Guest Blog 52

TR, E3 & the death of the probation officer

A recent Twitter conversation between an anonymous Probation Officer and Sally Lewis, former Chief Probation Officer, went like this;

@PoOfficer: Well the boss has said that the number of PO's will soon decrease as they hire more PSO's in NPS. PSO's will manage all low / med risk.

@CEOLewis: I don't think Courts, etc know that PSO's are not qualified officers. PO's won't sign with their prof qualifications #BigMistake

@PoOfficer: PSO's now writing the bulk of reports on templates which restrict the amount of text. They are shockingly bad. I'm embarrassed.

I'm going to start and finish by agreeing with Sally Lewis because probation officers should be stating their credentials. Every other professional completing formal reports and assessments states their qualifications as standard. I couldn't imagine reading a letter, assessment or report from a psychologist, medical practitioner or legal representative without reference to their professional qualifications and authority. I think our omission in doing this is partly because our report and letter formats are not designed for us to state BSc, MSc, DipSW, DipPS and DipPP, but also because the culture forced upon us doesn't encourage it.

I read a lot of reports completed by colleagues as we gate-keep each others work to check for errors missed. This mostly includes reports for court sentencing, parole hearings and other formal settings, but only the parole report asks for qualifications and even then many don't state their professional qualifications. Of the others, never do I find these signed "Mr or Mrs Smith BSc, DipSW". Even our letters and emails omit any record of professional qualifications. It's as if we are not professionally qualified or fear stating it, when in fact we have probation officers who have a wealth of formal qualifications. Off the top of my head this includes those with the Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW), Diploma in Social Work (DipSW), Diploma in Probation Studies (DipPS), Diploma in Probation Practice (DipPP), etc. Most already held formal qualifications and degrees at varying levels before they began probation officer training. I once read a survey that canvassed staff qualifications in a probation trust (when we were trusts) and found the vast majority of staff at all levels held university degrees right up to PhD, but they only stated these when asked.

TR, E3 and the Diploma in Probation Deprofessionalisation

In my humble opinion the probation qualification and professionalism has been slowly eroded over the past two decades. Even our union has omitted "probation" from its title and went from calling itself the National Association of Probation Officers to adopting the acronym Napo! The Probation Institute has gone in a different direction by wanting to sell everyone working in probation, qualified and unqualified, the title of MPInst. I think this problem of hiding our qualifications started when probation began employing huge numbers of Probation Service Officers (PSO's) to do our work, who were not professionally qualified and in many places had poor access to training. 

The government also separated probation from social work in the mid 1990's which was really the beginning of the end for us. The Diploma in Probation Studies that followed was adequate, even considered to be a "gold standard" of professional education/training by some academics. It did, however, help push probation into an identity crisis about whether it was an enforcement agency or a social work agency. Unfortunately before probation could figure it out our training was morphed into the Diploma in Probation Practice under the Probation Qualifications Framework (PQF). This seemed to disproportionately attract young graduates (mostly female) with no experience and then qualified these recruits in about 15 months. 

Never have I seen so much tears and anxiety amongst probation trainees as in this period, which I think is now reflected in their varying levels of competence/incompetence upon qualification. The newest edition of our training commencing this year is the Probation Qualification in Probation (PQiP), which costs £75 just to check eligibility to apply. So far we don't know if there's any improvement on the PQF but I doubt it and there must be a reason why the word "diploma" is removed from the final award, which is the "equivalent" of an honours degree rather than an actual one. It doesn't take an idiot to parallel the erosion of our qualifications with the deprofessionalisation of probation officers, the privatisation of probation work and the governments Transforming Rehabilitation policy.

For years probation leaders have been implicit in downgrading the role of probation officers. For starters I blame the Probation Chiefs Association, the Probation Association and now the Probation Institute. These organisations are inter-related, and their actions have been self-serving to preserve their positions. Under what I call the "judas watch" of most of our former Probation Chiefs (they received a lot more than 30 pieces of silver) we've witnessed the probation service and the status of the probation officer reduced to nothing. We've become subservient to the agencies of the community and criminal justice, and even within probation our roles have been handed to unqualified PSO's, volunteers and mentors. Not content with selling 70% of probation to private companies, the current "E3" drive by the Ministry of Justice and the National Probation Service is now replacing qualified Probation Officers with unqualified Probation Service Officers.

