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
Youth Justice Out of Court Disposals vary in quality
No standard approach to Out of Court youth justice disposals results in big variations in quality of delivery.
The future of Rehabilitative Activity Requirements
Delivering Quality Interventions: The Rehabilitative Activity Requirement in the unified Probation Service.
The importance of person-centred language
Stigmatising language dehumanises the individual and widens the gap between probation and people under probation supervision.
Supporting meaningful participation in youth justice
Participatory youth practice is a new model of working with young people in contact with the justice system.
Probation’s work with drug users is “disappointing”
Thematic inspection finds probation service’s work with drug users “disappointing” and lacking focus and funding.
Traumatic Brain Injury and the criminal justice system
Hope Kent and Professor Huw Williams highlight the prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among people in contact with the justice system, and its links with offending.
Diverting more offenders into treatment & recovery
In part 2 of her Review of Drugs, Dame Carol Black says we need to divert more drug users in contact with the CJS into treatment.
Can the new Probation Service improve housing outcomes for prison leavers?
Identifying opportunities arising from the creation of the new national probation service in June 2021 to improve housing outcomes for prison leavers.
Neurodiversity – a whole-child approach for youth justice
Professor Amanda Kirby summarises the evidence base around neurodiversity and sets out key lessons for those working in youth justice.
Probation and COVID19
New research improves our understanding of the nature and impact of probation’s response to COVID-19.
One unified probation system
Guest blog by Jim Barton Senior Responsible Owner of the Probation Reform Programme to mark the reunification of the probation service.
