With so much going on in the probation world recently, the following article from Civil Service World about tagging has slipped down the agenda. The subject only got a brief mention on Monday at the Public Accounts Committee car crash session and the oft-quoted '£700 million':-
Probation Service ‘being set up to fail’ with tagging expansion, committee says
Peers warn resourcing for planned surge in electronic monitoring is "almost certain” to be not enough
A House of Lords committee has warned that the Probation Service is in danger of “being set up to fail” as part of the Ministry of Justice’s planned expansion of electronic monitoring (EM) to help ease the prison capacity crisis.
Under proposals set out in the Sentencing Bill, which was introduced to parliament in September, the number of people required to undergo tagging as part of the terms of their release is set to increase significantly.
However, a letter from members of the Justice and Home Affairs Committee to MoJ ministers raises serious concerns about the resourcing for the expansion being offered to the Probation Service. Peers also question the capacity of private sector providers to cope with a near doubling of the number of offenders and defendants required to wear EM devices as a condition of their release into the community.
The committee says the government’s plans envisage 22,000 more people being subject to tagging each year – a significant hike on the 26,647 people being electronically monitored at the end of September. However, it says an extra £100m earmarked for investment into EM only represents an uplift of 30%.
The peers’ 28-page letter notes the MoJ’s “much trailed” pledge to invest £700m in the Probation Service over the next four years, but says the share that will go into staff hiring, development and retention is “almost certain to be insufficient”.
It also directly challenges the MoJ’s reliance on suppliers previously found to have massively overcharged the ministry for EM services.
“We find it extraordinary that contracts were awarded to both Serco and AUEM despite being found by the Serious Fraud Office to have been dishonestly misleading the government while providing EM services,” the letter states. Allied Universal Electronic Monitoring – or AUEM for short – is the new name for G4S Monitoring Technologies.
Serco and G4S wrongly billed the MoJ for tens of millions of pounds for tagging services under EM contracts first awarded in 2005. G4S eventually repaid the department £100m, and Serco repaid £70.5m. Investigations by the SRO resulted in Serco being fined £19.2m plus £3.7m costs and G4S being fined £38.5m plus £5.9m costs over the scandal.
The committee’s letter goes on to say: “Continued failures in service provision from Serco in particular lead us to conclude that without major changes in contract management, including flexing to additional providers where necessary, EM service provision will continue to be woefully inadequate.”
Committee chair Lord Don Foster said the government needed to reassess its approach to electronic monitoring.
“The Probation Service needs more funding, and many more well-trained staff if there is to be a successful EM expansion,” he said. “Without this, the Probation Service is being set up to fail. It is startling that the government is promoting the biggest expansion of EM in a generation at a time of great technological advancement yet does not see fit to accompany this with a new strategy.”
Foster said the rise of new technologies, including non-fitted devices and AI, further highlighted the importance of a new strategy that clearly defines the purpose of EM to both the judiciary and the public.
He added that a new presumption that all prison leavers will be subject to EM on their release from custody had the potential to hinder the Probation Service in its work.
“This blanket approach to tagging, regardless of crime and circumstances, diminishes the role of effective, targeted probation interventions, and risks creating an unethical system that is overly punitive and disproportionate,” Foster said.
Proper resourcing and training for the Probation Service is front and centre of the committee’s recommendations to ministers.
Additionally, peers are also calling on ministers to prioritise the publication of a new EM strategy that “comprehensively covers” the rollout, scaling, and implementation of the government’s new approach. The letter says the strategy should also address ethical issues, and the “intersection” between EM and AI.
Further demands include more longitudinal studies of the long-term efficacy of EM – both pre- and post-tag removal – in terms of reducing reoffending, supporting victims, and detecting crime.
Peers are also calling on ministers to “immediately begin” a tendering process to expand the number of EM service providers available to the MoJ.
An MoJ spokesperson said: “Tagging is a critical tool in our efforts to punish offenders and evidence shows it’s increasingly proving its effectiveness in cutting reoffending and keeping the public safe. That’s why we are increasing the probation budget by around 45% over the next three years and investing an extra £100m into electronic monitoring so we can tag tens of thousands more offenders under our upcoming reforms. We will carefully consider the committee’s findings and respond in due course.”
