Probation… keep it simple
The latest review of Probation by the outgoing Chief Inspector Justin Russell covered some very familiar territory. A demoralised understaffed workforce, gaps in service provision and a lack of cohesion and integration. The report recommended an independent review of Probation where powers would be controlled through a local form of governance and control. Sound familiar? Maybe a rallying call for deeper devolution? For those close to the criminal justice system none of these recommendations will come as a surprise.
Over the last ten years the Government has implemented the most radical Probation reforms in a history spanning over 100 years. This started in 2014, with the ill-fated privatisation of the Probation Service, led by Chris Grayling, which effectively split it in two. Private Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) were tasked with supporting low-medium offenders, while the pre-existing Probation service would help high-risk prisoners. Reform was crashed through in less than 12 months with most stakeholders involved in the process unhappy with the final outcome. This sowed the seeds for early discontent.
Negative CRC inspection reports, compounded by the downfall of Working Links (a CRC prime contractor), highlighted a service in crisis through higher caseloads, increases in reoffending and demoralised underpaid and overworked staff. This masked a number of structural issues, however, that were not addressed during the initial development and implementation phase; for example, for the first time all offenders, including those serving less than 12 months, were now required to be mandatory supervised after release from prison. This cohort accounted for an additional 80,000 ex-offenders accessing Probation Services per year, with no additional funding allocated to support them. This led to a doubling of caseload sizes in an already stretched and under resourced system
In 2021, these issues culminated in the re-nationalisation of the Probation Service. Bringing Probation back under public control was supposed to be the cure after years of chronic problems perceived to be triggered by privatisation.
We at 50 Degrees have been heavily immersed in the world of Justice and devolved employment and skills programmes and thought it would be worth sharing our views.
We’ve highlighted some of our takeaway thoughts on what would support the development of Probation services:
Take your time: Supporting people with multiple needs is complex. Policy needs to be fully developed and informed. Those impacted by system changes need to be consulted and be part of the process and solution. Forcing through change leads to disillusionment and negativity.
Create the right culture, values and targets: All public service delivery boils down to creating the right environment for positive change and outcomes for the end user. Devolving services or transferring ownership across different sectors is no guarantee of success. Underlying problems around funding, staffing and integration need to be addressed first.
Develop clear lines of accountability: Multi-agency working is difficult to achieve. There needs to be clarity around roles and responsibilities, with organisations and networks motivated to achieve outcomes. In our experience, that motivation is generated through the agreement of a communal strategy that is linked to a funding envelope based upon achieving collective outcomes.
Service simplification: The concept of multi-agency working is fine in theory. This needs to be delivered through an ecosystem that is easy for the service user to navigate through. Partnership working needs to be based upon delivering goals and outcomes, not creating new structures with no decision-making powers.
So, as a devolution advocate lets see how this all unravels.
My takeaway from all this, keep it simple!
David MacDougall
Managing Consultant