tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post3231854482121663593..comments2024-03-28T12:02:49.472+00:00Comments on On Probation Blog: Lifers and Open PrisonJim Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-26931635751812383342014-05-10T16:58:43.616+01:002014-05-10T16:58:43.616+01:00our CRC information afternoon was awful, one poor ...our CRC information afternoon was awful, one poor girl fainted and this resulted in a 20 min break whilst the paramedics were called. Upon returning the ACO said he would have to cut to the end and acknowledged most people would probably be relieved!! Next we were asked to conjure up what the CRC meant for us - there were flip charts on the main wall with all the usual nauseating fake words such as 'camaraderie etc etc. The ACO then asked us all that if we believed in the 'buzz' words then we should sign the flipchart which had on it the signatures of the morning group. This flipchart would then act as a 'contract' The most patronising twaddle I've heard for such a long time. Oh i'd love to be able to walk out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-7338960384397096802014-05-10T10:44:44.112+01:002014-05-10T10:44:44.112+01:00To be honest guys I'm on my travels again and ...To be honest guys I'm on my travels again and was without internet connection for a period. Don't panic! Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-81592090186014778102014-05-10T10:17:41.858+01:002014-05-10T10:17:41.858+01:00Yes.Never heard so much meaningless drivel and sim...Yes.Never heard so much meaningless drivel and simultaneously received so little information or sensible instruction about how we are supposed to put this crazy split system into meaningful practice. It wont work and no amount of bumbling flattery is going to change that fact.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-59085640406592079542014-05-10T09:45:46.126+01:002014-05-10T09:45:46.126+01:00After my TR training - with a very small t..I had ...After my TR training - with a very small t..I had the pleasure of the district staff conference...a prayer of thanksgiving - full of self congratulatory shite. It was gringeworthy - all those senior managers and a very nice but totally ineffective Trust Chair telling us we are all so wonderful, to have maintained quality service in the face of adversity; like we did it/do it for them...not bloody likely. I did not know whether to laugh or cry as one senior CRC exec expressed that he was bursting with excitement and joy - if only someone had told his face that, I may have received this as bordering on honesty. Oh and the thread throughout, 'we share the same DNA' - one ACO offering a rather bizarre personal account of her relationship with her twin sister - although they don't always agree, they share the same DNA - I was reaching for my sick bag, but realised I was not on a plane watching some B Movie, but in the middle row of a line of equally bemused colleagues in an expensive hotel, and this was the drivel my trust and management thought uplifting and motivational - Oh and that old chestnut - because we (the management) don't know what we're doing, we have given you all a post it note to put down what you want and expect from the future - read - 'see if you can steer us in some credible direction' - all I could muster was, 'ask me again post share sale'. <br /><br />This TR stuff is So deluded, So smug, So dangerous to the public, clients and a workforce, probably the most non financially motivated work force this country has ever seen, alongside those in the NHS and Education; and for what? To be stabbed in the face by those who suggest they democratically run the country. <br /><br /> 30 years innoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-75305130395571876802014-05-10T09:39:26.517+01:002014-05-10T09:39:26.517+01:00Jim, how come we have had no updates for 2 days. Jim, how come we have had no updates for 2 days. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-46802024930196178532014-05-10T08:54:03.317+01:002014-05-10T08:54:03.317+01:00Folks who have been in 30 years have had their aut...Folks who have been in 30 years have had their autonomy chipped away since 1984. They have survived one or several reorganisations since 2001. They may have struck and campaigned to defend the status of probation training several times since first doing it to protect trainees income in 1982. They will have had senior managers gain advancement and financial reward on the basis of their effort and professional integrity. They were resolute when Michael Howard's crowd took away professional training and Straw's liers advanced CJS privatisation. Youngsters have come in who seem not to think it vital that continuity of one on one relationships be started before sentence and maintained with a client's family over many years, and even they did not believe a government and whole parliament could be this dismissive of what they have learned by training and expeience. And then there was nothing in their job descriptions when they started about being computer operators or adminstrators, and other people were employed to be their secretaries<br /><br />Give 'em a break!Andrew_S_Hattonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09115192522317353139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-74825873925398246592014-05-10T08:33:57.710+01:002014-05-10T08:33:57.710+01:00Anon at 20:12 what were you doing during the last ...Anon at 20:12 what were you doing during the last period of industrial action?The Madness of King Chrisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-70649397385283576542014-05-10T08:25:53.148+01:002014-05-10T08:25:53.148+01:00Not true in this case. If the Parole Board make a ...Not true in this case. If the Parole Board make a recommendation to move a Lifer to open conditions, the prisoner can not move until he or she receives the decision letter from the Sec of State. Of course it isn't CG who decides but one of his civil servants, but it is explicitly a Sec of State letter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-46354500958853648662014-05-10T06:27:56.380+01:002014-05-10T06:27:56.380+01:00VER - exists only for the very senior managers and...VER - exists only for the very senior managers and staff who can not be placed in either NPS or CRC eg IT staff don't build any hopes on this please folks.