The ministry added that Serco has improved its performance and backlogs from last year had been cleared, with the number of outstanding visits back to normal levels. It said a “series of measures” had been introduced to toughen up scrutiny of Serco, including direct access to its systems.
The MoJ said it was “very confident” that its tagging service could meet the additional demand of the proposed reforms and said it is “working with suppliers to ensure change is implemented effectively”.
A Serco spokesperson said the company’s performance on the MoJ electronic-monitoring contract had “improved significantly” and that it is now “successfully tagging record numbers of offenders”.
“We disagree entirely with the committee’s suggestion that we lack the ability to cope with an increase to the volume of people tagged,” they said. “This is not based on recent evidence. We have already successfully dealt with a number of early release schemes and are well placed to deal with the forecast expansion in people being tagged.”
My experience of tagging is this equation: More tagging = More breaching
ReplyDeleteProbation staff in judo suits? All included in the £700m?
ReplyDeleteJust a thought, maybe a silly one, but won't a tag trigger an alarm if anyone wearing one walks through a knife arch on metal detector? Strip searching next?
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/dec/04/probation-officers-in-england-and-wales-to-be-given-self-defence-training-after-stabbings
'Getafix
Shocking.
DeleteJim - just sent you something about this.
Probation officers will be given self-defence training, bleed kits and body-worn cameras for the first time under plans before ministers in the wake of two stabbings, the Guardian has learned.
DeleteKnife arches and handheld metal-detecting wands, which can be used to search people for weapons, have been approved for pilot schemes in selected offices.
The disclosures come days after a staff member was stabbed in a probation office in Oxford. Separately, a man has admitted the attempted murder in July of a female officer in another probation centre in Preston, Lancashire.
The probation officers’ union, which believes these are the first knife attacks in probation offices, has said members have a “palpable fear” about going to work since the attacks.
About 6,000 probation officers in England and Wales are being asked to supervise more than 240,000 people in the community, including greater numbers of dangerous former prisoners released to ease the prison overcrowding crisis.
An internal review of safety procedures across hundreds of probation offices, conducted in the wake of the Preston attack, has suggested ministers should launch a pilot of Spear training – spontaneous protection enabling accelerated response – for frontline probation staff.
Spear, which has been used to train police and prison officers, is described as a “close-quarter protection system” to repel sudden attacks.
Bleed kits, containing items such as tourniquets and trauma bandages, are already being sent to offices. Ministers are also considering setting up a pilot for body-worn cameras, similar to those used by police officers, to record community work sessions.
Knife arches will be rolled out within weeks in the entrances of selected probation offices after ministerial approval. Metal-detecting wands have also been authorised for use.
Probation officers are particularly vulnerable to attack because they aim to set up a constructive working relationship with people, often in confined office spaces. As well as offering guidance, they also have to ensure compliance with conditions of release and address any violations.
DeleteThe overall number of people under probation supervision on 30 June was 244,209, a 2% increase on the same date last year.
Nearly 40,000 people were released from prison early under the government’s SDS40 scheme in the nine-month period to June 2025, all of whom were required to be supervised by probation officers.
Ministers are releasing some violent prisoners, those convicted of sexual offences and domestic abusers, after serving a third of their sentences, in an effort to reduce pressure on prisons.
Industrial relations are tense because of a lack of a pay offer for probation staff, nearly a year after the unions submitted a pay claim. Unions are making plans to ballot on industrial action if negotiations fail.
Ian Lawrence, the general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said: “It has been clear for some time that the probation service is in crisis with workload pressures that have resulted in more than a hundred thousand days of sick leave absence in 2024 due to mental health issues among staff, disrespectful treatment from the employer and the government over pay, and now a palpable fear among staff about their safety at their workplace.”
Nelson Williams, 27, has been remanded in custody after being charged with attempted murder, affray and possession of a knife in a public place after the incident in Oxford.
Ryan Gee, 35, of no fixed address, has admitted the attempted murder of a female probation officer in her 30s, who was stabbed at work in Preston. Gee also admitted threatening a person with an offensive weapon, possession of a knife in a public place, possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and false imprisonment.
After the incident, a petition calling for enhanced security gained more than 15,000 signatures and support from dozens of probation staff.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This government will do whatever it takes to keep our staff safe, which is why we are rolling out a number of enhanced security measures at probation sites across the country.
