Written evidence from the Hertfordshire
Probation Trust (PB 12)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The responses and evidence provided in this
paper are drawn from the day to day operations of Hertfordshire
Probation Trust. We serve a county with a population of one million.
In 2009-10 we commenced 3,033 offenders on community orders and
supervised 440 on licence. During 2009-10 338 offenders successfully
completed their accredited programmes against a cumulative target
of 305 and the Trust achieved initial green star status in the
national assessment of probation trusts. We became a probation
Trust on 1 April 2010 as part of the second wave in the Probation
trust programme.
The submission from Hertfordshire Probation trust
(HPT) provides an illustration of work undertaken by a medium/small
probation trust. The Trust has worked hard to develop very strong
local links with key partner agencies and local third sector providers.
It is emphasised that "Reducing Reoffending" requires
a shared approach and ownership from all key agencies and local
third/private sector providers. The Probation Service is well
placed to act as a hub for assessment, coordination and planning,
but it is imperative that commitment is secured across the leadership
of the wider public services, who can influence outcomes in respect
of accommodation, health provision, employment, training, education
etc. Hertfordshire Probation Service would be well placed to respond
to working with offenders currently serving short term custody,
if resources were available to support the additional work. There
are skilled trainers within the organisation, however concern
is shared that in the current economic environment and anticipated
reducing budgets, skilled staff could be released, which would
achieve a short term saving, but in the longer term undermine
the need to build capacity to work with more offenders in the
community.
Are probation services currently commissioned
in the most appropriate way?
2. Hertfordshire Probation Trust (HPT) is currently
primarily commissioned by the East of England Director of Offender
Management (DOM), National Offender Management Service (NOMS).
The new contractual arrangements were implemented for the first
time 1 April 2010, when Hertfordshire Probation Area
transferred under the Offender Management Act to become a probation
trust. A rigorous assessment process to become a trust was passed
on the first application in September 2009. HPT is also sub-contracted
by Serco to improve offender's employability and achieve employment
outcomes.
One of the most significant challenges under the
current commissioning model, is that while the DOM can commission
and set volume targets for the Trust to deliver, the demand is
in fact determined by Sentencers who are independent and do not
have to take account of the resource implications. A good example
is Unpaid work (Community Payback). For 2010-11 HPT has been commissioned
to deliver 800 unpaid work orders. At the end of Quarter 1 2010-11
226 orders have been completed. In 2009-10 the area completed
932 unpaid work orders against a target of 800. The demand from
courts is clearly outstripping the commissioned capacity. This
form of community sentence is well regarded and has contributed
to increasing public confidence within Hertfordshire. Public confidence
would be compromised if HPT ceased delivery in year once having
delivered to the contract. While efforts are made to influence
and engage with sentencers both by HPT and DOM this has limited
impact and authority, given the requirement to respect judicial
independence. Unpaid work orders have also been heavily promoted
in recent years and proved a good vehicle for improving community
confidence in community sentences, so it is understandable it
has gained increased confidence with the courts. The reality is
however that the courts are determining the volume and demand
rather than NOMS.
How effectively are probation trusts operating
in practice? What is the role of the probation service in delivering
"offender management" and how does it operate in practice?
3. Hertfordshire Probation Trust is well placed
to deliver offender management in Hertfordshire. We have made
significant headway to make sure there are strong strategic links
with the key partner agencies in the county and have staff co-located
with police and the county council to deliver coordinated services
to those offenders who present either the greatest risk of harm
or propensity for high volume crime in the county. There is an
excellent example of concentrated and concerted effort with the
Choices and Consequences programme, which has not only delivered
highly tailored offender management, but has actively kept the
many victims (usually house burglary) informed of the offender
progress and outcomes. The programme has also substantially improved
the police sanction detection rate, with these offenders being
required to admit to the full propensity of their crimes before
joining the programme. Ironically this has contributed adversely
to the national "reducing reoffending indicator" NI
18 for Hertfordshire. This is an issue HPT has been raising as
unhelpful and which has the potential to drive some perverse decisions
re direction of resources.
There is good engagement locally with health to increase
access to mental health provision and the Primary Care Trust is
conducting an "offender health needs assessment" to
support improving offender access to mainstream health provision
such as GPs.
4. HPT delivers "offender management"
in partnership with a wide range of providers, including Turning
Point for Alcohol and drug services, YMCA—Accommodation,
SOVA—mentoring and the Hertfordshire and Watford Women's
centers. The Hertfordshire colleges (West Herts. Oaklands, North
Herts.), Job Centre plus and Serco work with HPT supporting offenders
with employment training and education.
