Keep Probation As A Public Service

For nearly two years I have been Chair of the Justice Unions Parliamentary Group which brings together MPS interested in the Criminal Justice system and the relevant Trade Unions. 

It seems likely that the Queens Speech in November will contain proposals on the Probation Service and the National Offender Management Service. These will follow on from the publication earlier this year of the Five Year Strategy for Protecting the Public and reducing re-offending.

Much of what was proposed in the strategy makes good sense. Nobody has any difficulty with the idea of end to end case management. Nobody has any difficulty with the idea of partnership working between all the different agencies involved in working with offenders. There are good examples now in many areas of partnerships working effectively; the Safer Neighbourhoods Partnership in Waltham Forest is a good example of work involving the local Council, the Police and other agencies. Partnerships involving the Probation Service, the Voluntary Sector, and in some cases the private sector do already happen

I have no doubt that the best examples could be spread and that there could be improvements. But that is not what is proposed. Some of the key issues are structural; the changes likely to be proposed to the Probation Boards and the introduction of ‘contestability’ into the Probation Service. This is really another word for privatisation because what is proposed is that whole Probation areas could be put out to tender.

The result will be the dismantling of the National Probation Service. This is despite the fact that only 4 out of 748 responses to the consultation on these proposals supporting the changes. Both the Prison and Probation Services … in the public sector … have shown that they can improve performance given the resources and the support. There is no need for privatisation, and there is no evidence to show that it will improve performance.

We should be making sure that these services have the resources they need to deal with the number of people they have to supervise, including some very dangerous and disturbed people. Threatening Probation Officers with the loss of their jobs is hardly likely to lead to improvements.

Oct 2006

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