Written evidence from Humberside Probation
Trust (PB 42)
INTRODUCTION
1. Humberside Probation Trust became one of the
six "first wave" Trusts in April 2008 and prior to this
was one of 42 Probation Areas under the National Probation Service.
We are a medium sized probation service covering four local authorities.
We currently employ 400 full
time equivalent staff in nine locations, including two Approved
Premises. We supervise approximately 4,400 offenders at any one
time; about 70% of these offenders are serving a community sentence
or have been released on licence and the remaining 30% are serving
a custodial sentence. The Trust prepares over 4000 reports for
the magistrates and crown court each year.
2. Humberside has been a high performing Probation
Trust for the last decade, consistently achieving excellent performance
against government targets under the different rating systems
that have been in operation over this period.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
3. The current structures for commissioning inhibit
the development of innovative approaches to deliver the outcomes
required. Trusts should be given more freedom to decide how we
achieve the most cost effective services in localities to meet
the outcomes expected by government policies.
4. Humberside Probation Trust has an excellent
track record of high performance against government targets. We
have a "can do" culture and despite reductions in funding
over the last two years we have a staff group who are skilled
in managing offenders and highly committed to protecting the public
and reducing offending. A reduction in bureaucracy and greater
flexibility to exercise professional judgement would facilitate
the opportunities for innovation and more effective use of resources.
5. Humberside Probation Trust already commissions
or jointly commissions offender services from a range of voluntary
sector providers. We support the use of the private and voluntary
sector in delivering services where they provide value for money
and support the delivery of the outcomes required. Probation Trusts,
through their work with local statutory and voluntary sector agencies,
are best placed to undertake this commissioning.
6. The Intensive Alternative to Custody (IAC)
pilot project in Hull has demonstrated that with adequate resourcing
Humberside Probation Trust, with its statutory and voluntary sector
partners, is able to provide local and successful approaches to
tackle the re-offending of those who would previously have received
short prison sentences. It has the confidence of sentencers and
could be rolled out nationally with the redirection of resources.
7. We support the development of restorative
justice options where these have demonstrated effectiveness and
value for money.
8. Probation staff always seek to tailor their
interventions with offenders to secure the best possible outcome
with the resources available.
9. The training arrangements for most staff are
satisfactory but improvements are required in the arrangements
for the development of managers.
Are Probation Services currently commissioned
in the most appropriate way?
10. As one of the first Probation Trusts the
commissioning of Probation Services is still in its infancy. We
enjoy a good relationship with the regional Director of Offender
Management (DOM) and aim to work with him to develop appropriate
probation services in Humberside and the Yorkshire and Humberside
Region. However, the structures for commissioning and continued
central control, including estates and facilities management,
inhibit the development of appropriate strategic commissioning
of services at the local level.
11. As a Trust Board serving local communities
we believe that we are best placed to consult with local communities
and commission services from a range of providers to deliver effective
services. We already work with local authorities and other local
partners to jointly commission services where appropriate and
commission services from the local voluntary sector where they
add value to our work and can provide innovation.
12. It is our intention that as we develop our
strategic commissioning approach we will increasingly tailor the
delivery of probation services to meet the needs and expectations
of local communities. We have a high profile in Community Safety
Partnerships and work with our local authorities, health commissioners,
police commissioners and the prisons to secure the best services
to protect the public and reduce re-offending.
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?
13. Within the current environment we are operating
effectively as a Trust, meeting the expectations of performance
and managing our activities within the budget allocated. We have
made significant efficiency savings during the last two years
and demonstrated a "can do" attitude in responding quickly
to new circumstances.
14. However, our experience as a Probation Trust
is that we have not been provided with the business flexibilities
that were anticipated and that this has restricted our capacity
for innovation and the more effective management of our resources.
In particular we would welcome:
— Greater flexibility in
managing our finances, for example the lack of any year end flexibility
restricts opportunities to innovate and plan over a longer period,
— A reduction in volume of
performance measures which can result in complex bureaucratic
systems to ensure accurate measurement and performance management,
and
— More flexibility in the
application of national standards so that local professional judgement
can be exercised to ensure the effective direction of resources
towards reducing re-offending.
15. The management of offenders to protect the
public and reduce re-offending is the core activity for Probation
Trusts. The models of offender management are well documented
elsewhere. Over many years we have developed high standards and
high levels of expertise in the proper management of offenders
in the community. This expertise is recognised by our partners
in local areas. We are leading the development of integrated offender
management approaches in each of our local authorities. Probation
staff have an understanding and awareness of the assessment and
management of risk by offenders that is second to none and while
we believe that this skill and experience can be shared and developed
with others it has been gained by thorough training and supervision.
In order to protect the public it is important that future developments
in the probation service do not dilute this expertise.
Are magistrates and judges able to utilise fully
the requirements that can be attached to community sentences?
How effectively are these requirements being delivered?
16. The majority of the requirements are able
to be used by sentencers but there are constraints. The use of
some requirements such as accredited programmes and unpaid work,
while important in addressing offending behaviour and providing
reparation has been influenced in previous years by government
volume targets set for each Trust. The better understanding of
domestic violence across agencies has resulted in higher demand
for domestic violence programmes than the capacity available and
is rationed through higher thresholds for suitability for the
programme.
17. The provision and delivery of requirements
for health related interventions—alcohol treatment, drug
rehabilitation and mental health treatment all depend on the availability
of resources being made by other agencies. This relies on influencing
those agencies to identify this provision within their priorities,
and joint commissioning approaches in each local authority/PCT
area. The requirements for speedy justice can mean that there
is insufficient time for adequate assessments by other agencies
to ensure that a particular requirement is appropriate.
18. Humberside Probation Trust operates an Intensive
Alternative to Custody (IAC) programme in Hull through pilot funding.
This programme has been operating since April 2009 and has been
very successful in diverting offenders from short custodial sentences
and meeting the requirements of sentencers. There is more flexibility
in the programme to tailor the interventions to what will best
assist the rehabilitation of the offender. It is our view that
a greater flexibility to sequencing and tailoring interventions
with offenders during the progress of a community sentence has
the potential to increase the effectiveness of community orders.
19. Greater use is now being made of the specified
activity requirement in order to introduce more flexible and less
expensive programmes to support the rehabilitation of offenders,
including programmes for encouraging compliance and shorter programmes
for lower risk offenders.
20. Some of the prohibitive requirements are
used infrequently due to the difficulties of "policing"
compliance but requirements such as the curfew requirement backed
by electronic monitoring is used constructively by offender managers
and the courts.
What role should the private and voluntary sectors
play in the delivery of probation services?
21. The private and voluntary sectors already
have and should continue to have a role in the delivery of services
that are aimed at rehabilitating offenders as long as they provide
value for money in the services they deliver. We believe that
Humberside Probation Trust has the experience and commitment to
commission the most cost effective services to reduce re-offending.
Offender assessment and management are the core activity of the
Trust with a particular emphasis on the management of risk of
serious harm and public protection. The robust MAPPA partnerships
draw on a wealth of experience and knowledge and are critical
to fulfilling public protection responsibilities. Fragmentation
of this responsibility and offender management risks placing the
public at risk. The complexity of this work should not be underestimated.
22. There are opportunities to further involve
the private and voluntary sector. Humberside Probation Trust already
commissions the voluntary sector for work on alcohol and drug
use, improving employability and access to employment and mentoring
of offenders in a range of activity. There is scope to extend
the involvement through a reassessment of the priorities for intervention
and a focus on those interventions that evidence suggests are
more effective in reducing re-offending. This will require greater
flexibility in the operation of a community order and performance
measures. Our best experiences have been through the development
of partnerships with organisations that have an investment in
the local areas. We believe this could be developed to engage
local neighbourhoods and citizens supporting local measures to
reduce offending in their locality.
23. The potential complexities of TUPE and pension
issues in commissioning the private and voluntary sector to deliver
probation services should not be underestimated and will need
to be addressed creatively to enable further involvement of these
sectors. In addition, the current position is that local voluntary
sector providers would need to build up their capacity over time
to take a greater role in providing offender services.
Does the probation service have the capacity to
cope with a move away from short custodial sentences?
24. Humberside Probation Trust has seen funding
reductions in recent years and our headcount has reduced by over
10% in the last two years against a background of a stable workload.
Back office costs have been reduced through sensible efficiencies
and the application of shared services. However, the impact of
the reductions has been steadily increasing workloads for front
line staff.
25. There is currently no capacity to take on
the significant additional work that would arise from a move away
from short term sentences. Indeed we believe that rising workloads
for front line staff are risking the level of our effectiveness
in protecting the public and reducing re-offending.
