Fears over big shake up of Probation Service

National changes to the Probation Service will see up to 70 per cent of work done by the private or voluntary sector, said the National Association of Probation Officers (Napo).

The union said that would leave around 40,000 high-risk individuals a year remaining with the public sector.

Napo said the decision is contrary to independent assessment by the British Quality Foundation showing success, which last year saw every probation trust in England and Wales meet its targets and of the 35 trusts, 31 were in Band 3, “showing good performance”, and four were in Band 4 “showing exceptional performance”.

While Warwickshire Proba-tion Trust (Band 3) is one of the highest performing according to official figures, said Napo.

In the most recent publication of reoffending rates, Warwickshire Probation Trust was identified as having significantly lower re-
offending rates than expected.

Dave Adams, chairman of the Warwickshire branch of Napo, said: “The Government’s plans for outsourcing this vital local service will be a disaster. The Government’s decision is ideologically driven. Reoffending rates are falling. There is no evidence that the private sector has added any value to the provision of offender services and the idea of private providers, with no experience in the area, supervising offenders is worrying.”

But Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: “These reforms represent a golden opportunity to finally turn the tide and put a stopper in the revolving door of the justice system.

“We spend £4bn a year on prisons and probation and yet make no real dent in the appetite of offenders to commit more crime. It is little wonder when many of our most prolific criminals leave prison unsupervised in the community.

“These reforms are essential and will ensure offenders are properly punished but also given targeted support to help them turn away from crime.”