HM Inspectorate of Probation Annual Report 2014-15/Arolygiaeth Prawf Ei Mawrhydi Adroddiad Blynyddol 2014-15
In 2014-2015, we continued to make good progress on the longer-term regular inspections of youth and adult offending work. This work included:
- continuing with a risk-proportionate programme of Inspection of Youth Offending Work, completing six full joint inspections and 31 short quality screenings
- conducting an audit of workloads held by probation trusts, followed by an audit of the way cases had been transferred to the National Probation Service (NPS) and which to the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs)
- completing 14 inspections under a programme of Inspection of Adult Offending Work
- completing 43 inspections of offender management in prisons, jointly with HMI Prisons
- publishing five thematic reports, led by HMI Probation, on girls in the criminal justice system, child protection arrangements in probation trusts and Youth Offending Teams, the contribution of Youth Offending Teams to the Troubled Families initiative, the effectiveness of resettlement arrangements for children released from custody, and the second part of an inspection on people with learning difficulties in the criminal justice system.
In 2015-2016, HMI Probation will continue to develop a new inspection model which will be piloted in the first half of the year. The inspectorate will continue to give a prominent focus to the issue of public safety, developing arrangements to improve practice in public protection.
“Our early Transforming Rehabilitation reports highlight significant operational and information-sharing concerns across the boundaries of the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies, and continuing frustration with old case management systems. We have found probation areas that had struggled to deliver a quality service prior to Transforming Rehabilitation are now finding it hardest to adapt and cope with the reforms. The correlation between historical performance of former probation trusts and progress made with Transforming Rehabilitation implementation extended into the important issue of staff morale. This speaks to the urgent and continuing need to support the necessary improvement in the quality of leadership and management.”
“However, with time and continuing goodwill I believe these transitional problems can be resolved. The much bigger challenge for 2015 and beyond will be to turn the rhetoric of innovation and the long-advocated extension of services to short-term prisoners into hard evidence of effectiveness and reduced rates of reoffending. This will be the true test of Transforming Rehabilitation reforms.”
Paul Wilson CBE
HM Chief Inspector of Probation
