It should be remembered that “Policing for a Better Britain” was commissioned by the Labour Party and it is, therefore, no surprise to see the issue of privatisation tackled head-on. The report is not against privatisation but recommends that outsourcing should only be considered by reference to five key principles:
Eric sees the potential that TR brings to providing help to alcohol using prisoners, many of whom serve short sentences and relapse as soon as they leave the prison gates.
However, he has serious concerns that TR may not work in practice and that probation expertise at working with offenders with complex needs could be lost.
ottinghamshire Police – @nottspolice – went in a different direction entirely. Their online advent calendar replaces the daily chocolate with the picture of a “most wanted” local criminal. Originally termed the #Badvent Calendar, it was renamed the “Festive Crime Calendar”. It’s still a strong contender for my hashtag of the year award.
The partner organisations have produced a Prospectus for the Institute which sets out their initial thoughts on the purpose of the organisation, its stakeholders, scope and priorities and an implementation plan and timetable. This prospectus sets out six key objectives for the Institute: 1) Providing professional leadership, enhancing the professional status of the sector
Measuring drug recovery is problematic, to say the least. Recovery from drug dependence is, like desistance from crime, rarely a linear process and typically includes lapse and relapse over many years. Different people choose different recovery goals: some people remain abstinent from all substances for life; others continue to use occasionally; or replace drug dependence with a reliance on alcohol.
One of the distinguishing features of Policing for a Better Britain is the report’s emphasis that the role of the police is much more than crime fighting. The report argues that policing has suffered from being a political football with policy emphasis swinging between crime control and service. The report’s authors, the Independent Policing Commission, sets out its view that the mission of the police should be to:
While welcoming the acknowledgement that rehabilitation is key to reducing reoffending, Savas argues that there is no need to reinvent probation, especially when probation trusts have been performing at such a high level. He points out the risks of moving away from a local system to a national one and sees the new Institute of Probation as being key to ensuring that probation staff remain a highly skilled workforce.
A proper assessment will have to wait until we have more details but these figures do suggest that Payment by Results may be a more successful approach when savings are shared between government and providers with an explicit understanding that providers will reinvest their success payments rather than merely pass them on to shareholders.
A proper assessment will have to wait until we have more details but these figures do suggest that Payment by Results may be a more successful approach when savings are shared between government and providers with an explicit understanding that providers will reinvest their success payments rather than merely pass them on to shareholders.
SPCR is a longitudinal cohort study of 3,849 adult prisoners in England and Wales sentenced to up to four years in prison. Interviews were conducted with offenders on reception to prison, in the weeks prior to release, and in the community approximately two months after release. Participants were matched to the Police National Computer (PNC), allowing reconviction rates to be calculated.
In the same way as all other staff, Probation Trust Chief Executives and senior managers will either be part of the new National Probation Service or their local Community Rehabilitation Companies from April 2014. Yesterday we learnt which posts have already been filled.
The report has already stimulated plenty of discussion and it looks as if “Policing for a better Britain” may be a key document which shapes the debate on the future of policing and, indeed, the broader criminal justice system – the probation service is mentioned 13 times in the report.