“We will not tolerate assaults on our hardworking staff and will always push for the toughest punishments against perpetrators.”
Anon 08:48 My virgin email account no longer works I'm afraid! I can be contacted via Twitter.
DeleteIan Lawrence a 100k days lost to sick . It could be a lot less id he did his job at all. Why is he still in role absolutely the single most waste of time for our service.
DeleteYes Twitter Dm
DeleteTo be fair and in the perspective of fairness I always found our lack of training on managing aggression woefully inadequate and negligently absent by our employer. Admittedly I never needed to use it, but do recall very few shady moments in my career where people "blew up in my face" which i usually dealt with by calmly sitting down and telling the person to simply leave and come back when they had cooled off which they always did....in one prison visit I told the person to either cool it or I would leave the room, which i did....I returned to him crying his eyes out and apologising. The point im really making is i muddled through it alone, often querying my approach and whether i had contributed to the aggression or managed the situation badly. If I really ever had been in danger I probably would have simply run away....surely our employer should teach us some disarming techniques...but I hope this is done with compassion and that de-escalation and ultimately the good old mantra of "rolling with resistance " is probably the best and safest method of them all?
DeleteEngland’s tagging system has a long history of tech failures, wasted millions, and chaotic contract management. In some cases offenders waited over a year to get a tag fitted. Probation services are already overwhelmed - thousands of cases aren’t being properly supervised.
ReplyDeleteNow the plan is to double tagging numbers — without fixing the foundations first.
And here’s the crunch: more tags means more breaches. Not just serious absences, but tiny curfew slips, faulty equipment, missed check-ins. With probation stretched thin, these breaches are likely to trigger one outcome: more recalls and more prison time, not less.
So instead of a smart alternative to custody, mass tagging risks becoming a “recall machine” — costly, unreliable, and pushing prison numbers up rather than easing pressure on the system.
Tagging can work. But only if the technology is reliable, the contracts robust, and probation properly staffed. Until then, a massive expansion looks less like reform and more like wishful thinking — with the usual consequences landing on prisons, probation, and the public.
Only 6mths ago Channel 4 dispatches under cover revealed very serious concerns about the tagging system, and how tagging companies couldn't cope with the volume then.
DeleteSurely doubling the number on tag will double the problems already existing?
https://www.channel4.com/news/tagging-jackie
'Getafix
Well done 'Getafix! :-
DeletePrisons crisis: is tagging system on verge of crisis?
This is all a problem for the government itself. In an effort to relieve the prisons crisis , there will be more community sentences and a massive expansion of the tagging programme. It’s expected tens of thousands more offenders will be tagged in the coming months.
As the government gets ready to roll out a massive expansion of the offender tagging programme in England and Wales, a whistleblower from inside Serco, the private company charged with running it, has told Channel 4 News the system is in “chaos” and could be putting the public at risk.
The Serco insider works at the company’s monitoring centre. We’ve called him Aaron to protect his identity.
He told us at one point the computer system was throwing out so much data, finding genuine breaches was “like finding a needle in a haystack”.
“It was throwing out all these alerts that sometimes didn’t mean anything but there’d be thousands and thousands. We didn’t know how to identify the genuine breaches from all this traffic of data that was coming into the system.”
He also claimed some offenders are going unmonitored and the company only realises it after being asked for information from police or probation looking for them.
“We’ve had somebody who they want to arrest for rape or potential assault, a serious assault of a victim, and you’d look up the records to identify the person that they’re asking about. There’s been instances where we haven’t been able to give them that information because something has gone wrong when it’s been installed, or something’s happened in the system where the person has got a tag on, but we’re not actively monitoring them. There’s been instances where it’s been weeks and weeks of where we think we’re monitoring someone but they’re not actively being monitored.”
Agree with you 10.16....I would only add that it works when targeted effectively and used judiciously...tagging for all seems like a complete recipe for disaster and administrative hell for us poor pen pushing POs who desperately want to do the work which actual research evidence supports as effective at reducing reoffending: I.e relationship based and implemented by officers who are properly trained in such techniques (and by this is dont mean SEEDS)
DeleteA lot of this has already been stated in previous predicting blogs that are spot on. Diverting part of the 700 cash injection to train staff in combat is ridiculous. Does anyone think we are going to be hands on care professionals. It would appeal to morons. The money is there for tech in all forms ai remote monitoring surveillance and reporting by facial recognition . Violence in offices only accelerate the choice of people removed from 1 2 1 contact. It beggars belief that most people reading this blog do not seem to understand the nature of the future employers agenda. It is reduced staffing costs. Streamline efficiencies. Promote tech managed cases. Reduce errors maintain surveillance . Restriction of offenders in community by electronic process. Roll out Innovation of measures that reduce staff input. The notion of maintaining any friendly staff engagement is believed by the naive and very out of touch fantasies of older staff. Community management does not require rehabilitation. Community surveillance restriction and sanction will contain the bulk of difficult cases. Ai. Will determine routes of direction not assistance. I can go on but for crying out aloud will you readers please put a lid on the old cycle because that has already been planned out. This is the stark reality. The Napo numpty Lawrence is still verbalising his diarrhoea seemingly oblivious to what he should be calculating to avoid with us yet there he his talking sick days. IT tech does not go sick even when glitching. 1000 days lost in pay and work hours will be resolved by dispersal of those tasks to tech. There will be always be a need for compliant staff monitoring but do not think for much longer the idea of a cup of tea and arm or friendly shoulder is what being a probation officer is about. If your holding onto that notion your already a goner. This blog promotes hope care and nostalgia but the reality is very different as felt in all offices. There is little address to this unless we fight by action break the current system and defend our current professional status by dogged aggressive interactions by speech . Refusal rejection and above all some strong activated union leadership and activity instructing members rebellion and protections by legal union services. As this is extremely unlikely given the inadequate capacity of your union leader then face the new regime you have been alerted again.
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:08 "The notion of maintaining any friendly staff engagement is believed by the naive and very out of touch fantasies of older staff."...."I can go on but for crying out aloud will you readers please put a lid on the old cycle because that has already been planned out. This is the stark reality."
DeleteYou really are trying my patience and would seriously suggest you would be better directing your very unsophisticated rantings somewhere else. We know perfectly well what the situation is, but unless you've not noticed we're trying to use constructive argument to steer the ship back onto a different but sustainable and constructive course. Stop slagging off professionally qualified and experienced staff and commentators ok?
Jim do you not really appreciate I have no desire to upset anyone at any level. The old tired and fateful persuasion by gentle conversion of the leadership has failed our service since their attacks on humanist reform started when they wanted uniform performance and metrics. There is no stick no clout no fear than to continue to decimate what we once did what hold onto and how desperate we are to return to a reform social based model. Without the shout to the extreme the alarm is silent. I always try and do my bit to galvanised some reaction yet you fail to see the benefit of galvanising the extreme we need to avoid. It may be too comfortable in your armchair but I know this blog of your was a true beacon of that rebellion and you should recognise the widest positions and we get members to engage the possibilities to insist something more balanced and reflective of our collective heritage is protected enshrined and is re negotiated as a building stone from all else we are tasked to consider. I am disappointed you don't recognise the that motivation comes from indignity and increased desire to stave of the Management extremes. Just accept there is a greater wealth of knowledge and experience out here trying to assist the sheep make some escape a reality from the possible slaughter house you appear to sleep walk towards. The likes of Romero Farah and the other one do not give a hoot for staff . As for the avoidance of doing anything about the staff facing violence they can dodge as long as the unions don't make any legal argument about it. Same old same old then.
DeleteNapo secretary may not be as inept as you infer. It could be he is just coasting out to retirement in a good salary while there are enough members to fund him. Why do anything else he is not remarked upon as a real leader of any achievements so why rock his comfortable boat ride.
ReplyDeleteI've selected one paragraph from that guardian piece that says so much about the chronic failure, i.e. NEGLIGENCE, by moj/noms/hmpps to address the safety of staff throughout the Probation Service. The sentiments, as so many point out regularly, have been expressed on this blog over the years; but without a single action from moj/noms/hmpps. Its taken two serious incidents & associated fallout (despite attempts to hush it all up) before this concern is eventually expressed publicly.
ReplyDelete"Probation officers are particularly vulnerable to attack because they aim to set up a constructive working relationship with people, often in confined office spaces. As well as offering guidance, they also have to ensure compliance with conditions of release and address any violations."