5. The Probation Service is well placed to provide
the assessment and coordinate and act as the core hub for driving
high quality offender management, but it cannot be delivered in
isolation and requires the engagement of a wide range of other
providers, there is a need to increase understanding that the
probation service is not the provider of all aspects of offender
management. There is concern that there is widespread public misunderstanding
that Probation are responsible for all the services that contribute
to reducing reoffending.
Are magistrates and judges able to utilise fully
the requirements that can be attached to community sentences?
How effectively are these requirements being delivered?
6. All 12 community requirements are available
within Hertfordshire. Take up of these requirements by the courts
in 2009-10 was as follows:
| Alcohol Treatment |
362 | (delivered in partnership with Turning Point)
|
| Attendance Centre | 18 |
(provider NOMS) |
| Curfew | 494 | (provider for tagging Serco commissioned by NOMS)
|
| Drug Treatment | 176 | (delivered in partnership, Health, Turning Point)
|
| Exclusion | 35 |
|
| Mental Health treatment | 36
| (provider Health) |
| Accredited Programme | 642 |
|
| Prohibited Activity | 101 |
|
| Residence | 9 | (Hertfordshire does not have an Approved Premise)
|
| Specified Activity | 601 |
|
| Supervision | 1,754 |
|
| Unpaid Work | 1,330 |
|
7. Following improved CJS understanding of domestic violence
in 2007/08, there was a significant increase in the use of the
domestic violence programme (IDAP) and Hertfordshire increased
the number of programs from two to eight to meet demand and address
backlog, this has now settled at six programmes per year. This
is a useful example of increased knowledge changing practice and
making an impact on demand, through increased police activity
and greater awareness by courts, CPS and sentencers.
What role should the private and voluntary sectors play in
the delivery of probation services?
8. Working closely alongside the pivotal coordination role
that probation staff play in the coordination, assessment and
planning of work to reduce re-offending are a range of voluntary
sector and private sector providers in Hertfordshire. The voluntary
sector is already involved in the delivery of offender facing
interventions within Hertfordshire. SOVA currently provide approximately
75 trained volunteers, who provide mentoring, advocacy, literacy
and numeracy support. More recently SOVA have been commissioned
to establish Circles of Support for known sex offenders, who are
provided with a group of trained volunteers to help resettle and
manage sex offenders within the community, contributing to improving
social cohesion and supporting longer term rehabilitation. YMCA
are commissioned by HPT to provide an accommodation advice service
to offenders and good links are in place with a range of voluntary
sector local accommodation providers, including the night shelters
and Stonham Housing Association. Further third sector providers
include the Hertfordshire and Watford women's centres, The Living
Room and Dacorum CVS.
9. There is considerable professional expertise within the
probation service, however we are not precious and have actively
sought to widen the involvement of the third sector. An initiative
currently in hand, is the provision of a 13 day training programme
to local Hertfordshire third sector organisations to increase
their understanding and ability to contribute; this is being delivered
in partnership with Hertfordshire Community Foundation. There
is an excellent culture of networking between third sector providers
and probation within Hertfordshire and a number of good links
to smaller scale localised projects.
10. Efforts are also being made to involve and establish engagement
with the private sector community and small scale initiatives
are under development, e.g. Steria releasing staff to provide
IT tuition to offenders, Sainsbury promoting community payback
awareness in their stores. Serco in respect of Employment, Training
and Education outcomes.
Does the probation service have the capacity to cope with a
move away from short custodial sentences?
11. The probation service has not been immune to reducing
resources; a requirement of the 2009 trust application process
was to demonstrate planning and capability to deliver offender
services with an overall reduction in funding of 16% over 2009—2012-13
and address demand pressures. It is important to recognise that
the offenders currently receiving under 12 month sentences will
have a profile for a high likelihood of reoffending and a significant
number issues that contribute to their offending. This group of
offenders are therefore likely to be at the high end of need for
interventions and resources if we are to be effective in reducing
the likelihood of re-offending, however current short term imprisonment
delivers little further than containment.
