- How concerned are you about the early release plans starting in October?
- What are you worried about and why?
- What do people need to know about what's happening inside the Probation Service and its ability to manage risks to the public?
Responses please to:
wyjaw@protonmail.com
Sally.Chesworth@itn.co.uk
All replies will only be used by C4 anonymously and the content will be voiced up by actors. We welcome replies from anyone working in Probation, across England & Wales
https://youtu.be/YxJ953Mk7-Y?si=Fs-96WDZy4iMe-Nq
ReplyDeleteThat's...four questions? 🤣
ReplyDeleteAnon 09:54 Well done, so it is - or was. Amended, cheers.
DeleteI could just place a mic' in my office and they could hear first hand just how demoralised and fearful we are of the future.
ReplyDeleteIt may not mean a lot but I’ve just expressed my pride on X that over 90% of those in Napo have voted for Industrial Action. I’ve also shared that with 19 Labour MP’s via DM’s who follow and 3 MP’s who agreed to receive updates. Ive also emailed my own MP with the Press Release which is published on NAPO’s website. The timing feels critical and I hope many from across JB’s blog will also email their own MP and help raise Probations profile and also their own understanding . https://www.napo.org.uk/news/press-release-9076-napo-members-back-strike-action-probation-workloads-crisis-deepens. Sharing very best wishes with ALL Probation staff who also read this blog.
ReplyDeleteNapo Press Release:-
DeleteNapo members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of potential industrial action over workloads, with 90.76% backing action and warning government that probation staff are at breaking point, putting public safety at risk.
Thousands took part in the indicative ballot amid chronic staff shortages, excessive workloads, burnout and reliance on overtime to keep the service running.
The result should come as a blow to government as it prepares to expand early release from prison and implement Sentencing Act changes, increasing the number of people managed in the community while probation is already struggling to cope.
Napo National Chair Ben Cockburn said: “This ballot wasn’t about members being too busy. It was professionals warning they cannot protect the public properly when there are not enough people to do the work.
“Probation staff make decisions every day with life-changing consequences for the people we work with, victims and the public. If excessive workloads prevent those decisions being made properly, the consequences can be devastating.
“The government cannot keep treating probation as the place where the consequences of failures elsewhere in the criminal justice system are dumped. If you overload probation, you increase risk. It really is that simple.”
Napo says the government’s £700 million probation investment must deliver more frontline staff, better pay, safer workplaces and manageable workloads, rather than being absorbed by technology and electronic monitoring costs.
The union says recruitment alone will not solve the crisis unless staff are retained by improving the conditions they work under.
Napo recently spent more than a year in a bitter pay dispute with HMPPS and the government, arguing that improving pay is essential to recruitment and retention and therefore directly connected to tackling excessive workloads.
Napo National Chair Ben Cockburn said: “Promises of extra investment are starting to sound like snake oil when we have heard them so many times before.
“We have been told about hundreds, then thousands, of new recruits. But how many qualified, stayed, or later left because workloads, pay and conditions became unbearable?
“You cannot recruit your way out of a retention crisis while leaving the underlying problems untouched.
“Our members have now delivered an overwhelming verdict. They are saying enough is enough.”
Napo is urging government to listen to probation professionals before the consequences of a service pushed beyond its limits become impossible to ignore.
HMPPS has previously been issued with seven key demands, with deadlines for implementation, as Napo prepares for the next stage of its workloads campaign."
Good luck to members sorry that old ratchet tub thumper is not likely to to make any meaningful change for you. Sadly it is percentage to hide the numbers of ballots so I would worry . Still 90 is is good outcome to reject tin pot labour.
DeletePlease can we have the actual figures, i.e. number of members, number of votes cast in total & numbers for & against?
Delete"The MoJ said it was "disappointed" by the ballot outcome."
DeleteOh.
1745 they will never tell us never because the 90 is only from the total return of eligible voters and the overall number of cast votes say well be just over any figure worse case just 10 cast votes of 9 for us 90% or just 3000 voted which is not even 50% of staff.
DeleteShows how stupid some of us are when, if only voting 'for show', 10% still managed to get it wrong! There was absolutely no reason for anyone to say no at this stage... well, stupidity....