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-and-college-security/school-and-college-security
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67f65fa0563cc9c84bacc3cd/dwp-physical-security-policy.pdf
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e4187f440f0b6090c63abe4/Introducing_government_security.pdf
11:08 you have no idea of what a buffoon you are!
ReplyDeleteDenigrating others achieves nothing positive but may tend to prompt people to keep their opinions and experience private. Denigration is not a way to encourage lawful behaviour and so traditionally was not part of most probation workers toolkits.
DeleteDenigrating no one here. Sheep won't know the difference between being foolish followers or taking a stance. Probation could not be in a worse position than had it tried. Yet here we are because dialogue and super self belief in a process of convincing might work . It has done nothing up to now and it won't into the bleak future. Just when the negligence of the authority could be exposed the old carrot following myopic small voice discussion might achieve what exactly? It will be more of the same and further apart you get what you ask for or deserve.
Delete@16.31 - I retired two decades ago but still have a keen interest and belief in the social work method with probation practice - Probation orders had been abandoned even before I retired. From the 1990s I was strongly suggesting new recruits consider widening their career prospects by obtaining a social work practice pre entry qualification rather than a probation officering one.
DeletePeople do what they believe is best at the time - referring to them as fools or sheep just prompts retaliation. There are no easy solutions nowadays but just maybe workers amalgamating and campaigning directly to members of parliament especially when there are inquiries - such as the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee are running (I discovered yesterday - weeks after the closure date for written submissions to the whole committee) might at least get the issues on the agenda in a reasoned and intelligent way.
I listened to the last half- hour of the debate in the House of Lords on the amendments to the Sentencing Bill last night (see Hansard 3rd December 2025) - most speakers though well intentioned seemed to have no understanding of the reality of the consequences of current criminal sentences. Shami Chakrabati was on the edge of losing her temper when she was trying to get some intelligent response regarding keeping vulnerable people out of prison service custody pre trial even when they do not face an offence that will ultimately lead to imprisonment - but got nowhere, with both Governement and Opposition front bench spokespeople refusing to change the failing system that is costing lives now. I am too long away from service to speak authoritatively but those working in the system now deserve to be heard if only they can priotorise time and energy to get their experience to those with actual power to influence if not directly change things for the better. Alternatively it seems to me the whole Criminal Justice System is heading for calamities the details of which it is impossible to predict.
Anon 16:31 You're wasting your time because you underestimate the tenacity of experiences probation staff. Those who care and still have energy for the fray, you're most welcome for the ride.
DeleteAndrew Jim without doubt we share a value base it's the same. Without doubt I respect Andrews long served role and respect immensely his continued thoughtful and helpful posts . This blog is the best place to have some hope to communicate some direct engagement of readers and tactically illustrated assertive harder harsher positioning because the employers read it. This blog weather vanes the torture. Jim I absolutely respect admire and congratulate you on some incredibly cool campaigning using your blog. I don't like the censorship but it's your blog your rules and occasionally you have to pull the angry commentator off. So I'm not in any disagreement . The cool face of diplomacy works well when you consult and have negotiated agreements. This works well when both sides perceived mutual interests. The basis of we both take something from the table. The commitments to future collaborative discussion the harmonious target being sought. Do not think I don't appreciate constructive and sustainable argument . That has its place and has been exhausting to watch the decline. Not one constructive debate has been sustainable against the onslaught of the employers who are fearless from any sanctions or retaliatory actions from both a placid workforce and a pathetic union leader . Given where we are after those appalling attacks on staff. Triggered somewhat I suspect by the difficult position the management have shifted our roles to enforcers. That has to be halted. Reversed and reformation as our core work reinstated. I suspect we could agree this. I am of the position that we go back beyond the 90s to a time social contract meant something. An imprest account for bus and travel fares. An immediate hardship fund . Some accompanied baseline services appointment and a place for our clients whereby they are assisted not told to use a website that none of us can make sense of. Office appointment meant a cup of tea a biscuit a warm through and a real heartfelt conversation about how and what need to happen to make the changes needed to strive not survive. Motivational interviewing has its place but before the metrics always works best. I am on for the ride and thanks for the invite but my fear nightmare is that we are going no place if the employers have a contained compliant workforce and I am well experienced of the knowledge required that these types of leaders really don't have any investment in dialogue other than to lip service the meeting and kick the can down the street. Why am I so upset is because there is no fire for the employers to burn against as they refuse all the constructive pressure because they will as they have done all the way through until our service once a people champion service is now a brutalising hub nationally where our colleagues have been forced into them and us. What a crying shameful episode from our brilliant unique serves we once took forward.
