Napo the trade union and professional association for Probation and Family Court workers has today submitted its response to the ‘Strengthening Probation Building Confidence’ consultation exercise launched by SoSFJ, David Gauke.
The union has been highly critical of the original Transforming Rehabilitation programme implemented by the then Justice Secretary Chris Grayling in 2014 which saw the creation of 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies to manage low and medium risk offenders who are under probation supervision.
Napo General Secretary Ian Lawrence said, “our response to this latest ‘marketisation’ plan is one of total opposition. The Probation Service needs to be reunified and put back under public ownership and accountability. The failures of privatisation has created a fragmented service which is operationally flawed, is fleecing the taxpayer and seriously impacting on community safety.”
The Governments proposals will see the early termination of the current CRC contracts in 2020 with the intention that these will be replaced by new contracts within a restructured 10-region area across England and Wales.
The union has welcomed the intention to return Offender Management work in Wales to the National Probation Service and is campaigning in and outside of Parliament for the Government to return Probation to public ownership across England as part of a reunification process. -Ends-