Broken locks, faulty CCTV, vermin infestations, and poor plumbing and heating were found at National Probation Service (NPS) sites by HM Inspectorate of Probation, according to its latest report. Official inspectors between July 2018 and June 2019 rated the quality of NPS facilities as ‘requires improvement’ in six out of the seven NPS divisions.
HM Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “NPS staff have told us repeatedly that facilities are not managed properly. Repairs are not fixed quickly and there are difficulties with escalating jobs.
“We looked more closely at the issue in this inspection. The management of NPS facilities is contracted out to four private sector firms, with a fifth company acting as the managing agent.
“The target is for jobs to be fixed within ten working days. For the first six months of 2019, less than half (43 per cent) of jobs were completed in this timescale. Although this is an improvement on the previous year, it is still not good enough.
“Probation staff need appropriate facilities to do their job. In particular, it is unacceptable that outstanding repairs at approved premises mean staff have to find alternative accommodation for high-risk offenders because beds cannot be used.
“The Ministry of Justice needs to hold these companies to account to ensure they deliver the contract as intended. Probation staff deserve to work in safe and secure environments.”
Inspectors also found staff shortages. Many probation officers have unacceptably high workloads, Mr Russell said. He said: “Staff are under pressure and this could compromise their ability to build effective working relationships with people under supervision and to manage all cases to a consistently high standard.”
Background
The NPS is responsible for supervising nearly 106,000 high-risk offenders, and violent and sexual offenders subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). In May 2019, the government announced that the NPS will take over the supervision of all offenders from 2021, taking on nearly 150,000 low and medium-risk cases from Community Rehabilitation Companies. The NPS supervised 105,951 offenders as of June 2019.
Read the report at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation.