DeleteNow retired 10 years your response given early exchanges clearly evidences your shared passion/love of Service and indeed the ethos/essence of those core values which once drove Probation. I’m truly sorry that your vocation has left you feeling this way and can only ever hope that there are those around you who can provide you with a glimmer of hope and a commonality of expression and the fortitude/strength to stay with the Journey. I think Andrew raises some pertinent points about connecting with MP’s and Yes making a submission to the next Ministerial Review. I can only see a group of Academics and two Organisations contributing to the most recent Committee. There are MP’s who ‘get it’. I am genuinely so out of touch that I dont’ know what NAPO are doing but did respond to their call to engage MP’s. Sadly, even after 4 emails no positive response . But, I will continue to engage. Jim is right in the belief that important people are reading this blog . The real question is whether they are truly listening or hearing what is being said. As later reflected on here there are many from the past who are very much on ALL of your side 0.44 and thanks to them too . It ALL matters and many care. Take care everybody . IanGould5
DeleteHoL, 3 Dec 2025
ReplyDeleteLord Cobblers: "I now turn to the amendments that address the issue of capacity within the Probation Service. I am pleased that this gives me another opportunity to pay tribute to our incredible probation staff, who work tirelessly to keep the public safe. I am proud to be their colleague.
I begin by recognising the close interest of probation trade unions in Amendment 134, tabled by my noble friend Lord Woodley. I greatly value our ongoing engagement and meaningful consultations; their input will continue to inform our approach. I also thank my noble friend for mentioning the two horrendous attacks on our probation staff in Preston and Oxford. These are fine public servants who turn up to work to protect the public; they, and all probation staff, should not be in fear of their safety. I send both my colleagues best wishes for their recovery...
...We already have strong and independent scrutiny, and ensure transparency on probation case loads and staffing through various publications. For example, HMPPS publishes quarterly reports covering probation staffing and case loads."
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2025-12-03a.1787.3&p=10208
"We already have strong and independent scrutiny, and ensure transparency on probation case loads and staffing through various publications. For example, HMPPS publishes quarterly reports covering probation staffing and case loads."
DeleteThe missing parts:
"If my noble lords will indulge me, the reality is we don't give a shit about the probation service. It was yet another of those inconvenient inheritances that the previous government failed to deal with. At least by recognising the close interests of the trade unions & valuing the consultations the noble lord will know that means we have them in our pocket & control the narrative.
As for transparency, its simply one of those terribly useful political phrases meaning we only allow to be seen what we choose to show and, as all in the chamber will recognise, published government statistics make for excellent doorstops on balmy days, but are otherwise of no use.
Now I must press on with the matters in hand. TOYS!! We have at least £700 million to play with and I wonder if any of those present in the chamber are on the boards of any exotic tech companies? The Home Secretary has already suggested exploding tags & the Lord Chancellor has opted for robot judges..."
Brilliantly funny sadly we are walking into it.
DeleteOn Symbols, Solidarity, and Service: A Reflection
ReplyDeleteRecently, I included Palestinian flag emoji in few of my posts. I’ve learned that this offended or concerned some readers. I take that feedback seriously, and I want to address it directly, not to debate geopolitics, but to clarify my intent and reaffirm the core values that guide this professional space.
First, my apology: I am sorry for any distress or alienation caused. As a probation officer, my primary duty is to foster an environment of trust and impartiality for everyone I serve—clients, colleagues, and the community. If a symbol I used made anyone question that commitment, I regret the impact.
My intent was never advocacy for a political faction or hostility toward any group. In the context of that post, the emoji was intended as a shorthand for solidarity with populations experiencing profound suffering, displacement, and loss of life. In my social work values, bearing witness to humanitarian crisis and speaking of injustice is part of promoting human dignity. For me, it connected to themes of trauma, displacement, and systemic oppression that, in different forms, affect many of the individuals and communities we work with every day.
