HM Inspectorate of Probation has published a report reinspecting the work undertaken and progress made, by the Probation Service, to promote race equality for people on probation and staff. The Inspectorate last looked at this area of practice in 2021.

Read the report in full on the HMI Probation website: Race equality in probation follow-up: A work in progress.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “The disappointing findings from our inspection two years ago called for a follow-up report so we could closely monitor whether our recommendations have led to improvements. Unfortunately, not enough progress has been made.

“It’s clear that race equality – for people on probation and probation staff – remains a work in progress. While there is a commitment to improve the experience of Black, Asian and minority ethnic people within this area of criminal justice, there is still some way to go to achieve proper equality of provision and opportunity”.

This reinspection found:

• still no national strategy that sets out expectations and plans for service delivery to minority ethnic[1] people on probation
• little evidence that probation staff had spoken with people on probation about their ethnicity, culture, religion, and experiences of discrimination
• planning and delivery of probation services were worse for minority ethnic people on probation than for white people
• dissatisfaction remains for minority ethnic staff, but there has been progress.

On a more positive note, we found no evidence of any disproportionality in the use of enforcement or breach of probation conditions, and most people on probation we interviewed did not feel discriminated against

Mr Russell continued: “The recommendations from our 2021 report made clear that there was still a significant way to go to making the improvements needed to better support Black, Asian and minority ethnic people on probation. So, it is disappointing to see that the needs of those with diverse cultures and heritages are still not being met. For example, at the time of our inspection, specific services for ethnic minority people on probation were only being delivered in one area.

“Major stumbling blocks to success remain such as a delay in funding for such services. Additionally, there are few training programmes around race and ethnicity to support probation practitioners, so they aren’t currently getting the support to learn and develop the skills they need for this area of their work.

“While I don’t doubt the commitment of local probation leaders to promoting racial equality, there is still some way to go to reassure Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff that they will be treated equally. The perception remains that there is a lack of understanding and action. This needs to start with better communication between minority ethnic staff and leaders at a local level.”

Minority ethnic people on probation

We found that there had been insufficient improvement overall in the experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic people on probation since the 2021 inspection. In the 50 cases we inspected there was still little evidence that probation staff had spoken with minority ethnic people on probation about their ethnicity, culture, religion, and experiences of discrimination, or planned interventions that were responsive to these diversity factors. Data from our wider local probation inspection programme showed that assessment, planning, and implementation and delivery of these sentence plans were worse for minority ethnic people on probation than for white people, and fewer services were delivered for them.

However, some of those we spoke to – including people who were new to the probation system – did tell us they felt heard by their probation officer, not discriminated against, and considered their relationship to be positive and effective.

We have recommended that practical training – such as sessions to improve cultural understanding and challenge discrimination – could be a solution to better and more effective practice. There is also potential to include people who have experienced probation supervision themselves to help shape training and guidance, and a need for probation services to provide culturally appropriate support services to improve rehabilitation.

Minority ethnic probation staff

Our 2021 inspection raised concerns about how ethnic minority probation staff were being treated, and we were hoping to see significant improvements in this area. Although a survey conducted for this inspection showed limited improvement in scores for the questions we asked, the perceptions of ethnic minority staff remain mixed, and not as much progress has been made as we had hoped for,

Many staff still do not believe that probation leaders and managers understand the issues they face, and there is a tendency for people to be grouped together without recognition of their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We know that leaders want to improve their support for Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff, and this has improved in some services, but we are still finding that ambition is not backed by meaningful actions.

While progress is being made in minority ethnic staff progressing into management positions, a substantial minority of minority ethnic staff do not believe that the recruitment process is fair and equal.

The report makes eight recommendations, six of which are for HMPPS (see page 21 of the report).

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. This report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 07 September 2023 00.01.
3. The 2021 report can be found here: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/inspections/race-equality-in-probation/
4. Use of Language: For this inspection, we have used the term ‘minority ethnic’ to describe all or a group of non-white people. We are also mindful of intersectionality (how more than one dimension of a person’s identity can create discrimination or privilege). When referring to a particular ethnic group, we will say so, instead of using ‘black, Asian and minority ethnic’ or ‘minority ethnic’ as catch-all terms.
5. We recognise that the population of England and Wales is increasingly diverse, with considerable variance in ethnicity according to locality. Different ethnic groups have different needs and require different responses depending on their culture, language, heritage, religion, and social circumstances, and whether individuals have settled immigration status. While this report focuses mainly on the common experiences of racism and bias that individuals from ethnic minorities encounter, we also looked at how services respond to these different needs. However, due to the limitations of our data in this follow-up inspection, it has not been possible to fully address issues of gender and intersectionality in the experiences of minority ethnic people on probation.
6. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth offending and probation services across England and Wales.
7. For media enquiries, please contact media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)

[1] We use the term ‘minority ethnic’ to describe all or a group of non-white people but are mindful of intersectionality. When referring to a particular ethnic group, we will say so, instead of using ‘Black, Asian and minority ethnic’ or ‘minority ethnic’.