Trade unions challenge coalition sell-off of Britain’s probation service – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2014 in contracting out, international law, news, probation, trade unions by tracey

‘Government plans to privatise the probation service amount to a breach of the international laws on forced labour, according to a union legal challenge that is being launched on Monday.’

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The Guardian, 10th February 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Number of sex offenders in England and Wales rises by more than third in five years – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 10th, 2014 in budgets, news, probation, rehabilitation, sexual offences, statistics by tracey

‘The number of registered sex offenders in England and Wales has risen by more than a third in the past five years. More than 40,000 registered sex offenders, including 2,700 judged to pose a serious risk to the public, are living in the community and being monitored by probation services.’

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Daily Telegraph, 9th February 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Offenders with learning disabilities ‘not supported’ – BBC News

Posted January 30th, 2014 in Crown Prosecution Service, learning difficulties, news, police, probation, reports by sally

‘Offenders with learning disabilities are not getting the support they need from police, probation and prosecution services, an inspection has found.’

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BBC News, 30th January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Justice secretary puts back probation service privatisation deadline – The Guardian

Posted January 21st, 2014 in contracting out, delay, news, probation by sally

‘The justice secretary, Chris Grayling, has announced a two-month delay in the timetable for privatising 70% of the probation service after his most senior officials advised there would be public safety issues if he pressed full steam ahead.’

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The Guardian, 20th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supervision of high-risk criminals will not be handed to private sector – The Guardian

Posted January 14th, 2014 in contracting out, news, probation by tracey

‘The supervision of high-risk criminals who have committed notorious offences that have attracted significant and prolonged media attention will not be handed to the private sector when 70% of the probation service is outsourced this year.’

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The Guardian, 13th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Penal reform in the UK – OUP Blog

Posted January 6th, 2014 in news, probation by sally

‘In this podcast Martin Partington talks to Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League. Does penal policy in the UK operate in a more ‘punitive’ way than other European countries (including the former Eastern-bloc)? Frances makes a passionate defence of the current probation service and deplores the current Government’s approach to reform of the service.’

Podcast

OUP Blog, 1st January 2014

Source: http://blog.oup.com

Prisons: Efforts to cut reoffending ‘not working’ – BBC News

Posted December 17th, 2013 in news, prisons, probation, recidivists, rehabilitation, reports by sally

‘Efforts to stop prisoners reoffending are “not working” and should be the subject of a major policy review, two senior inspectors have said.’

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BBC News, 17th December 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lie tests to be given to sex offenders – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 21st, 2013 in bail, lie detectors, news, police, probation, sexual offences by sally

“Sex offenders will be offered lie detector tests to help police assess the risk they pose to the public when released.”

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Daily Telegraph, 20th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Probation officers strike in protest at privatisation plans – The Guardian

Posted November 5th, 2013 in contracting out, industrial action, news, probation, Serious Fraud Office by sally

“Thousands of probation officers across England and Wales are due to stage a 24-hour strike from midday on Tuesday in protest at plans to privatise 70% of their work.”

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The Guardian, 5th November 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Chris Grayling told to delay probation service privatisation or risk deaths – The Guardian

Posted October 29th, 2013 in contracting out, news, probation, rehabilitation by sally

“Three leading figures in the probation service have warned the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, he must delay his probation service privatisation plan for at least six months or face inevitable protection failures and risks to public safety, the Guardian has learned.”

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The Guardian, 28th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Probation officers vote to strike in protest at privatisation – The Guardian

Posted October 21st, 2013 in contracting out, industrial action, news, probation, trade unions by sally

“Probation officers have voted by an overwhelming majority to go on strike in protest at government plans to privatise the service.”

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The Guardian, 18th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina (Osborn) v Parole Board; Regina (Booth) v Same; In re Reilly – WLR Daily

Regina (Osborn) v Parole Board; Regina (Booth) v Same; In re Reilly [2013] UKSC 61; [2013] WLR (D) 374

“The protection of rights under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was not a discrete area of the law, based on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, but permeated the domestic legal system. Compliance with article 5.4 of the Convention required that there had, in the first place, to be compliance with the relevant procedural and substantive rules of domestic law.”

WLR Daily, 9th October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Keeping the “National” in National Probation Service – Criminal Law and Justice Weekly

Posted September 23rd, 2013 in news, probation, rehabilitation by sally

“The debate about the future of probation services rages on. As a previous ‘service user’, otherwise known as an offender, I can look at my experience of my regional probation service, but I can also highlight the importance of not selling this vital institution to private organizations.”

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Criminal Law and Justice Weekly, 20th September 2013

Source: www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk

Privatisation of probation service will ‘put public at risk’ – The Independent

Posted September 19th, 2013 in contracting out, demonstrations, news, probation by sally

“Thousands of probation workers will join nationwide protests today to claim that public safety will be jeopardised by the Government’s plans to transfer the community supervision of most former offenders to private companies.”

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The Independent, 19th September 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Probation officer prosecution should remind businesses of potential criminal penalties for data breaches, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 22nd, 2013 in data protection, fines, news, penalties, probation by sally

“The prosecution of a probation officer for handing over personal information relating to the victim of domestic abuse to the alleged perpetrator should act as a reminder to business of the criminal penalties they could face for breaching UK data protection laws, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Imposing strict conditions on release of terrorist offender did not breach Article 8 – UK Human Rights Blog

“Tabbakh, R (on the application of) v Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust and others [2013] EWHC 2492 (Admin). The claimant, a Syrian national, was serving the non-custodial part of a seven year sentence imposed for an offence of preparing a terrorist act. He was released automatically on licence on 23 June 2011, having served half his sentence. He took proceedings for judicial review contending that he had had no meaningful opportunity to participate in the process when his licence conditions were determined and that this constituted a breach of the procedural guarantees under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th August 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Women offenders ‘afterthought’ in rehabilitation plans – BBC News

“Women offenders are being ignored in plans to overhaul rehabilitation services, a committee of MPs has said.”

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BBC News, 15th July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Too many women prisoners, MPs say – The Independent

“The Government is ignoring the needs of women offenders with its probation reforms, a group of MPs has warned.”

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The Independent, 15th July 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

More than half of the country’s jails are overcrowded because system is being ‘flooded’ with low-level offenders – The Independent

Posted July 9th, 2013 in news, prisons, probation, statistics by sally

“More than half of the country’s jails are officially overcrowded because the criminal justice system is being ‘flooded’ with low-level offenders, according to new research.”

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The Independent, 8th July 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Grayling’s prisons plan to ensure inmates are released close to home – The Guardian

Posted July 4th, 2013 in news, pilot schemes, prisons, probation, rehabilitation by sally

“A national network of 70 ‘resettlement prisons’ is to be established to ensure that inmates are released from jail close to the area in which they will live, the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, has announced.”

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The Guardian, 4th July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk