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More on KentOnline
Probation officers responsible for looking after the most dangerous offenders in the community are juggling 42 cases each, a shocking report has found.
The work load in Kent and the surrounding region, which is one of the highest in the country, stems from the fact there are 102 roles to fill across the region, a vacancy rate of 16%.
Scroll down to hear from ex-offender Lennox Rogers from Dartford-based charity Refocus
More than half of staff said their schedules were unmanageable.
And the knock on effect was that the service suffered massively, with drug use and changes in address not recorded in more than a third of cases reviewed and almost half of offenders not being assessed for risk.
Now the government-run National Probation Service's South East and Eastern division, which supervises more than 16,500 high-risk criminals, has been told it requires improvement by inspectors.
In one case an offender breached a restraining order but despite a history of domestic abuse, staff did not conduct checks with the police and children’s social services. The individual went on to breach a further restraining order against the same victim.
Inspectors looked at 10 aspects of the division’s work, rating half of them as ‘good’ and half as ‘requires improvement’.
Chief Inspector Justin Russell said: “The South East and Eastern Division has some clear strengths especially around leadership, but also shows shortfalls in key areas, in particular high workloads and significant staff shortages.
“Recruiting and retaining probation officers is a long-standing problem, and is exacerbated by the division’s proximity to London.
“The Ministry of Justice must make the recruitment of more probation officers a priority for this division.”
Inspectors found the leadership team had fostered a supportive culture and had taken steps to improve staff wellbeing and resilience. Despite high workloads, staff morale was high.
But more needs to be done to identify and manage risks, they said.
Only half of case reviews focussed sufficiently on keeping people safe.
The division’s work to inform sentencing decisions was found to be insufficient in key areas.
Staff relied too much on the individual’s explanation of their offence, rather than corroborating facts with other sources.
Factors that were not assessed in terms of calculating risk posed included mental health, alcohol use and the safeguarding of children.
Inspectors did however commend the division’s commitment to offenders’ health and cited an innovative approach to working with individuals who have complex mental health issues.
Mr Russell said: “The Ministry of Justice is responsible for managing NPS facilities and we have found ongoing national problems with this contract. In this division, delays in fixing repairs have resulted in fewer beds for individuals who have been released from prison. Staff have been left with personal alarms that do not work properly and in offices without heating systems for long periods of time.
“Managers are trying hard to log and escalate repairs, but the Ministry of Justice must take more responsibility for ensuring safe and secure premises for staff and service users.”
The Inspectorate has made 10 recommendations with the aim of improving the quality of probation services in the region.
In December it was announced probation is to renationalised in December 2020 following a series of high-profile failings with the part privatisation of the service in 2014 by then Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.
Under the scheme low risk offenders were managed by private companies but issues with the project have cost the taxpayer £500 million.
