A Merseyside probation service must do more to raise the standard of its work, according to inspectors.

HM Inspectorate of Probation conducted a routine inspection of Merseyside Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) in January and February before the Covid lockdown. Inspectors looked at 10 aspects of the CRC’s work and gave an overall rating of ‘Requires improvement’.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “We last inspected Merseyside CRC in June 2018. It is disappointing that the overall rating has stayed the same.

“This CRC has strong leadership, committed to improvement which has made considerable efforts to follow up recommendations from our previous inspection.  The delivery of unpaid work and Through the Gate support for those leaving prison have both improved.

“However, the overall quality of probation supervision has declined since our last inspection, particularly in relation to safety. We were also concerned by the CRC’s lean resourcing and the way it allocates some cases.”

Merseyside CRC is run by the Purple Futures consortium of private and third-sector businesses. The CRC supervises more than 6,200 low and medium-risk offenders across Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral. Some individuals are serving community sentences; others are preparing to leave or have left prison.

As part of the fieldwork, inspectors examined a sample of cases. Domestic abuse was a feature in around a third of cases and child safeguarding was a concern in around a quarter of cases.

Mr Russell said: “Probation services must strike a balance between supporting rehabilitation and protecting the public. In too many of the inspected cases, there was insufficient work to identify and manage the potential risk of harm.

“Probation staff should work closely with agencies such as the police and children’s social care services to consider all the available data and glean intelligence.

“They should consider the individual’s previous offending history, as well as the latest offence that has led to their supervision. Deeper analysis will give a more rounded picture of the potential risks and help to protect victims.”

Inspectors concluded Merseyside CRC’s resourcing was “extremely tight”. High levels of staff sickness – an average of 17.5 days per year – put remaining colleagues under extra pressure.

Probation staff should be allocated cases that they can manage safely. Inspectors were concerned by the CRC’s case allocation process, which did not always take into account the level of risk of harm that individuals can pose. As a result, 40 per cent of interviewed staff said they were not always allocated cases that matched their skills, experience and training.

Inspectors found the quality of work was noticeably better at the Prescot site. The management of cases was largely good at this unit, particularly its work to keep others safe. The Inspectorate has urged Merseyside CRC’s leaders to take a closer look at the site to understand why it is performing differently and to replicate its success across the whole region.

The strongest area of performance is the Through the Gate service, which supports people as they prepare to leave prison and resettle in the community. The Inspectorate has rated this element as ‘Outstanding’ – up from ‘Requires improvement’ last time.

Central government gave the CRC additional funding for this work, which has increased staff numbers. Inspectors also cited excellent support to help individuals find appropriate accommodation, delivered in conjunction with Shelter.

The Inspectorate has made eight recommendations with the aim of improving Merseyside CRC’s work yet further.

ENDS

 

Notes to editor

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 10 June 2020 00.01.
2. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth offending and probation services across England and Wales.
3. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. The Inspectorate rates specific aspects of each service and also gives an overall rating.
4. Merseyside CRC supervised 6,235 individuals as at 30 September 2019 (source: Ministry of Justice).
5. The Purple Futures consortium comprises 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).
6. The phrase “probation staff” is used in this press release for brevity. This refers to probation officers (who have a higher education professional qualification and manage more complex cases) and probation services officers (who train on the job).
7. Paragraph seven states that a proportion of the inspected cases involved domestic abuse and/or child safeguarding concerns. Individuals were not necessarily under probation supervision for domestic abuse or child-related offences.
8. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications Catherine Chan on 07889 405930 or media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)