probation

• strengths

  • probation officers academically qualified and highly experienced
  • can assist offenders in accessing treatment for drugs and alcohol addiction
  • oversee community orders - many argue it is a more effective punishment
  • assist in settling back to community
• academically qualified

  need Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) programme to become probation officer
• support back into community

  probation service manages "approved premises" to provide offenders with accommodation as they try to settle back into the community
• criticisms

  • part - privatisation criticised - national probation service and community rehabilitation companies
  • community rehabilitation companies ineffective
  • lack of support after release
  • prisoner risk to public inadequately assessed before release
• part-privatisation criticised

  • joint report by HM inspectorate of probation and HM inspectorate of prisons stated staff focused more on paperwork and targets then prisoners welfare
• community rehabilitation companies criticised

  work carried out had a negligible impact on reducing prisoner offending rates

  June 2020 - gov announced it would terminate all CRCs, services would be transferred to new probation service by government

  e.g 2015 - David Braddon on probation with CRC murdered 18 year old Conner Marshall
• lack of support after release

  • June 2017 report - found too many prisoners did not know where to sleep after release
  • inadequately assessed before their release
• case studies

  • usman khan - killed 2 people in London following a prisoner rehabilitation conference
  • marvyn iheanacho - killed 5 year old Alex Malcolm while on probation with National probation service
• 3 types of probation

  1. national probation service - government agency
  2. community rehabilitation company - privatised
  3. CRCs changed to Probation service ran by gov