Staying out of trouble – are probation reforms working?

• ·         There are 45,000 offenders on the probation system in London and tackling re-offending accounts for 69 per cent of the total criminal justice spend in the capital^[1].
• ·         The Government’s probation reforms, introduced in June 2014, have changed the way probation and offender management services are delivered in London.
• ·         A report published by the National Audit Office found that the Ministry of Justice needed to “stabilise and improve” how the new system is operating^[2].

What have been the challenges of introducing the reforms in London?

What impact have the changes had on reoffending rates in the capital?

What is working well and where are improvements needed?

The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee will tomorrow review progress of the reforms and find out what challenges remain.

The guests are:

• ·         Tajinder Matharu, Head of Performance and Quality, National Probation Service, London (also representing the National Offender Management Service – NOMS)
• ·         Samantha Cunningham, Acting Director, Integrated Offender Management, Programmes and Neighbourhoods, Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime
• ·         Commander Neil Jerome, Metropolitan Police Service
• ·         Helga Swidenbank, Director of Probation, London Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC)
• ·         Linda Neimantas, Head of Quality and Performance, London CRC 

Notes for Editors:

1. Justice Matters, Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, 27 February 2017.
2. National Audit Office, Transforming Rehabilitation, April 2016.