I understand the need for this blog to maintain neutrality in party politics. However, I argue that ethical solidarity is not partisan; it is foundational. Choosing to see shared humanity, to name suffering, and to stand against dehumanising systems is not a deviation from our professional code—it is its deepest expression. It strengthens our resolve to challenge the stigmatising structures that also feed recidivism and hopelessness within our own systems.
However, I see clearly that in this professional context, the use of such a symbol was a mistake.
My commitment to justice, anti-oppression, and human dignity is unwavering. But I will channel it through my actions, not through symbols that can divide.
Going forward, I will be more mindful that in this professional forum, my communication must serve the mission above all else: to support rehabilitation, protect the community, and do justice. The complex, necessary conversations about global justice and solidarity belong in other, personal arenas of my life.
Thank you for holding me accountable. Dialogue and feedback are crucial. My door remains open for constructive conversations about how we can best serve our shared community with integrity, compassion, and professionalism.
ANARCHIST PO
In actual fact I tend to be offended by genocide. I’m also offended by the support we give to a racist & extreme right wing government in Israel. I am also offended by religious extremists who bully, assault and kill those who don’t agree with them. I use the term religious extremism to encompass all religions that use violence to get their way. I’m offended by their ignorance and narrow mindedness. I am offended by their credulity. I am not offended by someone posting a flag. I may be irritated but that’s another matter.
DeleteANARCHIST PO "I understand the need for this blog to maintain neutrality in party politics." Regular readers will be aware that I do not support right wing politics in the shape of the Tory Party, Reform and the GOP/MAGA/Trump world.
ReplyDeleteIt is questionable that we are stating the obvious. No progressive person could not be appalled at the state of international matters in the last 5 years. The symbolism which has been triggered from all sides in the flag displays are what we all know are signals of allegiance. This unrest has seen the UK fall into a bed of infighting and decay. Not just the usual crowds of people but other social cultures too. The police are policing international matters based on the make up of our people in the UK. What I want to promote is neutrality so that we can move towards delivering the best form of social care and professional interactions so that we can secure decent best fair support services while ensuring the public have confidence that we maintain risk protections. What many would not like is symbolic gesturing no matter how well intentioned. I think the point was already made above and anarchist which I doubt although I do respect what you have said. Perhaps channel that energy where you could really drive the unionist agenda to the betterment.
ReplyDeleteThank you both for taking the time to share your perspectives. I appreciate the engagement and the depth of thought in your responses.
ReplyDeleteTo the first commenter 19:34: I hear your profound outrage at injustice and suffering, and I share the belief that bearing witness to humanitarian crisis is a moral imperative. The scale of pain in the world right now demands our attention and our empathy.
To the second commenter 21:05: You have articulated precisely the professional principle I was striving to reaffirm—that our primary duty in this specific role is to maintain a neutral, trusted space focused on effective service delivery, risk management, and public confidence. I agree that our energy is most powerfully directed toward the structural work and daily actions that uphold justice and care within our own systems.
My reflection stands as my final word on this specific matter in this professional forum. I have taken the feedback to heart, and my focus—as it must be—is now entirely on the work itself: supporting rehabilitation, protecting the community, and serving all individuals with integrity and impartiality.
ANARCHIST PO
ReplyDeleteUnintended Consequences or Quiet Conspiracy?
I'm retired a few years now but I spent nearly 40 years of my career in and around probation. Like Jim I'm old school CQSW trained probation - and I would be the first to admit that I'm distant from modern day probation practice. But that doesn't stop me from caring about what is happening to probation or trying to work out how we ended up in such a mess. So I jotted the following thoughts down. I thought I would share them here. I'm sorry they got too long so I'll have to do it in parts
_---+++---
When you look at what has happened to probation and prisons over the past decades, you can approach it in two ways. Either it’s a story of unintended consequences—well-meaning reforms that spiralled into dysfunction—or it’s the product of a subtle, persistent ideological project driven by right-wing political and commercial interests. In truth, you don’t need to believe in conspiracy to see how powerful interests lined up behind the same direction of travel: marketisation, managerialism, and a performative toughness on crime. The outcomes, planned or not, have been the same.
1. Privatisation: When Ideology Meets Profit
The probation and prison services became testing grounds for the idea that the private sector can always deliver public services more efficiently. It didn’t matter that evidence was thin or that services relied on professional relationships rather than widgets on a production line—privatisation fitted a political worldview and appealed to commercial providers keen for long-term government contracts.
