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BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Leicestershire probation service rated 'inadequate' by inspectors
The probation service in Leicestershire and Rutland has been rated "inadequate" for the second time in three years following visits by Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) was inspected by HM Inspectorate of Probation in inspection found the delivery of services to reduce the risk of harm posed by people on probation "insufficient" in most Jones, chief inspector of probation said there had been "encouraging signs of improvement" since the 2022 inspection which concluded that services in the area were "inadequate". The HM Inspectorate report said the PDU was one of the "largest" by overall caseload in England and Wales, with offices in Leicester, Coalville and Loughborough. 'Lack of liaison' Mr Jones said: "Since the previous inspection in 2022 the PDU has faced ongoing challenges including high staff turnover, elevated sickness rates and, like all PDUs and regions, a prolonged period of significant and frequent changes linked to early prison releases."Only in the past six months has there been a noticeable shift towards improvement."The inspection found the leadership team at the PDU was "well-respected" and staff across all grades said they felt able to provide feedback to senior according to the report there was "a lack of professional curiosity" with practitioners not responding to new information when they received it as well as a "lack of liaison" with other inspection also found in 24% of cases where child safeguarding information should have been requested it had not been, and in 15% of cases no request had been made for domestic abuse information when it should have report made six recommendations to the PDU, including to improve the quality of work to assess and review risk of harm, and to develop practitioners' confidence and skills in the use of professional Ministry of Justice, which has overall control of the probation service, said the government is "on track" to recruit 2,300 more probation officers nationally by March next year.A spokesperson said: "This will help ensure offenders receive robust supervision and improve the work probation does to keep the public safe."
BBC News
22-05-2025
- BBC News
Inspectorate rates Nottinghamshire probation services 'inadequate'
Probation services in Nottinghamshire have been rated "inadequate" following visits by inspectors. The Nottingham City Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) and the Nottinghamshire PDU were separately inspected by HM Inspectorate of Probation in services were found to be understaffed with "urgent improvements needed", and a number of recommendations for change were put Jones, chief inspector of probation, said both PDUs would be "undoubtedly disappointed", but he was confident improvements could be made. The inspections were the first to take place of each service since PDUs were established under the unification of probation services in Nottingham, inspectors had "serious concerns" about the quality of work to keep people safe with "insufficient focus on public protection". Mechanisms in place for sharing information with the police and children's services were too often ineffective, Mr Jones said. The report said there were failures to identify all potential children at risk and that practitioners did not seek out information from necessary local authorities. On one occasion, a practitioner made safeguarding inquiries in relation to a 31-year-old father who had received a suspended sentence for drug-related offences - but a response was not received for three months during which time the man's contact with his child was "not clearly assessed". Despite a range of available services and efforts made to meet "diverse needs" of people on probation, the inspection found there were "worryingly low rates of referrals across almost all the services on offer". The report made six recommendations to Nottingham PDU, including to improve the quality of work to assess, plan for, manage, and review risk of harm, and to ensure domestic abuse and safeguarding information was complete and sufficiently analysed in all found the Nottinghamshire PDU was understaffed despite there being positive team morale and a "healthy culture". 'Insufficient' Workloads were also sometimes unmanageable with staff covering for sickness or vacant posts, inspectors said."Staff were also struggling with the impact of large-scale, time-pressured changes to process which meant they were often fatigued or overwhelmed," the report said. Similarly to the city's unit, the quality of work to keep people safe was found to be "insufficient". Work to reduce reoffending was low in most cases that were looked at during the inspection and flagged in the report as a weakness for the unit. The report added that less than half of the people that needed it received sufficient help with alcohol and drug PDU, which has contact centres in Nottingham, Worksop, Mansfield and Newark, received five recommendations for included requests to ensure facilities to interview people on probation were safe and private, and to devise and implement arrangements for monitoring and improving the quality of sentence management work delivered by practitioners.A statement from Mr Jones said: "Given the improving resourcing picture at Nottingham City and the strong staff culture at Nottinghamshire, there are some potential building blocks for success in each PDU. "With an increased focus on the quality of service delivery and work to protect the public, I am confident improvements can be made."
