The two organisations responsible for providing probation
services in South Yorkshire were generally working
well, though further improvements were necessary in places, said
Dame Glenys Stacey, HM Chief Inspector of Probation. Today she
published the report of a recent inspection of probation work
in South Yorkshire.
The inspection looked at the quality of probation work carried
out by the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) and the
National Probation Service (NPS) and assessed the effectiveness
of work undertaken locally with people who have committed crimes.
This was the third inspection of adult probation work undertaken
by a CRC owned by Sodexo Justice Services, in partnership with
Nacro, and the third of the NPS North East Division.
Overall, the work of the CRC in South Yorkshire was
acceptable and of a much better quality than inspectors have seen
in other CRCs so far. After a difficult start, and losing many
experienced staff, the CRC was managing change competently. Most
staff were fully engaged in what the organisation is trying to
achieve, and were encouraged to work flexibly and make home
visits. The CRC offered an impressive range of programmes to help
change attitudes and behaviour, including high-quality services
for women. Managers had put in place an interim operating model
in South Yorkshire, which was working reasonably well, with
contracted providers effectively integrated into the delivery of
services. However, some individuals were allowed to drift and
their non-attendance at appointments could go unchallenged.
The quality of work from the NPS with higher-risk offenders
in South Yorkshire was generally good. The NPS had a
solid grip on complex cases and undertook work to engage people
who were resistant to change. Responsible officers could have
made greater use of probation service officers and of the
services available from the CRC to deliver structured work with
offenders. They also needed to improve delivery of ‘on the day’
court reports for lower-risk cases. However, work to make sure
individuals complied with their sentence was generally effective
and appropriate enforcement action was taken where
necessary.
Inspectors made recommendations which included: the
CRC and NPS consulting with partners to improve access to alcohol
and drug services, and producing guidance for staff about access
to mental health provision. The CRC should reduce the number of
absences judged to be acceptable. The NPS should support staff
through change more effectively and make sure court reports can
be delivered on the same day, when appropriate.
Dame Glenys Stacey said:
“The work of the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC)
in South Yorkshire was generally being delivered well
by forward-looking staff who had bought in to what the
organisation was trying to achieve. That said, there is more to
do − particularly with bringing people who had not turned up to
appointments or unpaid work back before the courts.
“The National Probation Service (NPS) in South
Yorkshire was of a similar standard to the CRC and was
working well with some complex and challenging people. There is
more work for leaders to do to drive improvements, and they would
do well to use some of the services on offer from the CRC. This
would lighten the load on some of their hard-pressed staff – but
overall, they were serving the community well with a relentless
focus on public safety.
- ENDS -
Notes to editors:
1. The report is
available at www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation from
29 June 2017.
2. Since the
introduction of Transforming
Rehabilitation (TR) in June 2014, HM Inspectorate of
Probation has reported on its implementation and produced the
last of five Transforming
Rehabilitation reports in May 2016. In April 2016, a
new programme of regular inspection of adult probation services,
known as Quality & Impact inspection, began. South
Yorkshire is the eleventh area to be inspected in that
programme.
3. The former South
Yorkshire Probation Trust was last inspected 2012. Since then,
probation services had undergone significant changes as a result
of the government’s Transforming
Rehabilitation programme. In June 2014, Probation
Trusts were abolished and probation work was divided between two
separate organisations. The NPS primarily took over the
management of offenders posing a high risk of serious harm to
others and those subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection
Arrangements (MAPPA). The NPS also had responsibility for
staffing the courts, including writing pre-sentence reports, and
for victim contact work. The rest of the probation work was
allocated to 21 newly created CRCs. In February 2015, the CRCs
were sold to private companies.
4. The
report looks at probation services delivered in South
Yorkshire by the NPS North East division and the South
Yorkshire CRC. The CRC is owned by Sodexo Justice Services. In
delivering probation services, it works in partnership with
Nacro. Sodexo delivers probation services across six CRCs: South
Yorkshire, Norfolk & Suffolk, BeNCH, Cumbria &
Lancashire, Essex, and Northumbria.
