You talk about “falling short in public protection” as if that’s news to anyone on the frontline. You repeat the same lines about “improvement,” “risk,” and “public safety” like a press release on loop, while ignoring what every probation officer has already told you: the system is collapsing because of how it’s managed, not because of those doing the job.
If you really want to improve probation and justice, then do better. Stop forcing probation to overpromise on risk management, public protection, and crime control. Instead, start with its training, staffing, resources and identity, the questions everyone keeps dodging.
Ask yourself what a true probation champion, Gerry McNally, once asked: “What do clients think of probation? What should probation be, a friend, an acquaintance, or an authority to be feared?” And then try to understand how Probation operates within the tension between the probation of liberty and the restriction of liberty; it cannot effectively embody both.
Think about that. Because until those truths are faced, probation will remain broken. It’s no longer qualified to be a social work agency, it shouldn’t be an extension of law enforcement, it isn’t resourced to be a welfare provider, and it’ll be a tragedy if a century-old service ends up reduced to nothing more than a tagging, monitoring, and prison-overflow management unit.
I don’t agree that “risk is intrinsic to the work of probation.” Rehabilitation is. That’s what probation is supposed to be about. But people like you, obsessed with risk, audits, ratings, and soundbites, have stripped the service of its purpose. You measure everything except what matters. You claim to “support staff” while inspecting them into the ground.
Probation isn’t failing because officers don’t understand risk. It’s failing because leadership, inspectors, and politicians don’t understand probation.
If you genuinely want to see improvement, stop dictating from above and start engaging with the people who actually keep the service running. We don’t need another inspection. We need honesty, investment, respect, and a clear purpose.
It fitting to end with the words of Mike Guilfoyle, former Probation Officer, may he Rest in Peace:
“At a time of reduced resources the Probation Service helps to reduce the harms of offending at the local level in communities blighted by crime. Probation has made a unique contribution to criminal justice and although many would argue that it has lost much by way of its traditional roots, professionalism and identity, it still merits its place at the centre of any rehabilitative revolution.”
Anon (Probation Officer)
jones: "People on probation deserve to be overseen by a Service which has sufficient measures in place... our communities deserve to feel safe in the knowledge that steps are being taken to reduce the risk of harm"
ReplyDeleteYes, they do. Everybody deserves to feel safe. But how do you get there? Berate, humiliate & batter the existing broken service provision? How will that help? That doesn't make those in the broken service feel safe.
So, before we beat probation staff to a bloody pulp, let's see the appropriate investment by government into our public services; the services that will best ameliorate those risks of harm at source, e.g. equitable & adequate provision of health services (physical & mental), education, accommodation, social care.
Adjust the economy so its not about 1% hoarding 95% of wealth.
That would reduce both the prison population & probation caseload considerably.
Then... invest in the staff, train them properly, respect them & pay them commensurate with their skills & role.
from The New World publication:
Delete"Our cover story this week is an extraordinary piece of research by Joe Woof on the extent to which we have become victims of what he calls the Addiction Economy.
Not just fags and booze, but vapes, gambling, porn, weight loss, video gaming, social media, AI chatbots… the list goes on. Maybe you don’t consider yourself an addict. By the time you’ve finished reading Joe’s article you may feel differently. The sinister methods used to ensnare us, and the complicity of the government, is disturbing."
Before we can have a 'safe' country/environment/community we need to address these issues, the money-making scams inflicted upon the population by lying, cheating thieves, compounded by a complicit govt. Greed is at the root of so many ills, be it land grabs (russia, israel), social media scams (facebook, x, tiktok) or corporate fraud (water companies, mone, tax avoidance, arms sales).
Probation budget in the big scheme of things?
"a specific, publicly itemized figure for the "probation budget" within the MoJ's total for 2024 is not readily available... hmpps have a budget of £5.3billion... Probation England have a budget of ~£900m..."
I fully agree with the letter in full. Although the HMIP Chief Inspector does not hold the keys to probation, regrettably, neither do we as probation officers. This is where others would step in, and step in swinging if they were capable: Napo, the probation unions, the Probation Institute, and anyone else with influence.
ReplyDeleteI read and shared this a few days ago from an article on an earlier post, “It’s time to reclaim the service and forge a contemporary vision grounded in rehabilitation, reintegration, collaboration, engagement, and humanity”. This is exactly the point where probation should be standing up and defining its identity. We cannot continue as an “outlier”, as discussed here, but it’s likely we will!
https://probationmatters.blogspot.com/2025/07/outlier-england.html?m=1
Napo and pi got us here because they do not have clout or skills. It won't matter anyway. The driver is over crowded jails. Followed by a need to outsource the same service so tag wins . The main reasons are to do what you want to be doing cannot be funded. There simply is not enough money for jobs to do the real work. Tag wins every time cheap low staffing high volume. This is a consumer user analogy that's tendering out for you .
