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Crime chiefs welcome probation move

A decision to scrap the controversial part-privatisation of the probation service has been welcomed by two crime commissioners.

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David Jamieson, police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands

The government has announced that supervision of all offenders in England and Wales is now being brought back in-house.

It is a move that will see the public National Probation Service (NPS) take over management of low and medium-risk cases, which are currently handled by private providers.

Under the existing system, high-risk individuals are supervised by the NPS, with all other work assigned to community rehabilitation companies.

David Jamieson, police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands, said: “I welcome the news on probation. The current chaos was an avoidable disaster caused by Chris Grayling’s ideological experiment.

West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion

“His failure has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds, let victims down and failed to rehabilitate offenders.

“I am pleased that the government has seen sense. High levels of re-offending, have contributed to large rises in crime that people have experienced in recent times.”

West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion also welcomed the decision. He said: “I welcome this important announcement. While the reforms to probation services were well intended, it is clear they have not worked for a number of complex reasons.

“Effective, efficient probation services are vital to reducing reoffending, preventing crime, reducing demand on our police and preventing harm in our communities.”

Interventions

Under the new model, the Government will provide up to £280 million a year for probation “interventions” from the private and voluntary sectors.

Each NPS region will have a dedicated “innovation partner” responsible for providing unpaid work and accredited programmes.

Mr Gauke said: “Delivering a stronger probation system, which commands the confidence of the courts and better protects the public, is a pillar of our reforms to focus on rehabilitation and cut re-offending.

“I want a smarter justice system that reduces repeat crime by providing robust community alternatives to ineffective short prison sentences - supporting offenders to turn away from crime for good.

“The model we are announcing today will harness the skills of private and voluntary providers and draw on the expertise of the NPS to boost rehabilitation, improve standards and ultimately increase public safety.”

Probation services manage more than a quarter of a million offenders in England and Wales, including inmates preparing to leave jail, ex-prisoners living in the community and people serving community or suspended sentences.

Criticised

Under a programme known as Transforming Rehabilitation, 35 probation trusts were replaced in 2014 by the NPS and 21 privately-owned CRCs.

The overhaul, introduced under then justice secretary Chris Grayling, was designed to drive down re-offending.

But it has been heavily criticised by MPs and watchdogs.

Earlier this month, the Public Accounts Committee accused the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of taking “unacceptable” risks with taxpayers’ money when rushing through the shake-up at “breakneck speed”.

An inspection report previously revealed thousands of offenders were being managed by a brief phone call once every six weeks.

Chief inspector of probation Dame Glenys Stacey, who earlier this year described the model delivered by Transforming Rehabilitation as “irredeemably flawed”, said she was “delighted” at Mr Gauke’s decision.

She said: “Probation is a complex social service and it has proved well-nigh impossible to reduce it to a set of contractual requirements.”

Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said the Tories “have been forced to face reality and accept their probation model is irredeemably broken”.

He added: “The Tories didn’t want to make this U-turn and had been desperately trying to re-tender probation contracts to the private sector. It is right those plans have been dropped and that offender management is to be brought back in-house.”