dave Argument and Billy Finnegan

    If you work in an approved premises, the Probation Service, or are a third-party provider or stakeholder, we are keen to hear your views. Please use the links below to sign up:

    Join us:

    In Manchester on 04 June 2024, 11am-3pm at the Midland Hotel.
    In London on 05 June 2024, 11am-3pm at Burlington House, Mayfair.
    Online on 11 June 2024, 11am-2pm.

    Regards

    Martin Jones,
    Chief Inspector of Probation

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Look at all the horses way over there in the far distance... oh, and I found this bolt undone, so I've closed it. Hope that's okay?

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  11. bypass all of the above . APs need to improve but have excellent leaders . simples

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  12. Dear Martin Jones
    Whilst there have been significant challenges for APs including resources challenges with a shortage of experienced staff, you will find strong leadership from the senior management team with clear vision aimed at public protection…….oh yes you will, perhaps slightly different wording……but you get the gist. You will find excellent leadership no matter what the operational concerns are because well, now you’re Chief Inspector of small p probation, that’s what you have to do, it is a must and you will find considerable precedent in all previous inspection outcomes. Perhaps other posters on this blog could contribute your foregone conclusion, err conclusion to your AP inspection report even before you’ve undertaken it. Go one guys give it a go……excellent leadership anyone?
    PS ever stop to think how if every inspected area of probation work has excellent leadership, the once gold standard service is now failing?

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  13. InsideTime today:-

    Calls for a review of sentencing policy have come from across the political spectrum as the impact of overflowing prisons becomes clearer.

    Writing in the Left-wing Morning Star newspaper, Steve Gillan, General Secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), said at the start of the trade union’s annual conference that “this is one of the most concerning periods for HM Prison and Probation Service in decades. There is no doubt the prison service is in deep crisis.”

    He claimed that the Government’s emergency early release schemes were like “putting a sticking plaster over a gaping wound”, adding: “There needs to be a proper discussion regarding overcrowding, and sentencing policy to move forward and steer not just prisons, but the whole criminal justice system in the right direction.”

    Meanwhile Sir Bob Neill, the Conservative MP who chairs the all-party Justice Select Committee and is standing down at the general election, said: “Prisons are simply running out of space. My committee has long since warned of the dangers of successive Governments ignoring the rise in jail numbers, set against a workforce recruitment and retention crisis and a crumbling Victorian prison estate.

    “The Lord Chancellor previously set out plans for an annual statement on prison capacity and this still hasn’t happened. Prisons can’t weather this perfect storm for much longer and a cross-party prioritisation of prisons and sentencing policy is urgently needed.”

    Also last week, on the day Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the general election, the Daily Telegraph reported that the Ministry of Justice and 10 Downing Street were discussing a proposal that prisoners serving standard determinate sentences should be released after serving 43 per cent of their sentence, rather than 50 per cent as at present.

    Despite prison capacity having been increased, lengthening prison sentences have filled the additional space. In 2022 the average length of a sentence was 22.6 months, whereas in the year 2000 it was 11.4. Four times as many people In 2020 were placed on full life sentences as in 2010, the earliest comparable date available. Yet the overall crime rate has never increased through that period.

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  14. https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/man-found-dead-public-toilet-29263791

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    1. A man was discovered dead in a public toilet on the day he was released from prison.

      John Burnip was found in a public restroom with an empty vodka bottle next to him on December 29, 2022, just hours after being released from HMP Durham. Paramedics who arrived at the scene confirmed the 38-year-old's death. An inquest held on April 18 this year, determined that alcohol was the cause of death.

      A report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) published earlier this month revealed that Burnip had a history of alcohol and substance abuse, which he failed to disclose during his initial screening after being charged with assault and remanded in custody on October 8, 2022.

      He was convicted on December 9, 2022, and sentenced to five months imprisonment but was released the same day due to time already served on remand. However, he was recalled to HMP Durham just six days later as his community offender manager (COM) expressed concerns about his living situation and deemed his risk unmanageable within the community, reports Chronicle Live.

      According to the PPO report, a meeting took place on December 23, 2022, involving probation officers, social services, and the housing team. During this meeting, the housing team admitted they were struggling to find accommodation for Burnip. They informed probation that they would need to assist Burnip in contacting the council on his release day as temporary accommodation might be available then.