I am a Probation Officer, DipSW, DipPS, DipPP, PQiP

In the new world of probation we are called by names most of us never use, "responsible officers", "offender managers" (and sometimes b*stards and c*nts) which can be applied to nearly anybody. This is very different to probation under social work training arrangements up until the mid 1990's when probation officers were Probation Officers and would generally include their professional qualifications as an indication of authority, expertise and competence. CEO Sally Lewis is right to question whether "courts, etc know that PSO's are not qualified officers", and to state that PO's not signing with their professional qualifications is a big mistake. Likewise the Ministry of Justice and the National Probation Service are wrong to replace qualified Probation Officers with unqualified Probation Service Officers. We should distinguish ourselves from the inexperienced, the untrained and the unprofessional, and I believe we can start doing this by signing our emails, letters and reports to state BSc, MSc, DipSW, DipPS and DipPP, etc. When we are asked our role at Court, Parole Boards and other formal settings to state our professional qualifications as standard.

If you're a qualified probation officer and agree with the above then you know what you need to do. It is our professional qualifications and experience that gives us the authority to do our jobs and sets us apart from the untrained, unqualified and inexperienced staff currently being recruited to replace qualified probation officers in the National Probation Service, Community Rehabilitation Companies and other organisations. If nobody knows what we are professionally then how will the Courts, Parole Boards and others, including offenders and their families, know the differences between qualified and unqualified. More importantly, how else will they know to request their preference for a "qualified officer" because of all that comes with it. 

I've no doubt the time will come when we'll witness a reversal of E3, TR and probation privatisation (probably not under Dodgy Dave's Conservatives). I'm not wishing bad tidings on myself or anybody, but sadly I fear there'll be no constructive change by any government to reverse probation privatisation and deprofessionalisation until too many of our probation staff have been implicated for misconduct and corruption, until too many of our prisons are rioting and on fire, and until too many of our supervised offenders are raping, maiming and killing members of the public.

Probation Officer
15 years to retire

Guest Blog 41

I am a TPO who started as part of the big graduate recruitment onto the PQF. I had already been working as a PSO in Probation prior to this for 3 years, and before that worked in programmes in a Prison for 2 years so consider myself to be slightly different to the majority of my TPO colleagues. 

Our experience has been a frustrating and confusing one thus far. Aside from the recruitment process being shambolic with last minute interview dates given, having to wait nine weeks to find out if we were successful, finding out where we would be located two weeks before we were expected to start, I also had the added rigmarole of having to transfer from the CRC to NPS. Cue approximately 50 phone calls to shared services to prompt (and in the end push) them to correct my contract to acknowledge my continuous service and terms and conditions.

Since training has begun, I have to say management in my area have tried their hardest to help make this a positive experience for us. They were completely left out of the recruitment process and were given little to no guidance as to what should be done with us as we embarked upon a 15 month programme to become a qualified probation officer. Training events have been organised giving us sometimes only 48 hours notice that we need to travel a significant distance, they have also been cancelled sometimes on the day(!) via email when we have all already been on our way to the location. Getting cases has been a nightmare as very few of the NPS caseload are suitable for TPOs; I am only lucky with my previous PSO and programme experience that I have been allowed to have more 'meatier' cases than my fellow TPO colleagues.

I am so grateful to be finally training. It is what I wanted to do when I graduated in 2010 and it is what I have had in the back of my mind through my career so far in that I feel I have tried my hardest to get as much relevant experience as possible. I worry for my fellow TPOs. There is a sense of naivety, and with some perhaps a complacent bravado attitude of 'I can handle anything'. There seems to be a reluctance to ask for advice and a desire to push ahead with making decisions without consulting more experienced colleagues. This is all well and good, however training events thus far have focused on theory with little advice as to how to complete the more practice elements of the job, such as assessing risk of serious harm, completing MAPPA referrals, assessing for HDC etc.

Unfortunately the way training was sold on the website highlighted the starting wage of a Probation Officer and some seem to be using this as their main focus to succeed. Well, what 22 year old wouldn't want to be earning near enough £30,000 a year after graduating from University? What some of my fellow TPOs fail to realise is the true demand of the job. Most only have a handful of cases, have yet to work with the most serious of NPS cases and experienced the stress and difficulty involved in this. I have yet to experience this either, but know from my experience thus far not to go in with rose tinted glasses.

They estimate that there are 750 trainee probation officers as a result of this recruitment drive. A meeting with our regional head last week informed us that they were not clear what would happen with all of us when we qualify. When asked if we would get the PO role they have stated we would be 'transitioned' into, the response given was vague and went along the lines of 'you will need to be very flexible with regards to location'. When there are TPOs training across the country, I cannot see how there will be vacancies in other areas if there are no vacancies in the area that we are training in. It's also all well and good saying be flexible, but that isn't so easy with a young family to think about. I fear there will be a number of floating qualified POs kept in PSO posts with attempts to make them hold PO cases. I certainly will not agree to that.