26. Humberside Probation Trust has operated an
Intensive Alternative to Custody (IAC) project since April 2009.
Our experience is that through the allocation of additional resource
we can be effective in providing, with our statutory and voluntary
sector partners, interventions that are tailored to the individual
offender to reduce re-offending. The additional funding for this
project ends in March 2011 but has been shown to be at a lower
cost per offender than imprisonment. If the Probation Service
is to supervise additional offenders there will need to be a transfer
of resources or a significant shift in the demand on probation
services through changes in sentencing practice. In addition some
capacity could be created through more flexibility in the application
of national standards and the management of lower risk offenders,
although this is unlikely to create anything like the capacity
required to manage offenders who will have higher risks of re-offending.
Could probation trusts make more use of restorative
justice?
27. Community payback clearly has a restorative
element and Humberside Probation Trust operates a low cost and
effective service for local communities. There is scope to increase
the use of single community payback orders for low risk offenders
with the restorative element being the prime purpose of sentencing.
This would build on the work we undertake with local authorities
in identifying projects supported by local neighbourhoods for
community payback activity.
28. There are other models and examples of restorative
justice being used with adult offenders. Humberside Probation
Trust supports the use of these models where there is evidence
of effectiveness. Their operation would require a reallocation
of existing resources or the identification of new resource for
this provision to be developed
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?
29. Humberside Probation Trust has developed
specific provision for women offenders, particularly in response
to the Corston report. This includes the "Together Women
Programme" in Hull and alternative reporting arrangements
for women in each of our major locations. Group programmes and
individual interventions are provided where possible.
30. Offender managers aim to tailor interventions
to take account of the diverse needs of individual offenders.
The relatively small proportion of BME offenders in Humberside
mean that separate group provision is not feasible but we use
interpreters where necessary and take a pride making every effort
to address the needs within the resources available. We have regular
training to raise awareness of the needs of different groups of
offenders, including black and ethnic minority people, foreign
nationals, asylum seekers and travellers.
31. Our resource levels mean that we do not have
specific provision for young adults but recognise that this group,
in transition to adulthood, does require an approach by offender
managers which takes account of their levels of maturity.
32. Humberside Probation Trust has well developed
processes to assess and manage offenders who present the highest
risk of harm and highest risk of re-offending. MAPPA provides
a robust model to manage those offenders who are assessed as presenting
a high risk of serious harm to others. The processes require the
proper allocation of resources to ensure the system works effectively
and the co-operation of partners from both responsible authorities
and duty to co-operate agencies.
33. The Prolific and Priority Offender (PPO)
schemes are well developed in Humberside which and won a national
Butler Trust Award in 2008. Partnerships and jointly located teams
with the police in each local authority ensure that offenders
who present the highest risk of re-offending are targeted for
more intense intervention. These schemes have now been extended
to develop Integrated Offender Management schemes to focus on
a wider group of offenders. The evidence from all of these schemes
is a very significant reduction in re-offending by these individuals
than would have been expected and they have contributed to reductions
in crime in each local authority.
Is the provision of training adequate?
34. The new Probation Qualifying Framework is
supported by Humberside Probation Trust and provides opportunity
for career development within the service. The experience of the
previous arrangements, the Diploma in Probation Studies, was that
it produced high quality probation officers able to develop in
their role to meet the demands and complexities of managing offenders.
The new framework, with the important retention of a higher level
academic qualification, is also expected to produce high quality
probation officers.
35. The new vocational qualification for Probation
Service Officers (PSOs) at level 3 is welcomed and builds on the
training that has been available to this grade in recent years.
36. The in-house training provided by Humberside
Probation Trust is highly regarded by staff and provided at low
cost. Where necessary we combine with other probation areas in
the region to provide training courses and also provide training
to local voluntary organisation in working with offenders.
37. One area of difficulty is the training for
accredited programmes, which is organised nationally and is insufficiently
flexible to meet local needs. This has caused problems in the
capacity of the Trust to deliver some programmes, particularly
the domestic violence programme.
38. Despite the excellent in-house training in
Humberside the lack of any formal post qualifying training for
probation officers is a gap. For many years there has also been
a gap in the provision of any consistent national leadership and
management development training. Advantage is taken of local opportunities
for management development but this is largely at middle management
level.
September 2010
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