      A decision was made to refer Burnip to an Approved Premises (AP), which provides additional supervision for those posing a high risk of harm. On December 28, 2022 - the first working day after Christmas - Burnip's COM completed an emergency AP referral for his release the following day.

      On the morning of his release, Burnip was accepted for immediate AP accommodation. However, he failed to attend a meeting at the Durham probation office on the day of his release and was therefore unaware of his place at the AP accommodation.

      According to the PPO report, Burnip was released from HMP Durham around 10.50am, and was discovered by a member of the public in a public toilet that afternoon. The individual called the ambulance service who confirmed Burnip's death. An empty vodka bottle was found next to him. Probation staff were informed by police around 5pm.

      The post-mortem report concluded that Burnip died of acute alcohol intoxication. His inquest determined that his death was alcohol-related.

      The full PPO report can be accessed here.

      https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/34/2024/05/F6321-22-Death-of-Mr-John-Burnip-Durham-PostRelease-29-12-2022-ONN-31-40-38.pdf

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    2. So the cause was what?

      "The inquest, held on 18 April 2024, concluded that Mr Burnip’s death was alcohol related" - no shit?!

      But... no reference to the catalogue of missed opportunities by so-called professionals who will have had sight of his precons, his medical records & acknowledged he had a mental health social worker, beyond stating that "The investigator tried to contact Mr Burnip’s mental health social worker to find out the support put in place, but no response has been received."

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    3. Probation still breaching him ?

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  15. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13477921/Senior-Probation-Service-officer-formally-warned-flawed-decision-double-murderer-63-sheltered-housing-complex-beat-OAP-neighbour-73-death-wooden-coffee-table.html

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    1. A serious further offence review found a senior probation officer approved the housing despite police warnings about the risk of Bierton 'living in close proximity to elderly people'.

      Ms Quinn's brother, Peter Gould, 73, said: 'Because of the Probation Service's decision, my sister is dead. It broke my heart.'

      Handing Bierton a whole-life order at Nottingham Crown Court in December, Mr Justice Pepperall said Ms Quinn was 'entitled to expect better, and the system plainly failed her'.

      After Bierton's sentencing, the Probation Service said a staff member had received a formal warning and changes had been made in the management of serious offenders.

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  16. New York Times today:-

    Mr. Trump will almost certainly appeal, after months of criticizing the case and attacking the Manhattan district attorney, who brought it, and Justice Merchan, who presided over his trial.

    Long before that appeal is heard, however, Mr. Trump will be enmeshed in the gears of the criminal justice system.

    A pre-sentencing report makes recommendations based on the defendant’s criminal record — Mr. Trump had none before this case — as well as his personal history and the crime itself. The former president was found guilty of falsifying business records in relation to a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a porn star who says she had a brief sexual tryst with Mr. Trump in 2006, in order to buy her silence.

    At the pre-sentence interview, a psychologist or social worker working for the probation department may also talk to Mr. Trump, during which time the defendant can “try to make a good impression and explain why he or she deserves a lighter punishment,” according to the New York State Unified Court System.

    The pre-sentencing report can also include submissions from the defense, and may describe whether “the defendant is in a counseling program or has a steady job.”

    In Mr. Trump’s case, of course, he is applying — as it were — for a steady job as president of the United States, a campaign that may be complicated by his new status as a felon. Mr. Trump will likely be required to regularly report to a probation officer, and rules on travel could be imposed.

    Mr. Trump was convicted of 34 Class E felonies, New York’s lowest level, each of which carry a potential penalty of up to four years in prison. Probation or home confinement are other possibilities that Justice Merchan can consider.

    That said, Justice Merchan has indicated in the past that he takes white-collar crime seriously. If he did impose prison time, he would likely impose the punishment concurrently, meaning that Mr. Trump would serve time on each of the counts he was convicted of simultaneously.

    If Mr. Trump were instead sentenced to probation, he could still be jailed if he were later found to have committed additional crimes. Mr. Trump, 77, currently faces three other criminal cases: two federal, dealing with his handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and a state case in Georgia that concerns election interference.

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  17. Kim Thornton Edward’s had very little to say of any use last week and of course, comments and questions were not allowed to avoid any damage or danger of real engagement

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