tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post5764022877365156854..comments2024-03-28T20:12:43.003+00:00Comments on On Probation Blog: In The Wake of the SFO'sJim Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-67467375767840373182023-02-06T13:19:39.470+00:002023-02-06T13:19:39.470+00:00Anon 13:10 - Yes - my contact details are on the p...Anon 13:10 - Yes - my contact details are on the profile page. jimbrown51@virginmedia.comJim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-81952023508896280372023-02-06T13:10:02.179+00:002023-02-06T13:10:02.179+00:00Can anyone connect me with a journalist who is con...Can anyone connect me with a journalist who is conducting these interviews? As an ex probation officer who repeatedly raised my concerns with management to little effect and consistently highlighted risk issues, I have a lot to say on this. Great article Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-68940260351299049192023-01-28T17:52:59.370+00:002023-01-28T17:52:59.370+00:00Napo has no membership because all the members lef...Napo has no membership because all the members left because the Napo executives and as a Probation union stopped listening to the members, failed to effectively represent members issues and squandered member’s subscription fees on themselves.<br /><br />A Union is only as good as its members, but if the Union officials fails to represent the members then there is effectively no union to be part of, particularly not one that has a racist, sexist element running through its veins at all levels.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-54661469538999557252023-01-28T15:37:03.001+00:002023-01-28T15:37:03.001+00:00In other news I note Teflon coated serial bully Do...In other news I note Teflon coated serial bully Dom Raab is quietly slipping away from being held to account again as complainants have mysteriously withdrawn or are deciding whether or not to proceed. PM is desperately trying to close down sleaze and disasters on all sides. There’s a smell of rancid Tory sweatiness and rotten tomatoes at the heart of the MoJ as senior civil servants are whipped back into line. MoJ Flynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-55349423820305726052023-01-28T11:56:17.584+00:002023-01-28T11:56:17.584+00:00NAPO is ineffective as it as no membership who are...NAPO is ineffective as it as no membership who are willing to take action to fight for their terms and conditions , the employer know this , third rate young female criminology graduates are not union orienteered and that my friends is why you are all treated like rubbish Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-73199951287113432082023-01-28T11:53:30.501+00:002023-01-28T11:53:30.501+00:00Whilst working in the crc we frequently raised the...Whilst working in the crc we frequently raised the question of why someone was not assessed as high risk. What we was told was that the risk was assessed on the length of sentence and current offence. We knew full well that we were working with people who previously were deemed high risk and dangerous sometimes only a couple of years previously. When we tried to raise this or to get someone escalated we frequently hit a brick wall and were left managing people at medium risk. Most staff work hard to get it right but there is never enough time to learn new processes or to undertake meaningful training. Staff in the crc's were deskilled, demoralised and looked down on by former colleagues. Suddenly there is an expectation that those staff will be competent and knowledgeable in areas that we have not worked in for several years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-77462713455213248462023-01-28T11:31:23.304+00:002023-01-28T11:31:23.304+00:00We absolutely do have blood on our hands! We may n...We absolutely do have blood on our hands! We may not be able to ‘predict’ the future but we can take measurable steps to reduce such risks which includes the ability to do an accurate risk assessment and use whatever resources we have to try to manage these people well! At least then when the worst happens we are able to offer some conviction we did what we could! The failings are disgraceful and I don’t blame the victims mother for stating as such. Probation is broken (for whatever reason) and it’s only getting worse! Wake up parliament - we need a miracle because these SFO’s are becoming more and more frequent. So many lives lost and there’s always more to be done! The service is drowning in inexperienced staff, set up by their managers to do a body of work they lack experience to do then they get the blame when it all goes wrong. The training for all new starters is awful! The service is failing all its front line staff and the public. It’s the worst I’ve seen it in 20 years. God bless the families of these despicable crimes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-33700108174511921822023-01-28T10:56:24.368+00:002023-01-28T10:56:24.368+00:00Please let's not forget that the CRC initial a...Please let's not forget that the CRC initial assessment would have been based on a pre-sentence assessment by an NPS member of staff. TR meant multiple risk assessments, adding layer upon layer of paperwork without anyone having sufficient time to read and digest them, let alone consider whether they were valid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-68100931903300641332023-01-28T10:06:43.746+00:002023-01-28T10:06:43.746+00:00Lawrence has being doing his best but unfortunatel...Lawrence has being doing his best but unfortunately that really isn’t nearly good enough. Napo needs a kick ass media presence as there is plenty of testosterone but no strong arguments coming through. Need someone with the skills of a lawyer who can think on their feet and has some political nouse. The officers should have him on a final warning for capability but they also need to step up as they are always a bit too busy doing something else. They were elected to do something. He seriously needed to call in reinforcements and let them take the lead in interview’s as he is clueless when it comes to professional issues. No Ian it is not a vocation. Yes Ian probation is understaffed and underpaid. No Ian we are not