Frank Curran, Senior Consultant at RedQuadrant (which has been helping probation mutuals to establish themselves and bid for Transforming Rehabilitation contracts) is the latest contributor in a series of interviews about the MoJ’s probation reform programmes.

Frank says that he was very positive about the purpose of TR but has been disappointed by the detail. He is concerned that the contracts are more likely to produce merely cheaper services rather than more innovative and effective approaches to reducing reoffending.

He questions whether there is sufficient funding for voluntary sector providers to do more paid work with offenders and sees the possibility of either a dream outcome with more personalised services embedded in local communities or a nightmare where provision is of lower quality than is currently the case.

[Disclosure: Russell has worked with RedQuadrant in supporting probation service mutuals.]

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