Probation unit 'inadequate' says inspector

Inspectors say a probation unit in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is 'inadequate'

A probation unit has been as classified as "inadequate" following an inspection.

HM Inspectorate of Probation has highlighted "major" leadership issues within the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Probation Delivery Unit (PDU).

Martin Jones, the chief inspector of probation, said the risk people on probation posed was "often" not "accurately and completely" identified.

The Ministry of Justice, which has overall control of the probation service, said training was being improved and 1,000 more probation officers were being recruited nationally.

'Risk'

The inspection took place over a two-week period in April and May.

Mr Jones said, in a foreword to an inspection report, that the unit, which was established in 2021, had been rated "inadequate" overall.

"Nowhere near enough attention was being paid by leaders to the quality of risk assessments and management plans," he said.

"Almost all the assessments we inspected were insufficient in relation to keeping people safe, and many of those had been overseen by senior probation officers."

He added: "Systems and processes that should have been controlling the quality of risk assessments were having no effect in practice.

"As a result, practitioners were often not accurately and completely identifying the risk people on probation posed to others in their lives and communities."

HM Inspectorate of Probation has highlighted "major" leadership issues

Mr Jones also said the inspection had found that "poor practice" in relation to safeguarding children and "managing the risk of domestic abuse" was "widespread".

He said leaders needed to "do more" to ensure "practitioners were routinely doing enough to protect vulnerable people from harm".

Senior probation officers were "overstretched" and "unable to carry out their duties effectively", he said.

Too few "practitioners" were employed in the unit and "very high sickness rates" meant "capacity was reduced even further".

'Not fully representative'

The report said that the unit was not "fully representative" of the communities it served.

"Only 7% of staff in the [unit] had declared themselves to be from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background, compared to 15 per cent of the local population."

"Senior leaders had not acted quickly or decisively enough to address the causes of sickness absence, manage people appropriately when they were off work or outline a strategy for returning to a sustainable level of service," said Mr Jones.

"There is a great deal to be done to steer this [unit] back to an acceptable level of service."

He said some members of staff were "passionate" about their work and "committed to supporting people to change and protecting others from harm".

He added: "Senior leaders should build on that foundation by focusing on the quality of risk management and enabling senior probation officers to lead their teams effectively."

The inspectorate described the inspection findings as "alarming".

Mr Jones added, following the report's publication: “We were deeply concerned to find major issues with the leadership of this (unit) and the quality of work it was delivering."

The Ministry of Justice said, in a statement: “The prison system is in crisis which is putting significant pressure on the whole justice system.

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

'Strategy'

An inspection team rated the unit "inadequate" in six out of seven categories - and "inadequate" overall. Services were rated as "requires improvement".

The report made a number of recommendations.

Inspectors said the unit should: "Devise and implement a strategy for returning to a sustainable level of service in which senior probation officers are focused on leading their teams and monitoring the quality of work produced by practitioners."