Essex North Probation Delivery Unit (PDU)* has received an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’ following an inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “This was a concerning inspection with poor performance across the board at Essex North probation service and ‘Inadequate’ ratings for eight out of nine of our quality standards. Very high staff vacancy rates have meant high workloads for the staff who remain and this has inevitably fed through into the quality of work we inspected. Only a quarter of the cases we inspected were sufficient in relation to the quality of work needed to keep the public safe and less than half were up to the mark in relation to work to prevent reoffending.

“The service must improve in order to help those they supervise change their lives for the better and to protect the local community. We know leaders and staff at Essex North will be disappointed by this rating, but they have shown understanding and a drive to develop since our inspection. They need urgent support to enable them to make the significant improvements that are needed.”

Inspectors noted the challenges posed by Covid-19 and the transition to the unified Probation Service but were concerned that some issues, such as staff vacancies, pre-dated these events and have not been resolved. However, the attitudes of staff at the service and their motivation to improve was praised.

The inspection report called on leaders at Essex North PDU to better manage and communicate key areas of their work, such as managing the risk of harm posed by those under their supervision, and to ensure probation officers know which cases to prioritise.

This inspection made nine recommendations, five of which are aimed at the regional Probation Service and HMPPS to better support Essex North. At a local level, the service managers are recommended to better communicate with their staff, ensure safeguarding checks are fully completed and improve training for probation officers and administrative staff.

*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.

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. Essex North PDU sits within the Probation Service – East of England region.
3. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 17 May 2022 00.01.
4. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth offending and probation services across England and Wales.
5. 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.
6. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in March 2022.
7. For media enquiries, please contact Corporate Communications Manager Diane Bramall 07929 790 564 or media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)