ReplyDelete“Promises of extra investment are starting to sound like snake oil... Napo is urging government to listen to probation professionals... HMPPS has previously been issued with seven key demands, with deadlines for implementation"
ReplyDeleteProbation's been spoon-fed snake oil for decades. Local, regional & national management have been collectively holding the noses of probation staff & pouring it down their throats. No matter how its been disguised & delivered - Choreographed, Trusted, Transformed or Reset - it still tastes like shit.
Difficulty is that the unions (plural) have no authority, no gracvitas, no meaningful presence... just wobbly words of if's, but's, maybe's, wild claims & empty promises. They do a lot of "urging", so much so its a wonder they haven't had a prolapse. They do a lot of "demanding", but from a position of subservience & learned helplessness.
The "indicative" ballot is, as anon20:27 points out above, not exactly overwhelming when 9% of however many of the 6,135 members (no ar21 for 2025 yet, so this remains the 2024 membership figure) do not vote for it.
IF *all* members voted (I doubt they did) that's over 550 union members who, in this current climate of ever-worsening shitstorm, did NOT vote for "potential industrial action over workloads".
If the current & impending situation isn't enough to make you fear the worst, what will it take?
Severally & individually you're in a position of extreme jeopardy, with the current dangerous levels of workload about to be ramped up beyond what is imaginable. The govt & hmpps haven't a fucking clue what they're doing & as an ex-prison governonr said on R4 yesterday, the PM is getting shit advice from a pack of inexperienced blowhards & his cabinet sec - ***who used to be the DG of hmpps***. What he didn't go on to say was she was responsible for so much of the catastrophe that's been brewing for the last decade at least.
The whole Sentencing Act is about to be re-written - again - and it aint going to be pretty. Its already been rebranded as The New Progression Model ... one where the loudest cries of "foul" result in failure to release because hmpps will find some means of keeping the chosen ones in gaol for a few more weeks or months.
Meanwhile those moderate rightwingers wanting to 'reform' the country are having a ball, with ex-prison governor flakey frake signalling the return of the death penalty wouldn't go amiss.
And 9% of however many voted (will we ever know?) think there's nothing to fret about?
Whatever anyone thinks of Napo, 90.76% of those voting in an indicative ballot supporting potential industrial action should be impossible for HMPPS to dismiss as a few disgruntled staff.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Napo should publish the turnout and actual voting figures because transparency matters. But perhaps the bigger question is what happens next.
Probation has an unusual amount of public attention at the moment. Channel 4 is actively asking frontline staff to describe what is happening. Early release is dominating the news. Government is relying on “tougher community supervision” to reassure the public, while simultaneously expecting an already overstretched service to deliver it.
If ever there were a moment for probation staff to stop being the invisible part of the criminal justice system, surely this is it.
And this cannot be allowed to become simply an argument about wanting more pay or doing less work. Workloads, retention, experience, training, professional autonomy and yes, pay, all ultimately lead back to the same thing: public protection.
The government cannot tell the public that probation will provide the safety net for its sentencing and early-release policies while ignoring warnings from the people expected to provide that safety net.
The really interesting question now is whether Napo is prepared to use the leverage its members currently have, or whether we get another round of strongly worded statements, meetings, “urging” HMPPS to act and then watch the moment pass.
Because “without probation none of this can happen” is only a powerful statement if probation is finally prepared to act like it believes it.
The whole issue of possible strikes and workloads is the reason we should-and the unions should- have held out for better pay rises and better negotiations. That we would be shafted was clear and obvious. Burnham keeps going on about the prisons, the prisons and Andrew Harper's killers, but he's made no fist or acknowledgment about probation- we're just the dumping ground for chronic failures. It's not populist a knee-jerk reaction to worry about probation, but mention the moral panic of offenders being released early and crystallise it with one case, is why politicians never seem to change and neither will Burnham. It's like they have a 10 point plan whenever this sort of thing happens and they stick to it. Or they appease one case when the rot is so much deeper and probation is there to pick up the pieces without even so much as a thank you or what about us. Disgraceful. Get probation well away from prisons and prisons: start being fit for purpose and treating probation with the respect it deserves; same for politicians. They'll be in more of a crisis if we strike.
ReplyDeleteStrike? If not now, WHEN???