The Independent
19-05-2025
- The Independent
Drugs and dilapidated, dirty accommodation concerns at HMP Ranby, probe finds
An inspection has identified drugs as a major concern at Ranby prison, with the report also highlighting that many inmates led a 'pretty bleak existence' in 'dilapidated and dirty' accommodation. HMP Ranby – a men's category C training and resettlement prison in Retford, Nottinghamshire – underwent an unannounced inspection by HM Inspectorate of Prisons between February 10 and 20. The report, published on Monday, revealed the inspection found outcomes for the 1,087 prisoners were 'not sufficiently good' in relation to four 'healthy prison tests' – safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release. The facility had been rated good for safety and reasonably good for respect at its last inspection in April 2022, and the most recent probe found that five out of 12 of its previous recommendations about areas of key concern had been fully achieved. The top area of concern which the 2025 report made clear required 'immediate attention' was that there were 'too many drugs' in the prison. 'The influx of drones bringing large amounts of contraband into this East Midlands, category C prison was affecting outcomes for prisoners in many areas,' Charlie Taylor, chief inspector of prisons, said. 'Illicit drugs were the cause of poor attendance to activities and levels of violence that were now higher than most similar prisons. 'This led to a fall in our healthy prison assessment for 'safety' from good to not sufficiently good. 'With the random drug test results showing a positive rate of 23% and staggeringly, nearly a quarter of prisoners in our survey saying they had developed a drug or alcohol problem since they had been at the jail, there will need to be concerted action by the leadership and the prison service to make Ranby as safe as it was when we last inspected in 2022.' The survey also showed 61% of inmates said it was easy to get hold of illicit drugs. Leaders were praised for working hard to stop drugs from getting into the prison, with the report acknowledging there had been some arrests and convictions, but that drugs remained 'easily available' and drones delivering parcels 'persisted'. Another major concern was that many of the buildings were 'dilapidated and dirty', with prisoners struggling to access basic items such as bedding, cleaning materials and clothing. These conditions varied according to which blocks inmates were housed in. 'The 700 living on houseblocks one to three and five had a pretty bleak existence, living in accommodation that was now badly dilapidated, and with many cells lacking basic furniture and almost no self-cook facilities,' Mr Taylor said. 'By every measure things were worse for these men, the regime was much more limited, cell bells took longer to be answered and there were more drugs available.' These houseblocks were found to be dirty, with rubbish and food scattered in communal areas, according to the report. Also, many showers on these houseblocks needed fixing, the heating in several areas of the prison, including the chapel, was not working effectively and some of the flooring needed replacing. Many cells were discovered to be in poor condition containing damaged sockets, sinks and toilets, with many suffering from mould. The report also found that too many prisoners living in houseblocks one to three were not engaged in meaningful activity. Mr Taylor said: 'When inspectors ran a roll check, they found that only 10% of the men were in activity off the wing on houseblocks one, two and three while 35% were locked in their cells. 'Astonishingly, 300 men at Ranby were not in purposeful activity at all and were lucky if they got out of their cells for two hours as day.' But he said outcomes elsewhere were 'reasonable', explaining conditions in houseblocks four, six, seven and eight were better and cleaner, and that there was more for prisoners to do. 'For around a third of prisoners at Ranby outcomes were reasonable; they were housed in decent conditions and most had access to purposeful activity and some good time out of cell, but the rest lead a pretty diminished and depressing existence,' the chief inspector said. HMP Ranby was originally a Second World War army camp before it was converted to a prison in the early 1970s.
Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Border staff ‘need access to police data' to stop the small boats
Border Force officials do not have access to the police national database (PND) or facial recognition technology to screen migrants who arrive on small boats, according to a damning report by the policing inspectorate. Frontline officers were found to be prioritising migrants' welfare and safeguarding checks when they arrived on UK shores instead of routinely interviewing them. Despite cutting illegal migration to the UK being a priority for the government, inspectors found that intelligence gathering when migrants arrived in the UK was 'neither effective nor robust enough'. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services was commissioned to look at how effectively police forces and the National Crime Agency tackled organised immigration crime (OIC). Its report warned of missed opportunities to investigate OIC and
BBC News
08-05-2025
- BBC News
Derbyshire Probation service rated 'inadequate'
Probation service rated 'inadequate' 10 minutes ago Share Save Andrew Strachan BBC News, Derby Share Save BBC Inspectors say a probation unit in Derbyshire is inadequate A probation unit has been rated as inadequate following an inspection. HM Inspectorate of Probation has highlighted "several significant problems relating to culture, morale, and workloads" within Derbyshire Probation Delivery Unit (PDU). Martin Jones, the chief inspector of probation, said inspectors were "concerned with the delivery of services to keep people safe and reduce the potential risk of harm posed by people on probation". The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which has overall control of the probation service, said it "inherited a criminal justice system in crisis" but was "supporting staff by improving training" and recruiting more probation officers. 'Hostility' This is the first inspection of this PDU since it was established under the unification of probation services in 2021. Mr Jones continued: "These are very disappointing results. Whilst staff numbers and workloads are improving, leaders have not done enough to support their staff in very challenging circumstances." The report pinpointed poor morale across the PDU, with perceptions of a culture of blame, and staff not feeling valued. Inspectors observed a "difficult working environment, with divisions and hostility between all grades of staff". Access to good-quality safeguarding information was a problem in keeping people safe, meaning not all potential victims were identified in assessments. The report makes six recommendations, including to clearly communicate strategic priorities and to ensure that domestic abuse and safeguarding information is complete and analysed sufficiently in all cases. Derby City Probation Delivery Unit "requires improvement", a report has found Derby City Probation Delivery Unit, meanwhile, has been rated as "requires improvement". This is the second inspection of the PDU since the reunification of the Probation Service in 2021, and was last inspected 2023, when it was rated as "requires improvement" overall. Martin Jones said: "Despite significant challenges, it was pleasing to see some stability across the Derby City PDU and a staff group who were engaged and motivated to do what was best for people on probation. "I am encouraged by what we saw at Derby City. The changes brought in by the interim head of service and deputy are beginning to have a positive impact on service delivery." In a statement, the MoJ said: "The government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis which has put huge strain on the probation service, despite the efforts of hard-working staff. "We are supporting staff by improving training and recruiting 1,300 new probation officers nationally to deliver robust supervision and protect the public." Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.
