Here you can find more than 750 posts tracking every major development in probation since 2011. You can trace the rise and fall of Transforming Rehabilitation, see the latest performance figures and explore new practice developments. If you’re looking for something in particular, try the search box below.
However, he is very concerned about the lack of staff engagement in Transforming Rehabilitation. He thinks that probation could be improved but that improvement is most likely to happen via a process of co-production with staff and service users at the heart of it.
There are a mix of aspiring large private companies (15), probation mutuals (11), voluntary organisations (10), County and Borough Councils (3) and a further education college (1) – these add up to more than 30 since many organisations are in partnerships or Joint Ventures.
The Ministry of Justice today (19 December 2013) announced the names of the 30 successful organisations who have cleared the PQQ stage of the Transforming Rehabilitation competition for the new probation contracts. The main newsworthy topics are the withdrawal of G4S and Serco from the competition, there is no official comment on whether they were pushed or jumped themselves and the inclusion of 11 potential Probation Service Mutuals in the list.
However, the largest scheme which was assessed – the national analysis of all the NOMS CFO employment schemes with offenders who started their interventions in the community found that this intervention reduced reoffending by between 4 and 8 percentage points. The 19 individual regional schemes in this programme (which are run by different providers) were assessed in the previous month’s Lab Report and varied considerably.
The latest edition of the British Journal of Community Justice is a special issue dedicated to Transforming Rehabilitation. It is more than double its normal length and has been made available for free online. You can also order the print edition for just £5 (+£2 p&p).
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.
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
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.
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.
Christine applauds the fact that TR makes rehabilitation as important as punishment in the criminal justice system but is disappointed that the public sector was not allowed to compete. She is concerned that there will in effect be two probation services (the National Probation Service and the new Community Rehabilitation Company) in each every area, leading to a cumbersome system.
