Everything you want to know about probation
The most up-to-date data
This is the latest in my new series of compendiums of the latest data and trends in the criminal justice system. Following compendiums on prisons, sentencing, and offender equalities, this edition focuses on probation.
For the best experience, click through the visualisation at the bottom of this page, this allows you to hover over data points and see the exact data. If you can’t see the visualisation below on your device, you can find it here.
Topics covered include:
- The type of offences people are on probation for
- The decline of community sentences over the last decade
- Caseload figures (including changes in different forms of supervision)
- The offence profile of people on community supervision
- A breakdown of the popularity of different requirements on community orders and suspended sentence orders
- Successful completion rates (and reasons for termination) for community supervision
- The spectacular drop in the number of full Pre-Sentence reports
I hope you find them of use and interest.
Compendium last updated 3 December 2020
Criminal Justice Trends
Click below for up-to-date interactive charts using the latest official data.
Offender equalities
A wide range of prison statistics broken down by gender, ethnicity and age.
Probation
The latest caseload figures and trends, offender profiles and court reports.
Prison
Details of individual establishments, costs, population trends and safety in custody stats.
Sentencing
Compare sentencing outcomes, lengths and reoffending rates and index offences.
Recent Probation Posts
The future of unpaid work
Phil Bowen of the Centre for Justice Innovation blogs on their new report on the (much neglected) area of unpaid work.
MoJ wastes £98m on tagging
National Audit Office report heavily critical of ongoing electronic monitoring problems.
More people subject to tagging orders
New stats show the use of different forms of electronic tagging is growing.
Promising approaches to knife crime
Latest HMI Probation research bulletin identifies four promising approaches to tackling knife crime.
How good is your probation service?
Russell Webster’s unofficial probation league table (based on HMI Probation inspection reports).
Systemic resilience in youth justice
Systemic resilience focuses on strengthening the protective factors around the child including within their family, their community, and local services.
Best practice for sex offender resettlement
Belinda Winder provides evidence-based best practice advice for reducing reoffending and increasing community reintegration of sex offenders.
What’s it like being on probation?
Revolving Doors lived experience inquiry into probation
Transitional Safeguarding
Transitional Safeguarding – a more fluid approach which recognises that transition to adulthood goes beyond an 18th birthday.
Working with trauma in adult probation
HMI Probation research explores the experiences of probation staff working with trauma.
Youth offending services improving
Chief Inspector of Probation commends improving youth offending services in 2022 annual report.
Probation reform programme still excluding voluntary sector
Clinks research finds probation commissioning favoured larger, well-resourced organisations and disadvantaged smaller, local and specialist ones.
