Probation services in the East of England region have received an overall regional rating of ‘Requires improvement’ by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “While the commitment and dedication of leaders and staff across the region was found to be unwavering, this commitment and dedication is not amounting to sufficient measures in keeping the public safe or encouraging people on probation to change.”

The report highlights chronic staffing issues across the region, despite a sustained effort by the East of England region to recruit. As observed in our January 2024 report, ‘The role of the senior probation officer and management oversight in the Probation Service’, senior probation officers (SPOs) had excessive workloads and vast responsibilities which were greater than what they could reasonably be expected to deliver.

Inspectors were concerned the East of England region was not effectively responding to or reducing the potential harm perpetrated by men against women and children. Many of the risk assessments inspected were being completed without referencing information about child safeguarding and domestic abuse, and checks to ensure home address curfews did not pose a risk to women or children living there were not always being done. The information sharing arrangements with the police and local authorities in relation to this were complex and inefficient, which was impacting the quality of the risk assessments taking place. This is an area that requires urgent attention.

Positively, the quality of statutory victim work (see notes to editor) was found to be ‘Outstanding’ in the region, with all victims in inspected cases given an opportunity to express their views before perpetrators were released from prison. Leaders were also overseeing excellent work to integrate people on probation into service delivery, with several people who had formally been on probation recruited into permanent employment.

Mr Jones added: “Many of the concerns found in our regional inspection of the East of England are ones we have raised in our previous inspections and thematic reports. We hope HMPPS reflect carefully on our findings to support regions in delivering an acceptable level of service for people on probation and victims of crime.”

This report makes 10 recommendations. Six of these recommendations are for the East of England region, such as to review appoint a designated regional safeguarding lead to support PDU heads, and to conduct an analysis of skills, knowledge, and experience across the region to ensure learning has been consolidated into practice. Four recommendations are also made to HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), including to delegate greater authority to regional probation directors in relation to spending.

ENDS 

Notes to editor 

1. Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) replaced Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the National Probation Service (NPS), which merged into a unified Probation Service in June 2021.
2. East of England region is one of 12 probation regions in England, with a further region in Wales. Eight Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) make up the region, consisting of: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Essex North, Essex South, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk.
3. This was the second regional inspection of the Inspectorate’s current programme. The first was Kent, Surrey and Sussex, which was also rated ‘Requires improvement’.
4. For this report, the Inspectorate conducted fieldwork in each PDU across East of England between 12 February 2024 and 07 June 2024. We reviewed 438 cases, of which 289 were subject to a community sentence and 149 were subject to release on licence.
5. ‘Statutory victim work’ means activity delivered by the region in relation to the Victim Contact Scheme. That provides victims with the right to support from the Probation Service where the perpetrator of a violent or sexual offence is sentenced to 12 months in prison or more.
6. The region employed 1917 members of staff. Vacancy rates differ depending on roles, with the largest vacancies being at probation officer and probation service officer grade.
7. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 29 August 2024.
8. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales. We report on the effectiveness of probation and youth justice service work with adults and children. We highlight good and poor practice, and use our data and information to encourage high-quality services. We are independent of government, and speak independently.
9. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. The Inspectorate rates specific aspects of each service and also gives an overall rating.
10. For media enquiries, please contact Louise Cordell, Head of Communications 07523 805224 / media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)