ReplyDeleteR4 today - Sima Kotecha - big piece about sentencing act etc... 50 police chiefs' letter, hmip jones, "I've also spoken to probation officers"... fuck all from the invisible chief probation officer, from any regional directors. Govt response: "we've invested £700million yada yada yada"
ReplyDeleteDear Prime Minister,
We welcome your intervention regarding the potential earlier release of those responsible for the death of PC Andrew Harper, and your instruction to the Justice Secretary to examine what can lawfully be done. When the state asks people to run towards danger on behalf of the public, they should be able to trust that the justice system will stand behind them when the worst happens.
PC Andrew Harper's case also raises a wider question.
When someone is sentenced for an exceptionally serious offence, how much confidence can victims, bereaved families and the public place in that sentence if subsequent changes to release arrangements result in an offender being released significantly earlier than originally anticipated?
This question extends far beyond policing."
Its too long for one post so link to full letter here:
https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/fifty-police-chiefs-call-on-pm-to-prevent-pc-harper-killers-release
Families across the country are now facing the distress of learning that offenders may be released earlier than they understood when sentence was passed. We do not suggest that the grief of a police family is greater than that of any other bereaved family, nor that the life of an emergency worker has greater value.
DeleteOur concern is for all victims and families affected by serious offending sentencing changes.
PC Andrew Harper lost his life while protecting the public and serving his community. Following his death, Lissie Harper campaigned for a change in the law, leading Parliament to establish Harper's Law, recognising the exceptional risks emergency workers take while protecting others.
While Harper's Law cannot retrospectively alter the sentences imposed following PC Andrew Harper’s death, the principle behind it remains important. Those who serve and protect the public should know that the justice system recognises the risks they take on society's behalf. Victims and bereaved families should be confident that sentences imposed for the most serious offences retain meaning and that public protection remains a central consideration when release decisions are made.
There is a profound strength of feeling across policing about those responsible for PC Andrew Harper’s death benefiting from arrangements that could see them released substantially earlier than expected.
Officers and staff understand that the law must be applied as it stands. But they will question what message this sends about the value placed on their service and sacrifice when they put themselves in harm’s way to protect others.
Police officers and staff see first-hand the impact serious crime has on victims and their families. They support people through some of the most difficult moments of their lives and ask them to place their trust in the justice system. That trust is vital and should not be weakened. We are also collectively concerned that an approach to early release which does not sufficiently distinguish the most serious offending risks undermining public safety, victim confidence and wider confidence in the criminal justice system.
We therefore ask Government to consider three measures.
First, we ask that every lawful option is examined to determine whether the earlier release of those responsible for PC Andrew Harper's death can be prevented.
We recognise that Government must act within the law. Nevertheless, given the significance of this case, it is right that every available lawful avenue is explored.
Second, we ask Government to establish an additional public protection safeguard in cases involving the most serious offenders whenever future changes to sentencing on release arrangements are considered.
Where an offender has caused a death, committed exceptionally serious violence, or presents an ongoing risk to individuals or communities, there should be explicit consideration of public protection, victim impact and community safety before release arrangements are amended.
This principle should also apply to serious offences where there is a continuing risk of harm to victims or the public, including serious violence against women and girls, stalking and harassment.
This is not simply a question of punishment. It is a question of ensuring that public protection, victim confidence and community safety remain central to decisions that may substantially reduce the time an offender spends in custody.
Third, victims and bereaved families must be properly considered whenever significant changes are made to sentencing or release arrangements.
There should also be consideration of the impact that significant changes to release policy may have on victims, public protection, policing and confidence in the justice system.
Prime Minister, we welcome your intervention and the direction you have given to the Justice Secretary. This provides an opportunity not only to examine every lawful avenue in PC Andrew Harper’s case, but to ensure similar concerns do not arise again.
DeleteWe make this request in memory of PC Andrew Harper, in support of his family, friends, colleagues and the communities he served and on behalf of all victims of serious offending.
The public should be able to trust that when a court passes sentence for the most serious crimes, victims, public protection and confidence in the justice system remain at the heart of any subsequent decisions about release.
We stand ready to continue working with Government on safeguards needed to protect victims, the public and confidence in the justice system.
We look forward to further conversations.
Yours sincerely,
With the collective agreement and support of Chief Constables and Commissioners across the United Kingdom
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c39e3y1y2zjo
ReplyDeleteSima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent
Published
48 minutes ago
The chief inspector of probation for England and Wales has told the BBC the early release of thousands of prisoners could lead to "a serious sexual or violent offence or even murder" because of the demands on probation staff to monitor offenders.
