A West Yorkshire probation service must take urgent action to address staffing levels and training, according to inspectors.

HM Inspectorate of Probation conducted its annual inspection of West Yorkshire Community Company (CRC) in autumn. Inspectors were concerned to find the organisation – which supervises low and medium-risk offenders – had cut the number of probation officers since their last visit.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “When we inspected West Yorkshire CRC in 2018 we found challenging staffing levels and many staff told us they were overwhelmed. This affected the CRC’s ability to supervise individuals effectively.

“Since then, the CRC has restructured and reduced the number of qualified probation officers. This has resulted in staff at a lower grade taking on larger workloads – even though some of them lack the necessary skills and experience to undertake complex work.”

Inspectors have given West Yorkshire CRC an overall rating of ‘Requires improvement’ – retaining the same grade that they received in 2018.

Inspectors noted that senior leaders had put an improvement plan in place since the last inspection, but this had not resulted in better quality supervision.

Mr Russell said: “During this inspection we analysed a sample of cases to find out how

staff assess, plan, deliver and review activity with individuals on probation. We found the management of risk of harm was consistently poor.

“A large proportion of cases involve domestic abuse and safeguarding issues. Major improvements are needed to ensure staff use all the available information to assess risk factors. They should also work with other agencies, such as the police and children’s services, to manage potential risks of harm.

“As a result, we have rated all four aspects ‘Inadequate’ – our lowest possible grade.”

The Inspectorate concluded that senior leaders are doing their best to improve the quality of work but their efforts are undermined by resourcing constraints.

Inspectors did note West Yorkshire CRC has some strengths.

The CRC helps individuals to access a comprehensive range of services to help them move away from further offending. Individuals can receive support through a mentor or with issues such as substance misuse and mental health, for example. Specialist services are also available for women and people of South Asian heritage.

Inspectors also noted effective Through the Gate services, which support people as they leave prison and resettle in the community. Additional funding from central government has helped to pay for more staff and has resulted in better coordination between agencies. The Inspectorate rated this area of work as ‘Good’.

Inspectors have made seven recommendations with the aim of improving probation services in the region.

ENDS

 Notes to editor

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 10 March 2020 00.01.
2. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth offending and probation services across England and Wales.
3. West Yorkshire is owned by Purple Futures, a consortium made up of Interserve Justice (a subdivision of Interserve, a global support service and construction company); 3SC (a company managing public service contracts on behalf of third-sector organisations); P3 (People Potential Possibilities, a charity and social enterprise organisation); and Shelter (a charity focusing on homelessness and accommodation issues).
4. Fieldwork for this inspection started in October 2019.
5. Paragraph four refers to “staff at a lower grade”. Probation services are usually delivered by probation officers (who have a higher education professional qualification and manage more complex cases) and probation services officers (who train on the job). The reference refers to probation services officers.
6. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications Catherine Chan on 07889 405930 or media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)