I find myself feeling anxious and uptight every day, having to remind myself why I am training. I love this line of work, I love working with offenders and coaching people to make even the smallest of changes to their lives. But I look around and see stressed and tired colleagues, I read this blog and feel for the experiences of POs and other NPS staff around the country and wonder what I am doing.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. If anyone has any advice for me (I am expecting a number of leave whilst you still can!), I would be most grateful.

Bleak Futures Week 18

Yet another upgrade to N-delerious and worse again - its a fecking joke.

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Unable to get on Delius all day. Seems like even the system realises how fucked up things are at the moment. Yet when the pressure starts to build re missed targets managers will not want to know. To anyone in the same position, make sure that when the system decides to return make sure that you enter a detailed explanation re the delay.

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After 2 days off, enjoying sun, I returned to work today, dreading the upgrade, something always goes wrong or we have to re-learn how to access and use the IT systems. I was not disappointed, got a an email from Crown Court asking for the case allocation document! I checked and it was there in n'delius, uploaded when it was done in Feb! Oh no, would you believe it, its a blank doc! I always put a hard copy in the file too, so faxed it over.

Not 10 minutes later, I was advised the FDR was also blank! I don't make a habit of uploading blanks, and I was a little put out by the inference that I hadn't done it, as I did and offered to fax a copy, but was reminded by court staff that I will have to do them again in nDelius to complete the record!

Well no, I completed the work once and have the evidence, actual hard copies so, I won't be re-doing it all again anytime soon, been allocated more reports since then. So it looks to me that the upgrade erased some text, another colleague sent a blank recall report to Noms yesterday, unaware it had been erased! You really couldn't make it up. I will be entering a complaint to my SPO.

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'Upgrade' has been a disaster in our northern office. People seem to have lost access to records, whilst some offenders and their records seem to have become invisible and impossible to find. We know they should be there but we can't find them. And then the computers are crawling for some and completely stopped for others. I'm in NPS but god knows how my CRC colleagues are coping with their increased OASys demands. Must be pulling their hair out. Interesting how CRC colleagues no longer have time to see clients. Too busy fudging OASys stats.

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Six times yesterday I tried to make an entry on same individual and six times got exception error - three times tried again on same offender this morning. Finally cracked it when I did not use next appointment but that meant I had to put this in separately. It's beyond a joke now. 2 staff in my office covering 5 caseloads - I am on the verge of breakdown without N-disastrous.

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Don't know which northern office you are from my friend, but same state of play in my northern office too.

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Some northern offices completing basic level one OASys to save time but not being told this is officially allowed. Staff at breaking point with others shipped to TTG, leaving rest to pick up the caseload. Nightmare continues.

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It won't let me change the screen colour - its dark blue and we can't read the top of the screen - there's a facility to change colour but it doesn't work unless it will upgrade overnight. And don't get me started on it kicking me out when I've not used it for like a minute aarrgghh.

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Horrendous IT day yesterday with loss of capacity for hours both Citrix and Delius. Whole day without everything working, really, really, shameful. Heading in now hoping to do some catch up, I really cannot go on like this.

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Yet more problems with N-disastrous. All day long I have had exception or time out errors, repeatedly having to make the entries over and over. With only two staff and a caseload of five staff - a trying day to say the least. We were told this upgrade would improve the system - it is worse than ever and takes even longer to find something.

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Durham Tees Valley have people starting training this week. Unsure what it consists of as there is no one in my office who has been selected. I'm sure it will all work out though and the Prison officers will make them feel really welcome.

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I said this wasn't going to work when we first heard of it inside. How are they going to get people into their local resettlement prison when the prisons are so full? There's nowhere to transfer the current occupants to in order to make room for the new influx. There's 2 people in Leicester as far as I know. They won't have a chance of getting everybody. TTG and the new RAR system need a huge investment of money and people and all we get are cuts. How can it be said that people will be provided with accommodation when local councils are making it harder by the day to apply and hostel places are disappearing overnight?

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Surely TTG in concept should be about providing support for those leaving custody that only have £46 in their pocket (and a £1000 debt), and in most need? That would be those that need help with accommodation, employment etc that don't already have any support networks to turn to? These however, are the most time consuming and expensive people to extend the service to. Making it voluntary is just a sneaky way of cherry picking those that will need the least assistance and therefore cheaper and easier to acquire the 'outcome' required for payment. 

Something that hasn't been mentioned of late is that TTG is to work in association with the creation of 'ressettlement' prisons, where prisoners are released from their local prisons after being transferred there a month or so prior. I'm a little perplexed as to how TTG can actually start running until the resettlement infrastructure has been put in place?

