Jeff Overs/BBCAccording to inspectors, a probation service “does not effectively respond to or reduce the potential harm that men inflict on women and children”.
Probation services in the East of England have been given a ‘requires improvement’ rating by His Majesty’s Probation Inspectorate.
The report highlighted that risk assessments were carried out without reference to information on child protection and domestic violence.
A Justice Department spokesman said the new government had “inherited a criminal justice system in crisis” and planned to recruit 1,000 probation officers.
“Chronic personnel problems”
The East of England Probation Service is one of 12 probation regions in England and covers Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Essex, Northamptonshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “While the commitment and dedication of leaders and staff across the region is considered unwavering, this dedication and commitment is not enough to keep the public safe or to persuade people on probation to change.”
The report found that there were chronic staffing problems in recruiting staff across the region “despite sustained efforts” and said that senior probation officers “face excessive workloads and have enormous responsibilities that go beyond what could reasonably be expected of them”.
Inspectors said checks were not always carried out to ensure that curfews did not pose a danger to the women and children living there.
“The information-sharing arrangements with police and local authorities in this regard were complex and inefficient, impacting on the quality of the risk assessments carried out. This is an area that requires urgent attention,” they said.
“Excellent work”
What is outstanding, however, is the service’s legally anchored victim work, which entitles victims to support from probation services if the perpetrator of a violent or sexual crime is sentenced to a prison term of 12 months or more.
The organisation’s “excellent work” in integrating people on probation into the public service was also praised. Several people were able to be given permanent employment.
Between 12 February and 7 June, inspectors carried out on-site work in every Probation Unit (PDU) in the region and reviewed 438 cases, of which 289 resulted in a community sentence and 149 in a parole.
They made ten recommendations, ranging from the need to appoint a designated regional security officer to support PDU leaders to calling on the UK Prison and Probation Service to give regional probation leaders more authority over spending.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said there was “an enormous burden on probation staff, whose hard work, despite these challenges, is rightly recognised by inspectors”.
They continued: “A first step is to recruit 1,000 probation officers across the country to address staff shortages and reduce workloads so that the probation service can better protect the public and reduce crime.”