prepared to take the flack for systemic failure due to Tory fuck ups. It is sometimes forgotten that Lawrence has never been employed by a probation employer and has no professional criminal justice experience. If he had he would understand why staff are leaving in droves and the new recruits will not be up to speed for another year or two if they even decide to remain. There are people like Napo stalwart Carole Doherty that should be used more but the fear is they fight lone battles and against Napo HQ to actually hold probation HQ to account. We should ask Napo HQ to tell us what the contributions of each member of employed staff are exactly and what they believe their skills are and what their actions have been on behalf of members. Let’s have the facts and figures. Lawrences amateur attempts to explain the intricacies of the profession are frustrating to listen to and damaging but probation HQ are not much better. Where is Napo’s chair? MIA whilst serial wet sponge Asst. General Secretary Ranjit Singh, apparently tipped as a possible GS candidate, has proven to be too timid/scared to step up into the limelight and earn his salary in the media rounds. For goodness sake don’t vote for him if he appears on the GS ballot paper. As for the missing press secretary - it was a bit nippy so probably not worth the effort. An opportunity to fight probations corner mostly missed. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-54648865659349572312023-01-28T08:57:16.421+00:002023-01-28T08:57:16.421+00:00Yes he would have been released by either early by...Yes he would have been released by either early by the parole board or at his release date. Both predicting correctly and incorrectly still does not stop it happening. You can predict you may or may not have a road accident, you wear your seatbelt, use a hands free and drive carefully. You still might reverse into that lamppost when parking after having that glass of wine at the office Xmas party. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-14691121749829015042023-01-28T08:56:13.023+00:002023-01-28T08:56:13.023+00:00No rewards for failing . Napos GS is doing pr but ...No rewards for failing . Napos GS is doing pr but I have not seen any . He has definitely been a player in these probation failings no question. The jr was kept secret from members. He won't be saying anything about his cowardice to fund proper legal challenge. By dumping cynically judicial review based on cost he cannot even claim Napo fought tr. Lawrence you fool you helped wheel it in . Now you should wheel off . The Napo job is no joke now you might appreciate the implications . Not fight tr properly legally this is what your foolish clowning achieves shoulder your portion of responsibility. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-31872587782910054062023-01-28T08:47:35.350+00:002023-01-28T08:47:35.350+00:00“Ms Webb once saw a female probation officer “thro...“Ms Webb once saw a female probation officer “thrown under the bus” over a case failing. “It could have happened to any one of us. A case goes wrong and they’ve thrown her to the wolves. But what supervision was she having, how many cases did she have, what was her experience?”<br /><br />This is the sad thing about being a probation officer. Those of us that have been around long enough look at our managers, senior managers and chief officers knowing that every one of them will do this to every one of us in the blink of an eye and without warning. They really do not pay us enough to work under these conditions. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-53156704121670288472023-01-28T08:40:28.012+00:002023-01-28T08:40:28.012+00:00“We are also investing £155 million a year into th...“We are also investing £155 million a year into the Probation Service to recruit the thousands more officers who will deliver tougher supervision, protect the public and ensure these sorts of tragedies can never happen again.”<br /><br />This is such nonsense from Damien Hinds. Nobody can “ensure” serious crimes do not happen. <br /><br />What the hell is “tougher” supervision?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-38377204914674909892023-01-28T08:33:59.156+00:002023-01-28T08:33:59.156+00:00“In his engagements with the media, Napo’s General...“In his engagements with the media, Napo’s General Secretary has been trying to articulate these issues and the impact of them on our members”<br /><br />We need better pay. The pay deal was shite. Stop ignoring this.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-54965786513512380762023-01-28T08:29:15.362+00:002023-01-28T08:29:15.362+00:00… but Napo and Ian Lawrence had the opportunity to...… but Napo and Ian Lawrence had the opportunity to secure better pay for probation service staff which would have helped staff recruitment and retention. Napo failed and we got a measly 3% pay rise for a salary that’s still grossly underpaid. Napo is the problem too!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-54031408644557613062023-01-28T08:28:26.449+00:002023-01-28T08:28:26.449+00:00company assessed him to be medium-risk. The label ...company assessed him to be medium-risk. The label is a cover it would have still been a qualified officer po.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-88616025789615763022023-01-28T07:35:05.077+00:002023-01-28T07:35:05.077+00:00While trawling the web pages for relevant info I f...While trawling the web pages for relevant info I found this in the BBC news archives.<br /><br />It seems that even when probation officers *do* make appropriate & explicit assessments to flag up serious risk issues & (I presume) oppose release on parole, it still doesn't stop someone committing murder when circumstances push their buttons.<br /><br />It would be interesting to know if that perpetrator was released by the Parole Board & subject to probation supervision after such a clear warning. Perhaps things were different in 1999? Perhaps the PO's parole report was useful?<br /><br />Raab certainly doesn't want such professional assessments to be placed before the Parole Board in 2023.<br /><br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/4277869.stmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com