Staffordshire and Stoke Probation Delivery Unit (PDU)* has received an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’ following an inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation – scoring only two points out of a possible 27.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “This was a disappointing inspection. Staff at Staffordshire and Stoke probation service told us they felt overworked and overwhelmed and less than half the probation cases we inspected were satisfactory against all our quality standards. We did see efforts being made to improve this situation, and some examples of well managed cases, but our report suggests this probation service needs to reset and refocus, and quickly, for the benefit of their staff, the people under their supervision and the local community.”

While inspectors found encouraging foundations for the future in terms of strategic plans and good partnerships with other agencies, their impact was yet to be seen on the effective delivery of probation services. Across all five dimensions of case work inspected, provision was rated as ‘inadequate’, with particular concern around work relating to the assessment and effective management of potential risks posed by people on probation to the public.

Inspectors found clear and ongoing impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic and from the recent restructuring of the probation service. Staff vacancy levels were also clearly having an impact, as were high levels of sickness.  The introduction of a blend of home and office-based working was found to be having mixed results. Insufficient overall contact with those under probation supervision highlighted the need to consider the effectiveness of off-site working and what could be achieved by increased face-to-face contact.

The Inspectorate made seven recommendations as a result of this inspection. Five of the recommendations were aimed at changes at a local level, calling on Staffordshire and Stoke PDU to improve their all-round oversight of people on probation, and ensure that all possible interventions are put in place to prevent reoffending. The remaining two recommendations were for the Probation Service – West Midlands region.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. *Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) replaced Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the National Probation Service (NPS), which merged into a unified Probation Service in June 2021.
2. Staffordshire and Stoke PDU sits within the Probation Service – West Midlands region.
3. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 04 August 2022 00.01.
4. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth offending and probation services across England and Wales.
5. 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.
6. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in June 2022.
7. For media enquiries, please contact media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)