I notice that former US Providence Municipal Judge Frank Caprio has died and social media is full of warm tributes and notable videos of a truly remarkable man and his compassion and love for all who came before him for judgment and sentence. It reminds me of probation's beginnings borne of Christian concern as Police Court Missionaries. It reminds me of advise, assist and befriend, indeed of Befriending Funds that officers could dispense at will and indeed of the role and importance of Social Enquiry Reports and later PSR's. It reminds me of Social Work training and community involvement. It reminds me of compassion and care. We have lost so much...
I once saw a District Judge quietly pass a bank note on to a homeless man who appeared before him in custody. This was in a court that prided itself on humiliating Defendants and staff alike through its abuse of position. That one simple gesture demonstrated more compassion and empathy than all the other Magistrates put together. Many people confuse punishment of the sentence with punishment of the person as an individual and thereby lose their sense of humanity.
ReplyDeleteIn probation all the tools except the hammer are broken
ReplyDeleteI really could weep for the probation service that was but it's gone and it isn't coming back. Compassion and rehabilitation are just words now and out of fashion.
ReplyDeletesox
Compassion as with professionalism has been declining for decades. It's been replaced by individualism, a target driven society. We've become individual units rather then a social collective.
DeleteFor decades too, people have been writing about this decline and it's inevitable consequences.
Todays post reminded me of an article I read some years ago. I managed to find it again by typing into Google "the decline of Compassion in society". There's a lot more reading on the subject then I first imagined.
https://lauragrey.com/?p=1677
'Getafix
I recently bought a client I was writing a report for a bowl of soup and a sandwich in our court cafe. I haven’t told a soul in my team that I did it. The fall out would far too great to deal with. So different to the old days when we drove people around, made them toast and tea, gave them fivers out of the befriending fund and treated them like human beings. Kindness and compassion is being forgotten and it’s very sad.
DeleteRe 17:48 - a quote:-
Delete"If your kids don’t know that kindness is the most important quality of a human being, then you’ve failed as a parent. Prizing the attainment of admiration from others and believing in the innate primacy of your own happiness above the well-being of others leads to a deadening of empathy for and lack of awareness of the situations and needs of others. Devaluing kindness and decency and elevating selfishness and disconnection from others has brought the United States and the United Kingdom to their current damaged and dangerous states."
News reaches me that the Napo ballot turnout was 44.82% thus shy of the required 50%. No surprise at all to many of us due to the fundamentally different demographic that make up todays probation workforce.
ReplyDeleteProbation is in crisis, so it is shocking that the Napo ballot turnout was only 44.82%, falling just short of the 50% required. Shocking, but not surprising. The blame lies squarely with the probation unions, not with the demographic that makes up today’s workforce.
DeleteOn a Probation Facebook group I read, “I think Napo did a great job of marketing this campaign.” - I can assure you, it did not. Other comments were telling: “I’ve been too busy to complete the ballot paper” or “What’s the point of striking when you’re just rearranging your cases for the next day?” These aren’t signs of laziness, they’re signs of disillusionment.
When I was a young whippersnapper in my first jobs, I was taught the benefits of joining a trade union, and that if a strike was on the cards, it was your moral duty to take part. I don’t see that drive in probation today, and this isn’t the fault of new recruits. It’s the fault of Napo, Unison, and GMB.
Napo itself is a shadow of its former self. Once the National Association of Probation Officers, today its acronym means nothing. Napo and Unison waste energy competing against each other for members and reputation, while GMB plays the quiet role of “union for senior managers.” None of them deliver what probation truly needs.
It was Napo’s ballot. Returning a ballot paper isn’t difficult. The real issue is that the union couldn’t motivate enough of its own members to vote. Where were the roadshows? The rallies of reps? The campaigns beyond a few member outlets? Where was the coordination with so-called sister unions like Unison and GMB?
I can’t remember the last time I saw a strong Napo rep in a probation office, simply being present. Too often they carry a poor reputation, sneaky, gossipy, offering appalling advice. I stay in Napo more out of nostalgia than conviction. If I ever needed real legal advice or representation, I’d go to an employment solicitor.
Probation is in crisis, yet the unions aren’t even in first gear. The problem with Napo isn’t the members, it’s those running it. No wonder the vote failed. And please, spare me the line “a union is only as good as its members.” That’s lazy nonsense. If leaders and reps are invisible, uninspiring, or incompetent, it makes no difference how willing members are, their energy goes nowhere. Leadership sets the tone, and when leadership fails, the union fails.
This phrase is often trotted out to deflect responsibility, but it’s misleading. A union relies on both engaged members and effective leadership. Leaders and local reps are the ones who set priorities, build campaigns, and create opportunities for involvement. If they’re absent or demotivated, member enthusiasm is stifled before it even starts. When leadership fails to mobilise, communicate, or inspire, it’s no surprise when participation collapses. Blaming the membership only distracts from the real issue: weak, disconnected, and unaccountable leadership.