12. There is considerable expertise within the probation service,
but this takes time to acquire and there is concern that we could
currently be reducing the number of skilled staff to meet reducing
budgets for 2011-12, when in fact we should be building up expertise
and capacity to work with this offender cohort if reoffending
patterns are to be effectively reduced. It will be poor national
planning if we release skilled staff, only to then have to reinvest
heavily in further training and also suffer the planning blight
of the delay that will accompany this. The probation service certainly
has the "capability" to respond to an increase, but
"capacity" will need to be supported by resource, if
effective services are to be delivered. There are a comprehensive
and flexible suite of interventions that could be deployed to
work more effectively with this offender cohort that cost "society"
in a large number of different ways. A member of staff recently
won the Graham Smith Award and is currently undertaking an in
depth piece of research to examine the role of sentence planning
in relation to offender engagement and compliance. This support
HPT's determination to continuously develop practice and remain
ambitious to develop and encourage the development of effective
probation practitioners. The research has the support of the Probation
Chiefs Association and will be shared nationally in due course.
Could probation trusts make more use of restorative justice?
13. Yes is the simple answer. HPT has delivered a small amount
of restorative justice led by the Victim team, working at the
heavy end with violent offenders released from prison. However
this has only been accommodated on a small scale as a practice
development initiative, as it has not been previously been a commissioned
approach. There is some skill base and a small number of staff
are currently being put forward to complete a Restorative Practice
Diploma. RJ has also been incorporated into the Choices and Consequences
programme, again the numbers are small. There is clearly the potential
to expand and this is under current consideration for next years
planning and will be included in contract negotiations, taking
a lead from the forthcoming Green paper. HPT would wish to support
the development of RJ methods. It is important with the higher
end offending that this is appropriately resourced and victim
needs are given priority. At a wider level the service is continuing
to extend local engagement with local communities through community
payback and considering further with key partner agencies how
this can be demonstrated to contribute to this agenda.
Does the probation service handle different groups of offenders
appropriately, eg women, young adults, black and minority ethnic
people, and high and medium risk offenders?
14. HPT pays close attention to making sure services are developed
that meet the diverse range of offenders. The Single Equality
Scheme is in place and the trust monitors the profile of the caseload
by gender, ethnicity, age and disability, and high risk and prolific
groupings. This data is published on our website and used by other
providers working with us to ensure they can also tailor their
services to meet offender needs. The Chief Executive chairs a
quarterly Diversity Strategy Group which attends to these issues,
this group is also now joined by an ex offender from the Service
User Reference group.
15. Hertfordshire is developing women's service provision
to meet the recommendations of the Corston report working in partnership
with the Hertfordshire and Watford Women's centers. Hertfordshire
is one of the few probation trusts that deliver the Women's Accredited
Programme.
16. Recently HPT tendered for Interpreter services, which
are now delivered by Dacorum CVS, providing a good example of
localism, increasing work with the third sector and addressing
diverse needs. We have a good relationship with the Watford African
and Caribbean Association with whom we are currently developing
some local provision for BME offenders.
17. All offenders are carefully assessed for risk of harm
and risk of re-offending and supervision plans are tailored to
ensure that court orders are delivered and address the offenders
needs, including their age, risk of reoffending and risk of harm.
Like all probation trusts offenders are managed by Tier, (1-4),
high risk of harm offenders at Tier 4 are managed under the Multi
Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), high risk of reoffending
offenders are managed at Tier 4 as Prolific and Priority Offenders
and under the Integrated Offender Management Model in partnership
with Police and Herts. County Council and the Community Safety
Partnerships. Details about MAPPA in Hertfordshire are published
in an annual report on our website. There have been no serious
further offences in Hertfordshire committed by offenders under
probation supervision managed at level 2 or 3 for MAPPA in recent
years.
Is the provision of training adequate?
18. There is a high commitment to continuous personal development
and regardless of where practitioners are in their career journey
they can expect to receive access to training. Assessment and
intervention techniques continue to be refined and improved, for
example there have been advances in domestic abuse and sex offender
assessments, so it is important practitioners are kept up to speed.
A comprehensive range of training is made available to all Probation
Service Officers (PSOs). PSOs joining the service are all now
required to complete the level 3 vocational qualification in their
first 12 months. A new probation qualification route has recently
been introduced that now enables staff to move on to achieve their
Probation Qualification Training. HPT has four staff due to complete
the previous probation qualification route in October 2010. Probation
Officer training rightly has included both academic and practice
and staff have an opportunity to work with a wide range of cases
by the time they complete and are familiar with core assessments
techniques, sentence planning and interventions. Building up a
depth of knowledge and experience is also important and should
not be underestimated. Practitioners are supported by regular
supervision. HPT has invested heavily in developing its work force
and has number of skilled trainers within the organisation.
September 2010
| 
