Northamptonshire probation service must focus on safety, report says

Northamptonshire Probation Delivery Unit has been rated as "requires improvement"

A probation service must improve its work to "manage the risks people on probation may pose", a report said.

Northamptonshire Probation Delivery Unit has been rated as "requires improvement" after an inspection by HM Inspectorate of Probation.

It said staff had told inspectors their workload was "not manageable" and it impacted their ability to deliver.

Despite shortcomings, the inspectorate said the unit had potential to "push on to a better future".

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: "We are making the required improvements and are recruiting more staff, improving training and providing greater managerial oversight so we can stop more people reoffending in the region."

The report said the unit needed to "focus on keeping people safe in assessments and plans".

"In our inspection of case activity, keeping people safe was the lowest scoring aspect of case management and we saw this being prioritised in too few cases," it said.

'Working above capacity'

While the report praised the "commitment and enthusiasm of staff", it said employees reported they were "working above capacity".

"There is a 'fatigue' across all roles and a sense of frustration that they are unable to deliver to the quality they strive to achieve," the report said.

It added that the feedback from people on probation was "largely positive".

The inspectorate said the unification of probation services across England while recovering from a pandemic had "not been without its challenges" and the impact had been seen in Northamptonshire.

It said the leadership team understood "challenges and risks" and communicated these to team members.

The inspectorate praised the service for the advice it provided to courts and its "dedicated work with women on probation and with the local police force and partners in children's safeguarding".

It also called on the unit to ensure staff had relevant training and priorities were clearly communicated to probation practitioners.

It also made recommendations to HM Prison and Probation Service, including reviewing workloads and ensuring providers are adequately resourced.