And then, to top it off, I read the Chief PO’s Probation Day message, a double-barrelled flourish referencing the 1907 Probation Act and its motto: Advise, Assist and Befriend. What a cheek to throw that in our faces while silently overseeing the decimation of probation, fully aware that not even the unions can save us. The failed ballot result has only confirmed that.
Great post spot on the demographic of Napo was expanded to all staff admin . When that happened we knew any action would fail. The general knew this too . It is no accident the leader is unaccountable just how he engineered it foolish to continue in a union that won't deliver stop paying break it then we can start again.
DeleteI believe over 97 per cent voted for action short of strike over 90 per cent for strike but not enough Napo members voted. Appalling result so angry.
ReplyDeleteLooks like we're going to get the pay rise many deserve....
DeleteI wish I was 22 and still living with my parents. Likely my salary would be sufficient too!
Young people want more money too !
DeleteWhat happens now? Can a new ballot be made?
ReplyDeletePiss up......brewery!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get the info about the ballot result? I'm a member. I voted. I wasn't informed of this result. So why were you?
ReplyDeleteIt isn’t difficult to return a ballot paper. The real issue is that the union can’t even motivate enough of its own members to vote. Where were the roadshows? The rallies of reps? The real campaigns beyond a few member outlets? Where was the coordination with so-called sister unions like Unison and GMB?
ReplyDeleteI can’t remember the last time I saw a strong Napo rep in a probation office, simply being present. Too often, they carry a poor reputation, sneaky, gossipy, and giving appalling advice.
Probation is in crisis, yet the unions aren’t even in first gear. The problem with Napo isn’t the members, it’s those running it. No wonder the vote failed.
And don’t give me that “a union is only as good as its members” line as it is misleading excuses poor leadership.
I had said the same years back. Leadership direction .proper chairs properly trained reps confidential capable . The union has pushed aside those capable types in favour of the type of people described starts at the top of Napo. GMB are just useless.
DeleteWe're seen as worse as we spout on about rehabilitation, change, support but as soon as someone misses an appointment, raises there voice or gets caught dodging a bus fare many officers start panicking and seek permission to breach or recall. At least they know that Police catch them and Prison officers contain them, what we do is one big contradictory mess.
ReplyDeleteThis by a previous poster is profound. They are absolutely right. It’s a big contradictory mess.
No re running a ballot repeat business. The employers will now offer a low pay settlement after we have indicated no action . Napo called this too early and I think deliberately. Members are being deceived.
DeleteCompassion as a concept has been bred out of probation to be replaced by the ‘everything must have a risk value’ and while you still see it in pockets it’s now something that is done under the counter,something that you don’t mention for fear of being
ReplyDeleteBelittled by those who see risk as the mission statement….i recall buying a pack of nappies for a client who I saw in a super market who was struggling only to be lectured later about how I compromised myself….while you cannot teach compassion to ignore it says a lot about probation in the twenty first century…..I fear that the removal of the word probation is a direction of travel now and soon we will become correctional agency plc!
From Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"I’ve lost count how many times I’ve fed, clothed, listened and shopped for the people we work with - stand proud & we need to keep probations real values . I won’t change !!"
Same, I gave someone £5 today - he had nothing. I even bought a TV antenna for someone I supervised a few years ago.
DeleteOMG that made me cry. The compassion and understanding of that District Judge. Does anyone have any update on the defendant perhaps after that truly compassionate ruling?
ReplyDeleteFrom Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"It's a fine line, this contradiction. You can't assist or befriend and act as an agent of control. You lose trust. I spent most of the last years running below the radar. Dangerous people yeah. Sort it immediately, but most folk are just messed up by society."
From Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"It seems I'm one of the few with a good Probation Officer
I regularly go on holiday once I've provided the address of where I'm staying I've missed appointments and had heated debates with my Officer no recalls. Now I volunteer as a Lived Experience Mentor with Probation."
It's good to know, I like to think that I am a similar Probation Officer, but fighting against the system. Glad you have had a positive experience.
DeleteFrom Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"And the fallout from that approach is destroying any working relationship with the individual, across the board. Then you can no longer assess risk as we won't disclose anything. You play your games, we play ours but nothing improves."
From Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"I recall being told by a probationee that their PO told them, ‘ My manager is asking questions because you’re too well-behaved and I never have anything to report.’ To me that spoke volumes.(Along with insisting on a 400m round trip for months until it suited THEM to change.)"
This article was written just around the time TR was being introduced. Guess it wasn't read then by those responsible for designing the direction of probation.
ReplyDeletePity really, because it seems a great ethos to build a probation service on.
https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/i-would-build-society%E2%80%99s-capacity-think-compassion-love-and-understanding
'Getafix