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
Cumbria/Lancs private probation performing poorly
Cumbria & Lancashire CRC latest to be rated “requiring improvement” by probation inspectors.
London National Probation Service failing
Probation Inspectors find London to be the first sub-standard public probation division, rated as “requiring improvement”.
Private probation failing short term prisoners on release
HMI Probation finds that CRCs are “hardly scratching the surface” in meeting the needs of the short term prisoners they supervise on release.
What are the MoJ’s plans for probation?
The MoJ’s response to its consultation gives some clues to its plans for the next version of probation including big changes in resettlement work.
Probation re-nationalised (more or less)
MoJ announces the end of Transforming Rehabilitation with all offender management now the responsibility of the National Probation Service.
Who’s who at the MoJ?
After an 8 day delay, we finally have a new prisons and probation minister.
Probation Healthcare Commissioning Toolkit
New probation healthcare commissioning toolkit recommends six approaches to improve offender access to services.
First private probation service rated good, but…
Probation inspectors rate Hampshire & IOW CRC as good but raise concerns about sweeping staff changes and high caseloads.
Probation “underfunded, fragile and lacking confidence of courts”
Public Accounts Committee report highlights “desperately needed improvement to probation services”.
Another private probation service under-performing
Beds, Northants, Cambs & Herts CRC latest to be rated “requiring improvement” by probation inspectors.
Reoffending rates are climbing
MoJ stats for the year to June 2017 reveal that adult reoffending rates are rising.