To my knowledge, no prisoners are yet being transferred for local discharge, and people living in London are still being released from areas such as Durham or Liverpool. How can TTG work whilst that's happening? TTG is a concept that sounds good to politicians and the public that have no real knowledge of the issues that exist within the CJS, and a half baked notion from a SoS that has even less of an idea.

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On 1st May we just got an A4 notification to say Shelter were doing the TTG. It also says 'the other TTG services, emergency 48hr post release accommodation and support to prisoners who've been subject to domestic or sexual abuse and those who may have been sex workers will be introduced later in the year and will be delivered by OTHER commissioned providers'. It further says 'NOMS have created a number of resettlement prisons & it's ANTICIPATED prisoners will be transferred to these - if they're not, the prison will liaise with the Responsible Officer to agree support (I'm guessing this will happen a lot - can't see resettlement prisons taking off tbh).

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I had a conversation with the department that organises Through the Gate in a Northern prison and was informed that despite them being one of the designated prisons they have no-one in post and no training planned at this time - perhaps Mr Grayling could suggest why this would be?

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I hear that a northern prison had a big issue with TTG and conflict between Sodexo-based CRC and another CRC both of which cover that prison. Because info is commercially sensitive they are watching each other carefully but have requested separate offices in that same prison. Now this is likely to be replicated in other areas too, isn't that interesting?

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Another prison visit and another sea of blank looks when I asked how the plans for TTG are going? Now some prisons are shanghaiing admin and support staff into roles without any formal training. Message to those staff who see this as a career move, if something goes wrong in between picking your old lag up before transporting them to their new pad, please make sure that you are in a union. Those that aren't can expect to get picked off one by one.

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An IT technician with Gwalia Housing has just started working as a TTG peer mentor trainer with St Giles in a prison in Wales. I give him the benefit of the doubt!

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TTG Cardiff prison still not up and running. Community part of the contract not being awarded until June.

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Interesting thought. A lot of people used to do Criminal Justice related voluntary work because they wanted experience that would help them to get into Probation. Now there IS no Probation, what's the incentive?

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It used to be a befriend and assist job. If you had life experience, you may be suitable as long as you could show you could relate to the clients. Now you need a degree and the ability to enforce punishment for non-compliance. Some colleagues' whole life work trashed and maybe facing unemployment in their 50s. Lost career and vocation to make way for profiteering from crime. This is the new future of the Probation Service. Oh and don't forget the devalued pension pot they have robbed as well. RIP

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A prisoner released after 5 yrs in prison, never used the internet, told by Work Programme to go to his local Hub to enrol on an IT course so he can upload his CV to emails etc. Course was full. He has to try again for next months course. He wants a CSCS card so he can work in construction but WP won't pay the £180 for it unless he has a firm job offer. He attended ETE in Probation, run by longstanding partnership, who have sorted all of this for him apart from the CSCS as they don't have a budget. The Work Programme fails and parks prisoners. This guy is trying to go straight after supplying class A. He can easily make some money but chooses to go straight. He needs professional help to do this, not volunteer mentors who don't have the expertise.

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At this moment in time, I am actually spending more time behind a PC than I was pre-TR - not what I expected in CRC - man down pub tells me it's going to get better - if and when it does I may buy that man a drink but I cannot see it being achieved in my CRC lifetime.

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We spend more time at a PC than ever before, the systems are less efficient and detrimental and duplication is running rife.

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In our offices (joint CRC and NPS) the receptionists can't see delius for NPS. This causes a whole heap of problems. Anyone else in the same boat?

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Yes same in my office/area - causes heaps of problems. Recently Social Services were after information on a case not long finished - CRC staff unable to access - once terminated goes back to NPS - had to ask them to look up information - swamped by bureaucracy.

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Only going to get worse, wait until you are not even working in the same building and everything is fed through and out of the central Hub..

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I work as a joint CRC/NPS receptionist and can still see NPS front screen records just not full functionality. A lot of it is interpreting the information we can see which boils down to experience in our particular field. Safeguarding and Prison checks on the increase. We are a small cog in the big wheel, but important front line staff and if it causes a whole heap of problems now, wait until we are not there anymore which seems to be the plan!!!

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I'm aware of central hubs for CRC but what will happen at the few NPS offices that are left? Will there be any receptionists there? Receptionists are indeed an important - if not the most important - cog in the wheel and I for one would struggle without them!

