This month I have submitted HM Inspectorate of Probation’s response to the MoJ’s Independent Sentencing Review 2024 to 2025 call for evidence.  

 I have welcomed the opportunity to respond to this review, which presents a once in a generation opportunity to ensure we have a sustainable sentencing regime that punishes, protects the public, and tackles reoffending, thereby reducing future victims and harm to communities.  

Given our statutory responsibilities, the focus of our response sets out the case for a fundamental reset between custody and the community which could, if properly implemented, reduce reoffending. To succeed however, there needs to be reform to ensure there is sufficient capacity within the Probation Service to deliver what is needed.  Having reviewed the findings of our current inspections I have concluded the Probation Service has too few staff, with too little experience and training, managing too many cases. Given the pressures on probation, I suggest radical change is needed to give the probation service a chance to make the maximum impact it can, within the resources it has.  

Our response highlights the need for a fundamental reset of licence periods, and a rethink of recall which will ensure that the finite resources in the system are focused on the most serious and highest risk cases. There are currently over 12,500 recalled prisoners in custody (equivalent to 14 per cent of the total prison population) – a hundred-fold increase on the number in custody thirty years ago. Whilst recall can be a vital tool to protect the public from serious harm, I see no evidence that the scale of recall we now see can be justified (at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of over £600m per year). Prudent steps could be taken to reduce these numbers whilst ensuring protection of the public.  

It also suggests that, to succeed, the sentencing reforms must ensure the probation service is properly resourced to be able to deal with the cases it is required to manage. A probation service which is under-resourced and over-stretched will not be able to provide the service the public need it to provide. The evidence shows that if the Probation Service has the right people, the resources and cross-agency support it needs it will be able to make a sustained difference to reoffending and keeping the public safe.  

I will continue to work closely with the Independent Sentencing Review panel as its work continues and look forward to reviewing its findings in the spring. 

Martin Jones
HM Chief Inspector of Probation