The result? Large outsourcing firms took over supervision, tagging, and entire prisons. Success was measured in contract compliance rather than human outcomes. Inevitably, quality gave way to cost-cutting. Staff were stretched. Services became fragmented. And when things went wrong, the response wasn’t to question the model but to double down on it.
2. Managerialism: The Belief That Targets Fix Everything
A deep belief in managerialism crept across the justice system. It told ministers that if you create the right KPIs, dashboards, and compliance regimes, services would magically improve. But probation and prisons aren’t factory floors. They’re complex, relational environments where trust and time matter.
The managerial turn shifted culture from professional judgement to box-ticking, from human contact to case throughput. Officers increasingly spent more time recording their work than doing it. Decisions became less about what helps an individual change and more about what satisfies the audit trail. In the process, creativity, discretion and empathy were squeezed out.
ReplyDelete3. Appealing to the Public’s Punitive Instincts
Politically, there’s always been an easier sell in punishment than rehabilitation. Saying you're “tough on offenders” gets headlines and applause lines; saying you want to invest in rehabilitation gets you accusations of being soft.
So the political incentives tilted decisively toward enforcement: more tagging, more conditions, more surveillance, more breaches, more recall. “Help” became “compliance.” Probation’s identity shifted from a service that supported people into one that monitored them.
It is cheaper and more electorally convenient to promise punishment than to engage the public in the harder truth that rehabilitation is messy, individual, and long-term—and far more effective in reducing crime.
4. The Cultural Shift: From Care to Control
Probation once lived in the space between social work and criminal justice. It was a service that believed people could change and worked with them to make it happen.
But over time, the system moved steadily from care toward control. The pressure to enforce, the contractualisation of services, and the politicisation of crime all pushed probation to become an arm of enforcement rather than an agent of rehabilitation.
Prisons, too, became less about resettlement and more about containment. Overcrowding, underfunding and constant crisis management left little room for anything resembling rehabilitation.
5. So Was It a Conspiracy or a Collision of Interests?
You don’t need backroom plots or dark networks pulling strings. Right-wing political ideology, commercial interests, and managerialist thinking simply aligned. They didn’t have to coordinate—they shared assumptions:
the market is efficient
the private sector can do it better
punishment is popular
professionals need tighter control
rehabilitation is too complicated to sell
These beliefs produced structural change that hollowed out probation, overcrowded prisons, failed communities, and ultimately made society less safe.
What we’re living with now may not have been intended, but it certainly wasn’t accidental. When ideology, profit and political convenience march in the same direction, you don’t need a conspiracy. You just need a government willing to ignore the warnings.
6. And Now?
We’re left with a probation service recovering from fragmentation, a prison system bursting at the seams, and a political climate that still reaches for punitive solutions first. The road back to a system rooted in rehabilitation, professional expertise and humane purpose will be long.
But admitting the truth is a start: the damage didn’t happen by chance. It happened because the incentives favoured control over care, punishment over change, measurement over meaning, and ideology over evidence.
The question now is whether we’re willing to reverse that trajectory—or whether the unintended consequences will continue to play out exactly as some interests always expected they would.
Nice well written I want to agree with all you say. Just a couple of dramatic irritations for my observation . Twice you reference the right wing yet you do not evidence how this is connected to the right in any way. There is no evidence being authoritarian is right wing it is just the way market appeal draws the best sales line. Bifurcation of your opening didn't quite branch into a major second position that I could clearly distinguish but it didn't stop me enjoying your efforts. Blaming everything to right wing though was just not demonstrated. The right don't have the sort of gravity you allude to involved in the shift to state offender micro management . The route back to old days is going to be difficult although welcome. The editor claims a tenacious group up for the fray. He has no idea they are going to be minced by the savages in charge.
DeleteThanks for taking the time to comment. I see that my little contribution got picked up as a blog lead which I think did generate some interesting comments.
DeleteMy comment wasn't supposed to be a polished piece and I didn't give a load of thought to terminology other than what has been in my head over the last few years. Right wing in my mind is shorthand for political beliefs that support free market principles, privatisation, and the outsourcing of public services. I don't particularly associate that with authoritarian approaches. I think that comes more from the 'Tough on Crime' political stance which encourages a punitive, authoritarian approach which I think has impacted on the micro management of cases.