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The fact is that the default operating models are not fit for purpose in the real world. In my opinion, they have been designed without any comprehension of the environment in which they will be delivered. Every offender has a phone, none of them are mentally unwell or suffer from substance misuse issues, public transport is universal, everyone has good reception on their mobile phone, no-one ever turns up late or early, no-one misses a group. The list of factors is endless. Receptionists are the gatekeepers. Without them there will be chaos. The CRC management know this and are still arguing the point with Sodeveryone.

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Excellent points well made. Reception staff - I am sorry you've been taken for granted for so long. Your hour of recognition is now here. Similarly case admin staff - the prospect of losing your knowledge & experience makes my blood run cold.

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When we first split the Courts were not ringing OMs for updates to aid sentencing, however today I've been emailed to send court a progress report to aid sentencing. Never heard of these reports - I'm happy to fill it in as it will mean someone getting sentenced right (hopefully) but the whole NPS/CRC is shifting sands.

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Unpaid Work is a disaster - only one supervisor as the other on training, no sessionals anymore. 16 turned up as per signed instructions and 6 of them were sent home. Offenders arguing about who went home last week (cos of the same problem) and who's turn it is to go home this week; others arguing to stay as it's not their fault we've no staff; OMs arguing for their clients to stay. But never mind, Sodexo saving £18k pa in staffing.

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This situation can have serious consequences for any offender doing unpaid work and claiming benefits. If your contract with the Job Centre has the time you spend weekly on unpaid work factored in, and the Job Centre get wind that you haven't actually done those hours of unpaid work for any given week, then you run the risk of being sanctioned. It matters not that it isn't your fault, you just haven't fulfilled your agreement. Harsh, even cruel, but true!

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Couldn't agree more. Our UPW vans are off the road cos no one has a PSV licence. Now have hire vans but can't take the tools out cos no tow bar to carry the trailer.

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Not sure what area you are in, but in our CRC Unpaid Work we have had 4 supervisors to 6 service users today. We are twiddling our thumbs here. Maybe I can suggest coming to give you a hand?

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Staff do not need a PSV licence. It is CP card that Sodexo are refusing to let the staff get. They will not put staff through this training, thus resulting in only being able to carry 8 passengers. Vans are off the road because they do not know what they are doing, they do not understand how unpaid work, works. This is another way of cost cutting. They think that by refusing the CP card to the supervisors that they will save money. Really more money is being spent on hiring brand new mini buses.

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It's a bit worrying that they can't arrange transport for their offenders. It makes me wonder how they deal with real problems that involve risk?

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Our CRC not very good at maths. We are expected to take 10 offenders with only 8 available seats on the van.

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What is so disheartening about all of this is that, despite all the evidence on here and tweeted etc elsewhere of the disintegration of the Service, none of it will make a blind bit of difference to those with decision making powers. We have HMI in at present doing an 'audit' of how things are working post TR. Assured of anonymity, all questions are being answered honestly by those of us whose cases are in the sample. But will what we say have any impact - I doubt it. Still, I await the HMI report with interest, as I was told by an Inspector that it won't go to the CEO (for tweaking) before publication, as is the normal practice with inspections, apparently.....

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Whilst a deterioration was expected, that it is happening so fast is frightening. It seems people have regressed and lost all sense of what had been learned, supposed to have been put in place years ago and have reverted back to systems and process that applied to very dark times. Whilst 'service user' feedback is now derigeur, engagement, effective practice, for those who knew what that was, seems to have flown out of the window. Restrictive punitive measures and approach abound, law, policy and guidance is disregarded as back covering and so called risk management, predominates. Half a day training or do it yourself IT training, easy enough to cheat and falsify, resulting in.. the horrors are too many. People died, were abused, treated unfairly because of exactly this type of behaviour in the NHS. It's only a matter of time before it all crashes down on them. In many ways am beginning to see the value in kiosks, at least that will mean some people will not have to suffer.

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Anyone in Northumbria want to add to this list of the impossibility of getting breach papers past the Enforcement Team in NPS?

Your breach is rejected because:

1. You haven't tried to do a home visit (offender is known to stab people)
2. You haven't checked if they have outstanding fines (I was asking for 7 hours additional Unpaid Work)
3. You haven't sent warning letters (he doesn't have an address)
4. You haven't ruled out a curfew (I wasn't asking for a curfew I was asking for more Unpaid Work)
5. You haven't provided witness availability for Unpaid Work staff (I would if he denied the breach, we're not at that stage yet)
6. Your Delius entry from 3 months ago says someone rang and said she was sick (I don't have a sick note, I don't know who the caller was)
7. You need a letter from his employer (his employer doesn't know he's on Probation)
8. Your word is just hearsay, not evidence (I'm his Probation Officer!!)
9. You haven't said whether you have tried to phone him (He hasn't got a phone)
10. You haven't got a signed agreement to say that he understands that he has to come to appointments (He hasn't attended at all. He hasn't been signed up yet)

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NPS in the northwest are also doing a fine job of knocking everything back. They simply loathe requests for WWOB; they'll eat hot gravel rather than apply for an arrest warrant.
What's the story, NPS?

