Greater Manchester probation services criticised amid safety fears

Probation services in Manchester, Wigan and Tameside were inspected

Three Greater Manchester probation services have been ordered to improve after inspectors found under-pressure staffing levels could be leaving people at risk.

Inspections were carried out at so-called probation delivery units in Manchester, Wigan and Tameside.

They were each found to be under-resourced and were rated as requiring improvement.

However, inspectors praised staff members' work to prevent reoffending.

HM Inspectorate of Probation visited Wigan and Tameside in March while North Manchester was inspected in February.

Inspectors said "long-standing" resourcing issues meant some individual workloads were excessive at Manchester North, which "impacted upon the quality of work".

Chief Inspector Justin Russell said despite "positive foundations" with an "impressive suite" of partnership services in the city, it was "disappointing" to see the "noticeably poor" areas "such as keeping people safe".

'Insufficient risk prevention'

The inspection did praise some elements of Manchester North's work with individuals, which was "beginning to have an impact in relation to work undertaken with Black, Asian and minority ethnic people on probation".

Recommendations included ensuring appropriate activity was always undertaken following domestic abuse or safeguarding enquiries.

Inspectors said Wigan's rating "masks some very positive aspects of practice"

But they said that had not yet had time to take effect and work to assess and manage the risk of harm and to keep other people safe was "insufficient".

It praised its "highly motivated staff" and "impressive" leadership and services for women, including those who were victims of abuse, as well as the youth offending service.

But Mr Russell said: "Experiences of people with a black, Asian or minority ethnic background needed to be better understood so that structural barriers, disproportionality and the known adverse effects of racial discrimination can be addressed."

Tameside leadership and staff were praised but inspectors said the service was "substantially under-resourced with only half of the probation officers they need"

This was "understandably having an impact on their ability to properly manage people on probation, specifically around issues such as risk of harm," the watchdog continued.

Mr Russell said he was "concerned with our findings around keeping people safe from potential harm, particularly children who may be at risk of domestic abuse, and the service must find a way to make this a priority".

He commended projects, supported through the the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, to provide accommodation for people on probation and prevent them from becoming homeless.

Mr Russell said: "Greater Manchester probation services are already making the improvements we need to see.

"They have strong leadership, services in place to deter people from reoffending, and there's hope they will be back to a full workforce by the end of 2023."

But he added: "All this hard work is not translating to the supervision of people on probation, particularly around the potential risk of harm they may pose to others.

"While this is concerning, we think they can build the positive work we have seen, such as services to tackle homelessness and safeguard people from domestic abuse."

A Ministry of Justice (MOJ) spokesman said: "We are pleased inspectors recognised the strong leadership behind the teams and we have taken immediate action to address the issues raised by inspectors."

He said that included additional training for staff to improve risk assessments and more regular quality checks on management plans for offenders.

The MOJ said it had invested an extra 155m a year into the Probation Service and was recruiting record numbers of staff "to deliver tougher supervision and keep the public safe".

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