The government is set to release 5,000 offenders from October as part of new laws to create more space in overcrowded prisons.
Probation officers supervise offenders after prison sentences and check they follow the terms of their release, such as sticking to curfews and not taking drugs.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said "protecting the public is our top priority", adding it had invested in probation and hiring trainee officers.
But Martin Jones, His Majesty's Chief Inspector of probation for England and Wales, told the BBC that "ultimately I'm not fully confident that the probation system will be able to cope with this massive work and there's a risk that things will go wrong".
"Probation services are already under unprecedented pressure.
"I mean, they're managing a caseload of 258,000 cases, that's nearly three times the number that are in our prisons, and obviously the early release scheme will be increasing that pressure considerably."
Probation officers help former prisoners with housing, employment and access to benefits once in the community, and help protect the public by assessing the risk of further offending.
Their workload will increase substantially when more offenders - some of whom will have been convicted of violent offences - will be released months earlier than planned as part of the Sentencing Act.
According to the chief inspector, probation caseload has increased by 8% over the last two years.
Much of that is down to a separate early release scheme which was implemented in 2024 after prisons nearly reached full capacity.
That scheme has led to tens of thousands of offenders being let out sooner.
When asked what risk the additional early releases due to start in the autumn could pose to the public, Jones said "that could be a serious sexual or violent offence or even murder".
One probation officer told the BBC the upcoming releases had put him and his colleagues into "a state of panic".
"We can't cope with this - we've been saying that to anybody who will listen.
"At the minute I think it's pure panic in terms of where we're at. I don't understand how there can be this level of pressure put on us.
"The worst that can happen is that things are missed, plans aren't put into place and we don't give people the level of service they need and that leads to serious further offences.
In a statement, an MoJ spokesperson said the department had exceeded its recruitment target for last year, with 1,389 trainee probation officers starting.
The spokesperson said this is "making sure the Probation Service has the resource it needs to keep dangerous offenders under closer surveillance than ever before".
"The Sentencing Act is restoring order to a prison system left on the brink of collapse, while our record £700m investment in probation and community punishment is ensuring staff have the resources, powers, and technology they need to manage offenders safely in the community," the spokesperson added.
On Tuesday, probation officers voted in favour of strike action over the scheme, with probation union Napo saying 90% of its members had backed potential industrial action.
Delete"This ballot wasn't about members being too busy," Napo national chair Ben Cockburn said.
"It was professionals warning they cannot protect the public properly when there are not enough people to do the work."
The MoJ said it was "disappointed" by the ballot outcome.
Inspectorate reports published between January and March 2026 highlight staffing gaps in probation, a lack of experience, significant issues with information sharing, as well as "the burden placed on overstretched staff by large-scale change programmes".
As of March, there were 5,554 full-time equivalent probation officers, a shortfall of 1,556 against the target staffing level of 7,110.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there will be a presumption that all offenders released as part of the new laws will be tagged and have longer periods of supervision.
This will mean more responsibility on probation staff.
"Electronic tagging has been talked about as a key part of the arrangement but actually all that provides you with is information to inform their understanding of what is going on and then to act upon that when necessary, and I'm not sure the systems are there and robust enough to assist the probation officer when they're doing their work," Jones said.
"I've previously said that it would be a good idea to look at the overall workload of probation and consider what are the essential things that they need to be doing, not what's desirable."
"It's a matter of desirable work that I want the probation service to be doing.
"But with a probation service that probably has a vacancy rate of 20-25%, what can they realistically do."
On Tuesday, the prime minister said he was "increasingly confident" that work to add space in the prison system "will allow us to reduce the number of people released early".
It comes as Burnham is facing growing pressure to ensure the killers of PC Andrew Harper are not released as part of the scheme.
On Tuesday evening, fifty police chiefs from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland penned a letter to the prime minister calling for him to pursue "every legal option" to prevent the early release of PC Harper's killers.
Downing Street had earlier warned it would not be possible to exclude "one or two offenders" convicted of manslaughter from early release.
But after outcry, Burnham ordered the justice secretary to find a way to bar Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers from the scheme, and the prime minister has now said he is "confident" they can be excluded.
The letter welcomed the prime minister's intervention, adding: "This provides an opportunity not only to examine every lawful avenue in PC Andrew Harper's case, but to ensure similar concerns do not arise again."