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-8681949746714635932014-05-10T03:07:38.650+01:002014-05-10T03:07:38.650+01:00Anon 20:12 where the hell have you been the last 6...Anon 20:12 where the hell have you been the last 6 months? Which union are you in? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-16986413157620246082014-05-10T01:23:21.737+01:002014-05-10T01:23:21.737+01:00I think that's somewhat unfair. As a relativel...I think that's somewhat unfair. As a relatively young PO in the CRC, I see no opportunities for myself. In fact, I see the complete disintegration of my career and no clue about what I am to do for the next 30 years. I am too young for VER, but can't seem to find an alternative job that interests me. In my office, it is the younger staff that upset and angry about our current situation and the older staff that are sleepwalking into it, seemingly oblivious to what the future holds. But maybe that because they have the luxury of VER,something that's a long way off for some of us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-42657375743563050622014-05-09T23:58:02.950+01:002014-05-09T23:58:02.950+01:00Couldn't agree more, I am also one of those th...Couldn't agree more, I am also one of those that has been in the service for 30 years and all I hear from those who have only been doing the same job for a few years saying, "there's loads of opportunities", which opportunities are these, they are so short sighted and don't realise that once private companies come in, do they think they will get the same wages and respect as they did in the service as it was. THEY ARE DEFINATLY SLEEPWALKING, good luck to them, if you are as old as me at least we can look forward to out retirement and getting the f""k out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-34873210336194274302014-05-09T23:01:58.966+01:002014-05-09T23:01:58.966+01:00The public are overwhelmingly opposed to private f...The public are overwhelmingly opposed to private firms running public services, a new poll has revealed.<br /><br />The findings, in a Survation poll for campaign group We Own It, reveals the extent of public opposition to the role of Serco, G4S and others in providing public services.<br /><br />Sixty-three per cent of people think Serco should be banned from bidding for any new public contracts after the firm was investigated for overcharging on government contracts.<br /><br />Just seven per cent believed they should be able to bid for government contracts now. <br /><br />Fifty-nine per cent of people thought G4S should never be able to bid on another government contract after it overcharged for prison tags.<br /><br />The poll comes as campaigners target Serco's annual general meeting in London.<br /><br />"People are feeling more than a little sick of Serco - too big to fail, too sprawling to deliver but too profit-hungry to serve us properly," Cat Hobbs, director of We Own It, said.<br /><br />The poll suggests the public's hostility towards private provision of public services varies depending on the sector.<br /><br />Only 28% of people believe it is appropriate for the private sector to be running prisons. Just 21% believe it is appropriate for them to be running emergency services like ambulances.<br /><br />On the electronic tagging of prisoners, the percentage of people comfortable with private sector involvement rises to 39%, although it is still lower than the 43% of people uncomfortable with private involvement.<br /><br />Trust in the public sector is much higher. Sixty-five per cent of people would be comfortable with public ownership of GP services, 66% with emergency services and 69% with non-emergency police services.<br /><br />Just 16% of people thought the relationship between government and outsourcing companies is about right, while 37% thought it was too close.<br /><br />Only 16% believed there was adequate regulation of private coompanies, compared to 59% who thought there was not.<br /><br />Asked what five words they would associate with Serco, the most popular terms were 'self-interested', 'unreliable', 'expensive', 'greedy' and 'unaccountable'.<br /><br />The least commons words were 'patriotic', 'old-fashioned', 'caring', 'honest' and 'innovative'.<br /> <br />The poll shows that the public still have huge levels of support for public institutions. Trust for the NHS was at 79%, for the police at 65% and the armed forces at 79%.<br /><br />Only 21% trusted private outsourcing companies.Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-49454509848438208352014-05-09T22:36:13.402+01:002014-05-09T22:36:13.402+01:00http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2014/05/08/bucking-...http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2014/05/08/bucking-the-trend-poll-show-huge-opposition-to-privately-runAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-41461547705411209482014-05-09T22:26:38.249+01:002014-05-09T22:26:38.249+01:00Its another world in which we exist. I feel angry ...Its another world in which we exist. I feel angry and shafted, but colleagues see opportunity to thrive. I think there's no justice, others see scope to create justice out of the chaos. I don't understand how grayling and the trust get away with it, but those 25 years younger than me take it in their stride - "it is what it is - get over it, grandad". I feel distraught; others (with fuck all experience) are setting up consultancies.<br /><br />Its a muddle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-9458502547233173452014-05-09T22:21:54.993+01:002014-05-09T22:21:54.993+01:00http://mutuals.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/...http://mutuals.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Successful Bidding by PA Consulting Group.pdf <br /><br />works fineAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-76941686709317430332014-05-09T22:18:15.558+01:002014-05-09T22:18:15.558+01:00But its always passed down the line, like sfo'...But its always passed down the line, like sfo's - never the perpetrator, always the PO. We are the whipping boys & girls for everyone. Mental health team? Nah, must have been his/her PO at probation. Housing? Nah, must gave been his/her PO at probation. Childrens Services? Nah, must have been his/her PO at probation. Sec of State? Subs Misuse Team? Murder? Nah, must have been... etc, etc, etc. We carry every can for everyone. And for clarity, "PO" in this case means supervising officer (po or pso).<br /><br />But this is a burden we have to acknowledge we have artificially created for ourselves. Not out of any perverse sense of need, but because the profession had always sought to problem solve and be solution focused. Our rating as a public service shows we are outstanding at being results orientated. <br /><br />We're too damn eager to please. And the penalty? Bend over and shut up while we shaft you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-11415259307818770512014-05-09T21:03:35.839+01:002014-05-09T21:03:35.839+01:00NAPO needs specific examples - any members should ...NAPO needs specific examples - any members should provide examples to<br />campaigns@napo.org.uk<br />I have<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-72309813898552991592014-05-09T20:43:41.846+01:002014-05-09T20:43:41.846+01:00Any movement of a Lifer to open conditions has to ...Any movement of a Lifer to open conditions has to be signed off by the Sec of State. Simple.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-34629763713682140062014-05-09T20:28:49.354+01:002014-05-09T20:28:49.354+01:00Anonymous9 May 2014 19:49 - sorry to hear about th...Anonymous9 May 2014 19:49 - sorry to hear about this. It would seem to me that you are not being managed. It is your manager who should be capability and not you.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13444770511414603075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-86076965879366605832014-05-09T20:19:52.795+01:002014-05-09T20:19:52.795+01:00I've thought one further that the whole thing ...I've thought one further that the whole thing was orchestrated to create just the right kind of publicity. Or maybe I am just cynical and bitter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-7168640011447780602014-05-09T20:12:03.416+01:002014-05-09T20:12:03.416+01:00Why are the unions silent in the face of something...Why are the unions silent in the face of something so clearly not for purpose and causing our colleagues so much stress and distress? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-65025843630946197472014-05-09T20:04:01.031+01:002014-05-09T20:04:01.031+01:00This is just ridiculous now. Grayling is a dangero...This is just ridiculous now. Grayling is a dangerous, chaotic individual creating opportunities to cause serious harm.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-34955355067844537012014-05-09T19:49:45.504+01:002014-05-09T19:49:45.504+01:00as a case carrying OM with 70+ cases I am struggli...as a case carrying OM with 70+ cases I am struggling to read up on new people transferred to me from colleagues - I feel as though i'm constantly 'winging' it. I am scared and stressed - its like we've all be put in an impossible situation and all of us could be at risk of making a mistake and being put on capability all because a system is not fit for purpose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-2973421052246335552014-05-09T18:34:04.501+01:002014-05-09T18:34:04.501+01:00Have just arrived home - should have been finished...Have just arrived home - should have been finished at 1pm but I could not abandon my colleagues to the utter chaos that is now the probation court system - who the hell took a system that worked and broke it so utterly? Any bidders out there reading this, you really are going to get something broken beyond repair. I know courts are NPS but they are going to allocate the cases that you need to make money for your shareholders. This case allocation tool is utter crap and believe me you are going to get all the volatile risky stuff because so far as our v busy and large court team is seeing virtually no cases going to NPS using the tool. You should be very very worried because you will have public safety responsibility and will not be able to escalate some of these cases fast enough to pass the buck.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com