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You're making a single fatal error, you had the client at the centre of things, the breach procedure has targets at the centre of all things!

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As far as I'm aware in the NorthWest and using Merseyside as an example, the warrant team is tiny and so anyone on 'their toes' has minimal chance of being hauled back before the courts. Warrants only tend to get executed when they are arrested on new matters. Stay on your toes for 3 years or so and Probation Court officers will re-apply to court to have the warrants cancelled.

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Who are the breach officers in Northumbria? Are they the ones transferred over from G4S as part of TR? Remember, they didn't get asked just like we didn't, and may not have been given suitable support and training. If not, then I have no idea what's going on!

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If it's any consolation in another northern office close by Northumbria, breaches are also being rejected for ridiculous reasons.

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I cannot stress how much sympathy I have for PQF learners. I have never seen entrants into probation treated this way. We all know how their salaries were messed up at the outset with many having no income until the mess was sorted, they have also been auto enrolled into a pension scheme without even basic information provided - a clear breach by NPS of pension regulations.

But by far the worst part is their training, often hitched to over-burdened PO "mentors" who can't keep up with their own case loads let alone training others, managers with no time to spare....and who cares???? I have tried to help a lovely person in our team to the detriment of my own workload and having to catch up out of hours. She tells me she is in despair because she was promised a rewarding career with decent training and she dare not speak out. Isn't that a shame?

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It's shocking but the same right across England and Wales. I went to a conference the other month when a man from NOMS asked our opinion on new learners asking, should their caseload be protected and if so for how long? We stared blankly at him for a long time. Of course they should be protected but we're so short-staffed how can that be possible and with highly qualified staff being dismissed on the other side, didn't know what to say! Speechless. We eventually let him know what we thought.

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I also really feel for the new PQF trainers. Last week I reluctantly refused a request to act as mentor for a trainee due to start tomorrow. This decision came about owing to the failure of management to date to rectify my unmanageable caseload and bring it in line with comparable role PO's elsewhere in the 'business'. A number of us commenced grievance proceedings 6 months ago on this matter and yet again we hear today the hearing date has been delayed, so we have informed management we will not take any 'new' work for the foreseeable. It goes against the grain to refuse to help a colleague, especially a newly-appointed trainee, but we are on our knees here with no end in sight.

Day 3 of the HMI inspection and the inspector I saw today probably wasn't anticipating the response he got when he told me that our teams decision last July not to do any more Oasys or ISP's (after requesting direction on prioritisation of work and been told by Snr Management that 'everything was a priority') had been 'indefensible'. He spent the next 10 minutes heavily rowing back on that one, saying it wasn't personal and hopefully their report will make a difference in terms of resource allocation. Well, as I told him, I'm not holding my breath on that one. It couldn't get any worse here than it has been today...

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Well it's an absolute certainty that no TPO is going to be failed...at least they know they will have a job.

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I am a TPO and worked for a significant period in AP's and programmes beforehand. I joined a Trust. I am thriving and absolutely adore being a TPO. Sorry to go against the grain of this post but I just feel I should share my experience.

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I think there's a gulf between those who have grown up (professionally speaking) in recent times, and those who have longer memories & experiences. Neither is right or wrong, but times and practice are significantly different. My DipSW Learning/training experience bears no relation to the current TPO experience. My time as an assessor didn't have any resonance with my practice teacher's efforts to knock me into shape. It shouldn't be a case of going against grain, it is just different for so many reasons. Grumpy old gits sometimes find it hard to be eclipsed by young pups, whilst fresh blood can be feisty and enthusiastic and blind to the priveleges that experience brings.

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I "absolutely adored" being a PO...and then along came TR...

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I have been qualified 9 months, was a PSO before. I had to fight for protected caseload and someone to support me with my first parole report before I even qualified. I now have a caseload of 47 mostly high risk. For the first time in my life I am now on anti-depressants.

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Everyday in the CRC gets worse. You can see the stress etched on colleagues faces. We were recently given a week to transfer cases. Today we got learning point from a recent SFO - when cases are transferred there must be a handover between staff. Staff being sent into prison without risk assessments or proper training. Message being sent out from management that we must divert from recall.

