HM Inspectorate of Probation has published its third annual report of Serious Further Offence (SFO) reviews, highlighting a decline in the number of reviews completed to the expected standard for the second year running.

The Inspectorate’s SFO inspectors quality assured 87 SFO reviews this year, rating 46 per cent as ‘Good’, but 52 per cent as ‘Requires improvement’, emphasising the need for SFO teams to be sufficiently resourced and experienced, for more effective management oversight, and for improved centralised training.

The report also highlighted the backlog of SFO reviews due in many regions – causing delays in the probation service identifying and implementing the required learning, and in sharing findings with victims and their families.

Chief Inspector of Probation, Martin Jones, said: “The probation service manages a large and complex caseload in the community. By its very nature, risk is inherent in that work and can never be eliminated. Against that backdrop, the number of SFOs committed each year remain low as a proportion of the overall workload, but the impact of serious further offences on victims and their families cannot be underestimated, and they are an important opportunity for learning. So, it is disappointing we have continued to see a reduction in the number of SFO reviews that meet the required standard. More work is needed to develop and support reviewing managers, alongside more transparency and the sharing of high-quality data and effective practice across regions to support a collective developmental approach.”

For the first time, this year’s annual report also sought reflections from probation staff on their experiences of the SFO review process, and their experiences of the organisational culture linked to SFO reviews.

This raised recurring concerns about the SFO review policy framework, how it is applied, and its outcomes and impact. There was also feedback that the level of support provided to those involved in SFO reviews needs to be improved, with respondents concerned about a ‘culture of blame’ existing within HMPPS. Staff reported they often felt individual accountability was attributed to them, with a failure to acknowledge and address wider and procedural systemic issues.

Last year’s SFO annual report made seven recommendations to HMPPS, which focused on the quality of SFO reviews, the associated action planning, and the embedding of learning. Concerningly, little progress has been made against these recommendations and, as a result, this year they are repeated, alongside a further four recommendations to support the improvements the Inspectorate’s quality assurance activity and staff engagement show are required.

Mr Jones added: “The SFO review process should be utilised as a constructive learning opportunity, yet with backlogs, delays in communicating with victims, and the difficult experiences described by those involved, the necessary learning culture is not being achieved. Improvements must be put in place moving forward.”

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. Serious Further Offences (SFOs) are specific violent and sexual offences like murder, manslaughter and rape committed by people who are, or were recently, under probation supervision. Between 2023 and 2024, HMPPS received 770 SFO notifications – an increase of 33 per cent on the previous year and the highest level in the reporting series by the Ministry of Justice.
2. Following our thematic inspection of Serious Further Offence reviews published in May 2020, the Secretary of State for Justice asked us to undertake a quality assurance role of serious further offence reviews completed by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Inspectorate quality assures approximately 20 per cent of the SFO reviews submitted across all probation regions.
3. Further information can be found on the HMI Probation website, including a link to how serious further offence reviews are undertaken and a link to a list of previous independent serious further offence reviews.
4. This is the Inspectorate’s third SFO annual report, containing:

• • Quality assurance findings between April 2023 and April 2024.
  • Findings of an engagement survey with 245 probation staff, focused on their experiences of SFO reviews.
  • Findings of our independent review on the case of Joshua Jacques, published on 07 March 2024.

1. This report is available at gov.uk/hmiprobation on 28 November 2024 00.01.
2. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales.
3. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications, media@hmiprobation.gov.uk. (E-mail address)