Probation services must improve in Sussex and Surrey - 'We are taking immediate action'

Probation services in Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) have received an overall regional rating of ‘requires improvement’ by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

This was the first regional inspection of the inspectorate’s current programme.

A spokesperson said: “While it revealed clear strengths in the area’s overall strategic arrangements, the quality of work delivered to manage people on probation was insufficient, with particularly poor and concerning results in the quality of court reports and public protection. In contrast, statutory victim work was delivered to a high standard.”

Martin Jones, chief inspector of probation, added: “Staffing in the region was in a fragile position. Despite improvements made to staffing numbers through proactive recruitment, significant gaps were still present – national recruitment limitations and insufficient salaries to cope with the cost of living in the region were hampering the region’s ability to resource the service appropriately.

"Levels of experience in the region were also limited, and deficits were found with national training, with this not preparing newly qualified probation staff adequately for their role post-qualification.”

The inspection also showed improvements were needed in the quality of work to ‘assess and manage the risks’ that people on probation pose to the community.

"This was found to be particularly poor in implementation and delivery, where only 22 per cent of cases we inspected were judged sufficient to effectively support the safety of other people,” a spokesperson said.

"In contrast, statutory victim work in the region was very strong and rated ‘outstanding’, with inspectors noting that, in reviewed cases, 100 per cent of victims were able to make relevant contributions prior to the release of perpetrators.”

The region’s leadership team was also found to be ‘resilient, innovative and responsive’ to the challenges faced; implementing additional roles to improve quality, ‘delivering a consistent message’ around improving culture and persistent in addressing unacceptable behaviour ‘appropriately and decisively’.

Mr Jones added: “This region will be disappointed with the overall findings of this inspection, given the strengths in leadership and strong delivery in victim work. The current recruitment model is unlikely to address the issues it faces regarding resourcing, and a more localised and incentive-based approach is required. Achievements have been made by the region, but it continues to face challenges going forward.

"If the staffing difficulties can be addressed and there is a focus on the quality of casework and embedding learning, the region can progress on a continued positive trajectory.”

The Probation Service has since issued a statement, in response to the findings.

A spokesperson said: “We are pleased that the inspectorate recognised the high standard of victim work delivered in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, as well as the leadership team which was found to be responsible and innovative to the challenges it faces.

“We know that there are areas where improvements must be made and we are taking immediate action to address these. Alongside extra training and support for our hard-working staff, we are investing more than £155 million a year into the Probation Service and have recruited a record number of staff to deliver tougher supervision to stop people from reoffending.”