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There was a big performance metrics meting for NPS this week. Apparently a recall will count as an unsuccessful completion. Wonder if same for CRC and that's why being advised to divert? It's all about the targets and profits. I guess the instruction will be risk escalate before recall? Just had a SFO for murder - risk escalation.

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If there's a message being sent out that states 'divert from recall', then that really needs to be published. Such an instruction takes away the individual (and trained and experienced) judgement from the probation officer, and puts a management decision focused on meeting targets way above concerns for public safety. Recall should occur only when necessary, and being instructed to refrain from doing what is necessary when public protection is concerned is just frankly shocking. Print it off and send it to Sadiq Khan with your anonymous concerns about what risks such advice may have on public safety.

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If there's another "dinosaur/old git" comment in our shared building today I won't be needing my redundancy, but I will need a PSR after I've given one of the smug NPS newly-qualified POs a good slap. NPS manager isn't interested in addressing it. CRC manager says it's not his staff member so he can't do anything about it. Looks like it'll have to be 2 falls and a submission a la Mick McManus, or a thick ear a la Frank Bruno. I haven't a fucking clue what happened to professional standards in the probation service. Where did they go?

TGI Friday 3

We are a bit like England, down and with a high percentage of being out.

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After another very stressful day at work just signed the petition and feel great, the minister of INJUSTICE needs to be sacked. Some light in this dark times that we are experiencing.

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In our team (NPS) we have 2 off on long term sick (nothing to do with TR) and have drafted in agency workers. Creaking at the seams! Poor enforcement officer has almost had nervous breakdown trying to negotiate the stupid illogical IT system. I completed a start licence Oasys and when asked re RM2000 inadvertently clicked the wrong button................OMG it cannot be undone! I HAVE DEFINITELY SIGNED THE PETITION. HE SHOULD GO ASAP.

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I've signed too - I also wanted to share a conversation I had with a Team Manager friend the other day. Concerned for the lack of information available to 3rd year PQF's, this particular manager contacted Noms to ask for some up to date information, as the situation is becoming critical - with many of our 3rd year PQF's completing their degrees in the next few weeks. Said manager was flabbergasted when after asking the question, she was asked, "What is a PQF"?

Locally the message from on high is that there are 'plenty of jobs for PO's in CRC's.....not what was hoped for and I suspect there will be a lot more chaos as a consequences. For example: Two 3rd Year PQF's were sifted into the NPS in my team; area wide there are a fair number of them. So between 1.6.2014 - 30.6.2014 - my 2 colleagues will possibly be Trainees with a mixed and managed bag by way of caseload - sifted into NPS when their caseload changed accordingly and they transferred a host of folk into the CRC. They took the caseloads of 2 colleagues who had qualified in the last 12 months, who were shafted, sorry, sifted into CRC.

So, before the end of the month - they may rejoice that they have successfully completed a 3 year degree course and secured the title of Probation Officer.....but their joy may be short lived, as they again transfer yet another caseload, if they are to go into the CRC....it is nothing short of tragic and I for one, would like to see Grayling sacked and forced to work for McDonalds 60 hours a week - minimum wage - no expenses, no stars; cos he's so damn incompetent!

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Interested in the terminology Jim 'to what degree caseloads continue to be manageable'. The hypothesis has to assume workloads were manageable in the first place of course and according to sources they were not. I understand from the grapevine today that the NPS is in trouble in our area, not enough PO's to do Court reports and grasping at CRC PO's for sessional working of which without they would be up the creek as they say. 

The establishment process was undertaken by NOMS who dictated to the Trusts the numbers of staff needed, now they have ripped apart the complex processes it is becoming all too clear there just aren't enough bodies and not enough skilled qualified workers to fill the gaps. Whilst it would be heroic to turn down work as a sessional not everyone can afford to give up their jobs as some brave souls have chosen to do. The reality is that it is not an option for everyone and wouldn't be any good suggesting this to NAPO members who are struggling financially and emotionally. 

I know of 2 PO's who walked today. NAPO needs to start counting these losses, they are rapidly increasing nationally, alongside the risks of health to staff. Report these where you can and get them out there. Complete risk assessments and report stress to the right people. The fight against this mad plan of Graylings is not lost.

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In our office NPS offered overtime whilst the CRC using agency workers. This new system must be saving a fortune. Efficient is not the word. Clever man the Secretory of State.

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Case Allocation Tool aaaarrrrggghhhh!
Do it this way, no do it this way, nope that's not right do it this way.....ok you've done it and written loads in it...so now try and open it on Delius ...ooooo it doesn't open as a doc so all the work you've just completed to advise the receiving OM of what needs to be followed up cannot be read FFS!!!!!

