Probation Under Pressure

Monday saw the Howard League hold an online discussion in their Spotlight series devoted to the government's Sentencing Bill. The event was hosted by Director of Campaigns, Andrew Neilson and the panel included: 

• Martin Jones, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation.
• Helen Schofield, Chief Executive of the Probation Institute.
• Tania Bassett, Napo National Official.
• Gaie Delap, a retired teacher who was jailed for her part in a Just Stop Oil protest and later recalled to prison because none of the electronic tracking devices available to the Ministry of Justice were small enough to fit her wrist.

The government has high expectations for its Sentencing Bill, now being scrutinised in Parliament, claiming that its measures will ensure prisons in England and Wales never run out of space again.

But what will this legislation mean for the probation service, which has faced many turbulent challenges over the course of the last decade and must now brace itself for more change?

With proposals that could see people being released from prison earlier in their sentences, combined with more electronic monitoring, changes to unpaid work, the imposition of restriction zones, and curbs on driving and attending public events, the Bill puts an even greater burden on a vital public service already grappling with huge caseloads. Will the promise of £700 million in additional funding be enough?