'Chaotic' probation service risks harm - report

Bradford and Calderdale Probation Delivery Unit is "inadequate", a report has found

The probation service in parts of West Yorkshire is operating in a "chaotic state" and is at risk of not protecting the public from harm, a watchdog has warned.

In a report published on Thursday by HM Inspectorate of Probation, Bradford and Calderdale Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) was deemed "inadequate".

In the report, Martin Jones, chief inspector of probation, said there was an "openly divisive and strained culture" in all three of the PDU offices in those areas, adding that "urgent action" was needed.

A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesperson said the problems being faced were inherited from the previous government, adding that it was recruiting 1,000 new probation officers nationally.

The publication of the report follows the first inspection of the Bradford and Calderdale PDU since it was established under the unification of probation services in 2021.

During the inspection, strains between PDU staff who had joined the service before unification and those who had joined afterwards were observed, according to HM Inspectorate of Probation.

'Low morale'

In his letter to the probation service in Bradford and Calderdale, Mr Jones wrote: "The underlying issues in this PDU are longstanding and had been neglected for too long, resulting in it now being a difficult place to work."

He said that "as a result of the culture, morale was low", while sickness levels were high.

Across all staffing groups, the average loss to sick days was 18.6 days a year, while at the probation officer grade, the figure was 21 days a year on average.

According to Mr Jones, there were also "large gaps in staffing" as 33% of the probation officer posts were vacant and there were "unclear timescales for when this would improve".

Mr Jones wrote in his report that the PDU "remains operating in a chaotic state and leaders need to stabilise it".

Dave Argument, head of the inspectorate's adult inspection programme, told the BBC that in Bradford and Calderdale, there had been "some really concerning findings".

Low overall morale overall was "partially linked to high workloads which were unmanageable for many practitioners", he said, adding that this was "sadly reflected across many other parts of the probation service".

Dave Argument, from HM Inspectorate of Probation, says the public could be put at risk

In September, the Labour government launched an early release scheme which saw some prisoners released after serving 40% of their sentence, rather than the usual 50%.

However, people who committed sex offences, terrorist offences and violent offences with a sentence of four years or more were not included in the scheme.

Nor were those who committed offences relating to national security or offences connected to domestic abuse, such as stalking and non-fatal strangulation.

Mr Argument said there was "absolutely no doubt additional early releases places additional pressure on services", despite them already being "overstretched".

"If the Bradford and Calderdale probation service doesn't address the issues that we've outlined in this report, there is a risk it won't be able to achieve its objectives, which is to protect the public from harm," he added.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis, which has put a huge strain on the probation service.

"We are gripping the situation and supporting our hardworking staff by improving training and recruiting 1,000 new probation officers nationally to better deliver robust supervision and protect the public."

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