Although people who posed a higher risk were managed well overall by the National Probation Service (NPS), the picture was more troubling with those who posed a medium and lower risk, managed by the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), said Dame Glenys Stacey, HM Chief Inspector of Probation. People assessed as lower risk needed to be supervised more closely by the CRC, she added. Today she published the report of a recent inspection of probation work in Gwent.

The inspection looked at the quality of probation work carried out by the CRC and the NPS and assessed the effectiveness of work undertaken locally with people who have committed crimes. This was the first inspection of adult probation work undertaken by a CRC owned by Working Links, and the first inspection in Wales since the government’s Transforming Rehabilitation programme was introduced.

Overall, the work of the CRC in Gwent was troubling. The CRC is applying the same operating model in each of the three CRCs it owns, working from local community hubs that also provide a range of services to the wider community. The community hub was impressive, in practice, but ways of working were still in a state of flux and staff morale was low.

Working Links assess and categorise people who have committed offences, and then work out or ‘scale’ how closely those people are supervised, with the most intensive supervision for the most challenging or risky individuals. For the one in four people assessed as low risk, however, Working Links scale back supervision to a telephone call every six weeks. One in three of these people should also have contact with unpaid work supervisors or other interventions staff if those arrangements work as intended. Inspectors concluded that this means too many people get too little meaningful attention from probation staff. Without meaningful contact, individuals are unlikely to develop the will to change their attitudes and behaviour.

The NPS had experienced less change and was more settled. Contrary to the published performance figures for NPS Wales, which suggest below average performance, the quality of their work was good. Inspectors found strong leadership, motivated staff, readily manageable workloads and some excellent NPS work in Gwent. The quality of work varies place by place, however, which is an issue that leaders must resolve.

Inspectors made recommendations which included both the CRC and NPS improving access to different rehabilitation provision available and making sure it is delivered on the basis of need. The CRC should introduce measures to monitor how its operating model is working and keep its workload and staffing numbers under review. The NPS should identify why the quality of delivery differs in different geographic locations.

Dame Glenys Stacey said:

“Assessing the risk that someone might pose is not an exact science, and risks change over time. But in our view, someone’s circumstances can’t be kept under proper review through a telephone call every six weeks. Some other aspects of the CRC’s work are not operating as they should, and it is taking a long time for things to bed down. Staff morale is low and sickness absence high, although we did find committed responsible officers working hard to support people and to help them to change.

“The CRC’s published performance figures show it performing relatively well, but sometimes at a cost to other work that should be done. With not enough plans actually followed through and staff numbers reducing substantially, it is hard to avoid concluding that despite good intentions, simple affordability considerations and an overpowering need to balance the books is driving priorities in this CRC.

“The big issue for NPS Wales is that the quality of work varies place by place, yet if all offices could deliver the high quality of work done by the NPS in Newport, then more individuals would be helped to change their lives”

– ENDS –

Notes to editors:

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation from 19 April 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. Gwent is the eighth area to be inspected in that programme.
3. The former Wales Probation Trust was last inspected 2014. Since then, probation services had undergone significant changes as a result of the government’s Transforming Rehabilitation 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 Gwent by the NPS Wales division and the Wales CRC. The CRC is owned by Working Links, in turn acquired by the investment company Aurelius in June 2016. Working Links owns three CRCs, all covering rural areas: Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset & Wiltshire; Dorset, Devon & Cornwall; and Wales.
5. For further information please contact Jane Parsons at HMI Probation press office on 020 3681 2775 or 07880 787452.