Sentencing reform must not overburden probation staff, says UNISON

Commenting on the publication of the government’s Sentencing Bill, including “intensive supervision” requirements for probation officers and a major expansion in offender tagging, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said today (Wednesday):

“More community sentencing and a bigger focus on rehabilitation are important. But this will increase the burden on probation workers, who’ll need to make more decisions about who to tag and be responsible for more offenders.

“The probation system is already at breaking point. The recruitment crisis is being made worse by persistently poor wages and the service is around 10,000 staff short.

“Ministers can’t squeeze any more out of a workforce still reeling from years of cuts and mismanagement by the previous government.

“New probation recruits must be employed and trained swiftly to relieve pressure on existing staff. Yet it’s unclear how much of the promised £700m investment for this overhaul will go directly to probation.

“These reforms suggest ministers are confident probation staff will be able to take on more, but they need to be paid fairly for doing this vital work.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is one of the three unions representing staff employed by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: email@unison.co.uk
Mark Conrad M: 07809 623703 E: email@unison.co.uk