Probation officers’ joy over inspection

The trust achieved well above the average score in three criteria – control risk of harm to others, help and change, likelihood of re-offending work and punish- compliance, and enforcement work. The inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Probation examined a representative sample of the trust’s cases and judged how often the work with each case was done to a sufficiently high level of quality. In control, the trust scored 82 per cent, compared with the English average of 74 per cent. The highest score from the 30 English regions out of 35 which have been inspected to date was 83 per cent.

In help and change, the trust scored 81 per cent compared with the average of 73 per cent. The highest score was 82 per cent. In punish – ensuring the individual serves their sentence, the trust scored 83 per cent compared with the English average of 79 per cent. The highest score was 86 per cent.

David Chantler, chief executive officer of West Mercia Probation Trust, said: “Despite cuts to our budget our staff have remained committed to achieving these core tasks. To have accomplished this high level of performance at a time when cuts are really beginning to bite demonstrates the calibre and commitment of our staff.

“The results also validate our long-term strategy of working closely with partner agencies and we are delighted that the inspectorate made reference to our national reputation for developing innovative partnerships and linked this to our demonstrably successful commitment to protecting the public.”

Sally Lester, assistant chief inspector, HM Inspectorate of Probation, said: “West Mercia Probation Trust has a reputation for developing innovative partnerships to provide a range of local resources to support managers in helping offenders to make positive changes. We found that this was matched by a strong commitment to public protection, which was to the credit of front-line staff and their managers.”