26/06/2023
Cachella Smith
Napo, UNISON and GMB have warned of a potential “catastrophic breakdown of the service”.
Probation staff are “buckling” under the pressure of increasing workloads with the recent restructure and staff shortages making it difficult to keep tabs on offenders, unions have said.
Napo, UNISON and GMB are calling on the Ministry of Justice to intervene as they launch a campaign aimed at reducing workload.
In June 2021 the probation service was re-unified into public ownership after an original restructure which split the service into the National Probation Service and 21 community rehabilitation companies.
Operation Protect, the campaign launched today, has five overarching aims among which are agreeing appropriate supervisor to staff ratios, an employer pledge to prevent workloads above capacity and reaching an Employee Care Agreement.
Napo general secretary Ian Lawrence said: “It would be all too easy for this much-needed campaign to be seen as a negative move from the probation unions. But among the key objectives is a call to senior leaders in probation and His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to play their part by reaching an agreed workload reduction and management strategy with unions. This will allow the service to start to recover from the incessant and damaging changes it has gone through for more than a decade.
“Probation can and must do better with the right levels of investment, but our members need to see that this government is taking their concerns seriously.”
UNISON national officer for police and justice Ben Priestley said: "Probation staff are determined to keep the public safe and rehabilitate those on probation. But overwhelming workloads and staffing shortages have created a dangerous situation, which the government must address."
Government workforce figures show that as of March 2023 there were 4,413 FTE band 4 probation officers in post, compared with 3,537 in March 2021. There was a leaving rate of 14.6% among band 3-5 prison officers for the 12 months ending March 31 2023.
The government page acknowledges: “The number of leavers [of probation services officers] has increased considerably since June 2021, which is likely attributable to competition in the labour market.”