The Government must recruit more probation officers, increase funding for probation services and conduct an urgent review into working conditions for staff. We believe the Probation Service is critically past its maximum capacity to manage dangerous offenders and staff are burned out.
We are concerned that health and safety risks to officers, some holding caseloads close to 200%, are being ignored. With many leaving, or on long term sickness, we believe a rise in serious further offences is inevitable. The Government must act to improve the work-life balance of staff without further detrimental impact to staff health and well-being, and the impact on their families. Probation work needs to be condensed into a more manageable, effective framework to lessen the burden on staff. .