Probation budgets cuts will put public at risk

Apr 5 2009 by Phil Doherty, Sunday Sun

PLANS to cut probation budgets in the region have been branded dangerous and absurd by union officials who fear the public will be put at risk.

The Ministry of Justice, who are in charge of Probation Services in England and Wales, want to make budget cuts over a three-year period despite pumping £50m into the system last year to ease prison overcrowding.

But the union Napo, which represents probation officers and court staff, promises to fight the cuts and has not ruled out industrial action.

Cynthia Mynott, spokeswoman for the Northumbria branch of Napo, said: “The proposed cuts are a terrible idea. Probation has to deal with some the most dangerous people coming out of prison on licence, or people on community orders.

“You need the right level of trained probation officers to keep these people under supervision and making cut backs could potentially put the public at greater risk.

“These cuts are also a scandalous waste of public money as we are training 24 new probation officers in Northumbria who will be qualified in October. But there won’t be jobs for half them if the cuts go ahead.

“We know crime will go up during an economic downturn. The Government has conflicting goals as they want to reduce the prison population and have more people on community orders. Yet they plan to cut the numbers of those supervising them.”

The threat of industrial action comes as the MoJ is hailing its Community Payback scheme a success.

The scheme, which has been piloted in Newcastle and Redcar, Teesside, allows members of the public to nominate jobs for those given community orders. Although it is a multi-agency scheme, it is probation officers who have to oversee the work and the offenders.

One such scheme in Redcar has seen new fencing being erected around a cemetery. The fence was made by inmates at Kirklevington Prison and installed by offenders on community orders. The work was done on behalf of a voluntary group called Friends of Redcar Cemetery.