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I go into work everyday and want to hide, I have no clue what I am supposed to do, being pulled in all directions and staff moved at some rate of knots, surely this cannot be right, every ones in fear of something serious happening. The look on the faces of staff is so sad, everyone is at the brink of either walking out or of breakdown.

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Ridiculous arguments with the IT team this week. Very much abridged but involved two managers, hours of work from a Senior Admin, various correspondence with NOMS and a really touch and go deadline to get a Parole Report Addendum to an Oral Hearing taking place today:

My team: "Please can you give me access to the assessment and contact records for this man who is serving a life sentence for a very unpleasant murder" NPS/NOMS: "No, you are CRC and do not have access to this". Me: "But I wrote it!" 

Hours and hours later, finally sorted out but warned very severely by IT that this is the last time they will help us out like this. I have turned into a potty mouth.

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Team managers in NPS in our office are routinely using language like "we're in emergency measures", "crisis management" and "trying to hold on" and "it feels unsafe". To be honest, there is no enthusiasm to hold on and lots of people are looking at agency work. This new case allocation tool takes about half the time it takes to write the PSR in the first place. Just bizarre IT systems and no-one can see any end to it. The Court teams are in chaos with high sickness and nothing is getting properly allocated. Our reception staff can't see high risk people on NDelius and are turning them away, whilst lots of new cases haven't found their way onto NDelius at all (ie, not started or allocated) so they too are being turned away. It's a disaster zone. And there is no sense that it will improve soon. It's getting worse all the time as the backlog of unallocated cases increases, like the passport office only more dangerous.

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Spoke to 30 year time served PO today who, for reasons we have historically never questioned, chose not to work with sex offenders, until sift into NPS. She is now working with clients in ways in which she lacks competence and the necessary emotional resources. Skilled group workers now doing OM and skilled PMs now running groups. Sift has replaced skilled workers with nervous conscripts. The farce continues.

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Very lovely, enthusiastic and highly motivated young person with a Criminology Degree and now halfway through the PQF has sent us CRC bods this case:
Previous Manslaughter for battering to death someone he perceived to be having a relationship with his first wife. 2 yr custodial for Threats to Kill second wife and/or partner. New offence: Breach of Restraining Order for driving past new ex-wife's house where she lives with new partner.
Trying to send a case back to NPS that we think was wrongly allocated in the first place seems to be almost impossible. Meanwhile, he's my case and I'm the responsible officer.

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Before the shafting I guess you would not even have batted an eye lid at such a case. I hate TR.

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Thanks anon at 22:42! You're right! I wouldn't have. And I would have worked hard with him and other agencies, probably including a referral to MAPPA Level 2. Now I find myself trying every which way to bat it back to NPS and this man is not being helped, monitored or assessed. I hate TR too.

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I now wake at this time every night, head full of work and fear about work. There is no point in saying anything no-one is listening. I do not have a poor sickness record but am so fearful of becoming ill. I cannot begin to describe the chaos in my team (NPS). One PO off sick already and saying she will not come back and we cannot cope without her. Work is not being done properly and I read about the Inspectorate plans and am terrified as we will be blamed. Who will tell them about this chaos and that we have done our best...the blame game will end with PO and PSO grades.

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I personaly think that the situation has now become so dire and dangerous that the union should draft a letter to Cameron stating that their concerns are now so grave at the way the MoJ are dealing with, and implementing TR, that they feel they have no other option but to send direct to him (Cameron) any communication that they also send to the MoJ. Somebody will eventually have to be held accountable, and the union need to be able to demonstrate that they made it clear to government at the highest level that TR was a public danger and an unmanagable mess.

At least by doing that Cameron has to do 'something' to avoid any personal reputational damage to himself, and I feel with the state things are in now its a fair and legitimate thing to do.

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I'm concerned at the differentiating roles between CRC staff depending on which LDU you are in. We have now been told that we have to start managing standalone UPW - no other LDU does this but we've been described as 'unique'. Local NAPO advice is that part of CRC will be anomalies such as this and described them as 'merging roles' and that if and when a job evaluation is ever carried out then we should score more points. WTF do another persons job on the strength of there may or may not be a JE at some point in the future and it may or may not stand us in good stead!!! Some older staff also brush it off as 'well that's what we used to do anyway' but the jobs changed significantly since those days.

We are only into week three and they are just cutting back so much they are getting the remaining staff to mop up all the excess on top of the heavy workloads they've already got. and its not right - maybe OMs should take turns on reception too!!

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We do that already. Not enough staff to provide reception cover for a full day unless we take turns.