A probation service in the North West has much to do to improve the quality of its work, according to a new report.

HM Inspectorate of Probation has given Cumbria and Lancashire Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) an overall ‘Requires improvement’ rating. The CRC supervises more than 5,500 low and medium-risk offenders; some are preparing to leave or have left prison, while others are serving community or suspended sentences.

Inspectors found good leaders at the CRC and clear policies, procedures, strategy and purpose are in place. Probation staff were interviewed during the inspection and were overwhelmingly positive about their roles. They described a culture of improvement and valued learning and development.

The CRC runs a good suite of accredited programmes to support people to turn away from crime. Some of these are used well with perpetrators of domestic abuse and those who need to develop better relationships with their partner, ex-partner and children.

Despite these positive findings, inspectors found the overall quality of probation supervision was not good enough. This is a marked change compared to the inspection of parts of the CRC’s work in 2017, when inspectors found work was of a good standard overall and some practices were exemplary.

Chief Inspector of Probation Dame Glenys Stacey said: “Cumbria and Lancashire CRC is not delivering effective probation supervision. Our inspection found poor practices that frequently failed to tackle offending or protect the public.

“We expect probation professionals to assess each case and tailor supervision to the individual. Here, we found staff failed to assess cases properly and missed opportunities to lay solid foundations for the work that follows. Key information, such as a clear explanation of how and why offending took place, was frequently missing. Worryingly, there is a lack of information from other agencies such as children’s social care.

“Greater attention should have been paid to protecting actual and potential victims. This was particularly concerning in cases that involved domestic abuse or safeguarding concerns for children and adults. Where a member of staff should have conducted a home visit to assess and manage potential risks, we found only a third had been completed.”

The CRC is one of six owned by Sodexo, a multinational private company. Inspectors noted some issues, such as ineffective management oversight, had been raised with the parent company following other inspections but had not been addressed in Cumbria and Lancashire.

Inspectors found the CRC struggled to manage complex cases. The national shortage of probation officers, including in the North West, means the CRC has insufficient numbers of qualified staff. Inspectors concluded: “We found sizeable numbers of staff were often out of their depth, holding cases that required more skills and experience than they possessed.” The CRC is planning to improve the situation through internal training routes.

While some of the CRC’s premises are of a high standard, others were described by staff as “not fit for purpose”. Despite this, staff worked hard to engage with people.

Cumbria and Lancashire CRC delivered the unpaid work scheme in line with expectations of the court but more needs to be done to address safety concerns.

Dame Glenys said: “Probation staff are responsible for supervising unpaid work in the community. They should assess individuals and match them up with a suitable placement where they can rehabilitate and make reparations.

“We found this CRC’s assessments for individuals sentenced to unpaid work were some of the least effective that we have seen so far. Staff only considered the risk of potential harm to the public in half of the inspected cases. We found instances where information about the use of weapons, threats to others and restraining orders were not recorded. This increases the risk of danger on placements, and diminishes the opportunities to protect the public.”

Dame Glenys urged the CRC to act quickly to bolster safety and consider how it can better meet the needs of those sentenced to unpaid work.

Dame Glenys concluded: “We have made seven recommendations to improve the quality of work at Cumbria and Lancashire CRC. There is much to do. Leaders need to make better efforts to deliver the improvements that must now follow.”

ENDS

 Notes to editor

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 30 May 2019 00.01.
2. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth offending and probation services across England and Wales.
3. There are 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies responsible for supervising low and medium-risk offenders.
4. Cumbria and Lancashire CRC supervised 5,502 individuals as at 30 September 2018. The CRC is owned by Sodexo Justice Services, which is part of a large multinational private company with a wide range of commercial interests. It operates a strategic partnership with a well-known charity, Nacro. Sodexo has contracts to deliver probation services across six CRCs, making it the third-largest owning company by contract value.
5. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in February 2019.
6. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications Catherine Chan on 07889 405930 or media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)