DeleteAnon 09:53 Which begs the question at what point do you stop doing something that doesn't work? I would remind people of two things:- 1) Probation used to work. 2) England and Wales are now outliers. Most of Europe are closing prisons.
DeleteTo the bane of my life and with reference to deleted contribution - for the good of my health and in consideration of other contributors, please desist in making potentially libellous and inflammatory statements.
DeleteSorry
Delete“1) Probation used to work. 2) England and Wales are now outliers. Most of Europe are closing prisons.”
DeleteAnd this is the point. We know probation can work. We know probation has a place if run properly. We do not have to make up anything new. We don’t even need to turn back the clock. Just step back and follow what works elsewhere in Europe.
“it’ll be a tragedy if a century-old service ends up reduced to nothing more than a tagging, monitoring, and prison-overflow management unit.”
ReplyDeleteAnother sobering reflection.
Dear Mr Jones
ReplyDeletePlease could you explain why the Probation Service is routinely criticised and marked down due to the failure of other services to provide detailed information. Specifically the lack of detail received from police forces and social services about domestic violence concerns and child and adult safeguarding.
This is a failure of those services not Probation, and until senior leaders establish more effective information sharing protocols, individual practitioners will never be able to meet the standards for ‘keeping other people safe’ that your inspectorate has set.
Given the number of ‘Excellent leaders’ across the service……as nominated by the Inspectorate……why should we worry? I have previously stated that can anyone point to a genuine improvement brought about by the Inspectorate………it’s time to rid ourselves of the national team and revert to doing it locally……..could it be any worse?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Well past the time. The millions tied up in the HMPPS "leadership" team is eye-watering. Complete gravy train for a pile of bureaucrats who not only have no understanding whatsoever of what Probation was or could be, and, I suspect, no fondness of it anyway. Timpson could do a lot worse than use his £700M or whatever it is, to pay the bastards off. They can sail off with their redundancy packages and go wreck another public institution
DeleteJust maybe something could be done about the bullying culture, weak managers wreaking havoc, making people ill, shouting, humiliating and scaring people, everyone has the right to work without fear for fuck's sake.
ReplyDeleteTwo words in response to that… Deputy Mayor
DeleteBravo 👏🏻
DeleteThe bullying in probation comes,predominantly from those with power,realising that their well meaning plans are rubbish and as a result exercise their frustrations on an increasingly beleaguered workforce …….
ReplyDeleteFrom Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"Reverting to locally makes sense to me. They know the demographic and also what works in their areas. The leadership are so unaware of what is actually happening it’s frightening."
Doubt this and the bullies won't stop either. The management have a new bully chum called sscl it's now out of their hands and controlled by a series of times events like threats to confirm or face dismissal via a loop in process. It is abusive and skirts the legal process and staff always cave. It's the same for grievances and sick or conduct and performance . Napo completely ineffective against this process as the talent was gotten rid off by the GS. The members interest sold out under CS codes .
Deletehttps://www.napo.org.uk/news/omic-review
ReplyDelete'Getafix
hmmm, not a good look; it reads to me like napo whining about how they've been totally sidelined & completely outmanoeuvred by hmpps (again).
DeleteAgree, HMPPS couldn't care less what NAPO wants or thinks. But in all honesty from my experience, OMIC provides us with nothing at all, I don't see any value in Probation being in the Prisons and usually anything I need is provided by the Prison key workers. All over this blog people say we need to be distinct from Prisons so pull out all Probation and provide some actual work relief to officers in the community! I'd also tell the Prisons it's there responsibility to do all pre-release work including not being able to release anyone until they have secured accommodation.
Delete“I'd also tell the Prisons it's there responsibility to do all pre-release work including not being able to release anyone until they have secured accommodation.”
DeleteI’d agree with the first bit about pre release work. Prisons have staff, partnerships, computers and phones.
The second bit, it should be the responsibility of every housing authority to provide a one the day release appointment and on the day accommodation to every released prisoner requiring it (remand and convicted).
On the subject of accommodation upon release, the calendar shows that on xmas eve this year there will be five days worth of prisoners released, many of whom will be homeless.
DeleteThe following week is not much better.
Maybe people need to start raising the issue now rather than being confronted with it on the day.
I read recently that the national average for prisoners being released homeless is 16% and rising rapidly.
DeleteThat has to impact quite significantly on government plans when it comes to tagging and recalls.
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/25390153.rise-people-leaving-prison-homeless-yorkshire/
'Getafix
2114 spot on but to many POS enjoyed the new branch into omic and I pulled a tooth out arguing and yet off they went and now look. As for accomodating release not a cat in hells chance of real support and this irritated me as no expense spares for incoming boaters . A phone food allowances clothing. Now wouldn't that be a welcome bonus for the released and some way to rehabilitation. .
DeleteAnon 20:47 Again, why the bloody hell don't Napo date anything?
DeleteThey date the link on their homepage index not the actual document.
Delete