I'm a Probation Officer- ask me anything

[webster1987]

I feel like the role of a probation officer is often misunderstood and we don't get much exposure (good anyway!) in news/TV so...ask me anything!

@Mischance what did you ask for specifically that did not happen? A release plan differs from person to person but should always be in place but to differing degrees depending on the personal circumstances

There was nothing. We wanted sheltered accommodation as he is incapable of managing his life - nothing. They advised a hostel which was full of druggies issuing threats, so we found him a small flat which he could not cope with. There was no support forthcoming from anywhere, and what was offered was totally unsuitable and did not meet his needs.

You need to blame the government for this. Probation don’t have their own accommodation other than approved premises for the most high risk offenders.

The council can’t house everyone because there’s not enough accommodation so what they have is full.

Adult social care can’t support everyone who needs it because they’re overwhelmed and even more so for children’s social care.

You can only get mental health care if you’ve had a serious suicide attempt or a severe psychiatric condition, otherwise you get prescribed sertraline or mirtazepine and sent on your way. You can’t even get sectioned if you need it because there’s no beds. Why? Because there’s no money and not enough staff.

You can’t get a space in detox or rehab because there’s no spaces, again because there’s not enough money and not enough staff.

I’ve even had food banks telling me to stop referring people because donations are down (because of the cost of living crisis) and need is up (because of the cost of living crisis)!

Thanks for replying to my earlier qs. You say 'if on licence' what does that mean vs being on probation?

Being on licence is being on Probation. Being on a Community Order or (in most cases) a Suspended Sentence Order is also being on Probation.

If you’re on licence you have served part of a prison sentence and have been released to serve the rest of your sentence in the community. You have conditions on your licence that you have to adhere to or you can be recalled to prison to serve a set time or the rest of your sentence. You’ll be supervised by probation and after you licence ends, you’ll have a period of post sentence supervision. Some people are on licence for life for a very serious offence. There are standard conditions and ones that are specific to the offence such as where you can live, drug testing, exclusion zones, even the type of technology you can use for online sexual offences.

You can get a suspended sentence which means that if you don’t comply with probation or you commit further offences, you can be breached, go back to court and your sentence may be activated so you go to prison. You’ll usually get a rehabilitation requirement (RAR days), a drug or alcohol treatment requirement if appropriate and some form of punishment such as unpaid work, a fine or a curfew.

A community order means that you’ll get the above without the suspended sentence part. You can breach a community order and you’ll usually only get more of the same but you can get your community order revoked and resentenced if the breach is serious enough or you become unmanageable in the community.

All of these count as being on probation.

Sorry to hijack your thread @webster1987 , my husband is snoring and keeping me awake 🙈.

Hi OP,

Taking into account the changing role of probation officers (think 2014 onwards) is the Probation Officer qualification still relevant to your role?

That's good to hear. I'm sure most are there by circumstance, rather than being genuinely evil. Addiction must play a big role.

How do you mean, the change in role? Are you referring to the privatisation?

Are you able to comment on this interesting question?

Thank you so much for your response, it was really useful!

It's very possible Probation do not yet know what hearing will take place, and would depend on a few things. When was he recalled? And am I right in saying he's now being investigated for further offences where you are the victim? If so, the parole board are HIGHLY unlikely to release until these charges are concluded. Either by conviction or not guilty/charges are dropped. Until they know the outcome of that case, the argument being they can't fully assess the risk he poses.

He was arrested in May, then sectioned, then has been in prison since. Bail ends at the end of August. Yes, harassment & criminal damage against me - the police made it sound like they wouldn't proceed with the case if he got recalled, as he wouldn't get time added. This was my preference, my daughter is so angry with me about it that I'd rather not go to court (plus, she can't really be looked after by anyone else so it would be difficult logistically) - but now they're saying they will proceed due to probation not making it clear what's happening, and will interview him in prison. So what you're saying makes sense, though they didn't make this clear at first. It's quite a clear cut case - threats to kill via text, lots of witnesses, a huge boot mark on my front door etc. we were under MARAC and I had a non-mol years ago so lots of history & everyone agrees the risk is super high when he's unwell like this.

If you are identified as at risk from him, which it sounds like you are, then I would very much encourage you to make contact with the probation officer. Part of the job is to put together a plan to manage risk upon any re-release and certain conditions can potentially be put in place to manage that risk, for example, a licence condition not to contact you. This would need to be discussed as obviously I don't know the details of his case/risks so would very much be dependent on that.

Oh fantastic! That's great news. I don't actually know who his probation officer is, though. Can I just email the local office, do you think?

I would also be expecting a re-referral to social services upon any expected release by the probation officer, as they would need to be ensuring your daughter is safeguarded from any risks so I suspect that won't be the last involvement you have with them.

I'd welcome this! I had no contact from them at all when he was released previously. I asked for guidance re contact & they wouldn't help, so I just insisted upon supervised contact myself.

If he is convicted of offences against you, depending on the new sentence he receives (has to be over 12 months) you will be contacted by a victim liaison officer who would work with you and liaise with the probation worker so you are kept up to date with potential release and ways to safeguard you and your daughter.

I can't see him getting over 12 months for what he did (unless due to recall). Do you think recall is likely? I thought it was a sure thing (though I think it would be better spent in psychiatric hospital - I have a degree in criminology & don't think prison really prevents recidivism, certainly not for people like him where it's clearly caused by mental illness), but I'm not so sure he will be recalled now.

Yeah people on SHPO are often misunderstood ...

Can you generally tell if a person is likely to breach a CCO op

@webster1987 that’s really disappointing to hear re: womens services. There’s so much fantastic work, practitioners and experts that could create such a fantastic portfolio of interventions that could make such a difference. But I guess that means money, and I think we can all agree that generally probation has never wanted to invest in women borderline despises women service users.

I had to go away and have a think about responding to your question. Honestly it was a really hard transition, a combination of realising how poor the working relationship and information sharing is between the police is in relation to probation and that I wasn’t in a particularly good place when I left probation. I had around 90 cases, all medium-high DV cases, and if was really difficult to adjust to a role where I wasn’t constantly stressed if that makes sense? I felt I wasn’t working hard enough if I wasn’t working constantly, skipping breaks, staying late - it was hard to settle into a much more healthy work/life balance. I don’t want to massively derail your thread though 😊

How do you feel now about reunification? Can you see probation being privatised again in the future?

Do you think contracting out DV related programmes to places like the Hampton Trust would be helpful rather than completing 1-1 work in supervision as a direct replacement for something like Creating Safer relationships?

Sorry I feel I’m interrogating you now OP! I did say despite having left I’m very invested still 😂

Another one here too (ish!) 😂

Hi. I am starting soon as a pso. What are the general working hours in a probation office like ? Do you work Saturdays?

Congrats on the job! Office hours are Monday to Friday with no weekend work. Generally hours are 9-5.30 but most offices will have a day in the week they are open later for appointments with those offenders that are in employment etc and need a later appointment. In offices I have worked, this is often until 7pm and only really needed if you have people that need appointments that time.

I would say though that the workload can be a lot and as easy as it is to say, don't let the work creep in over your evenings and weekends. With laptops and some home working possible, this can be an easy bad habit to fall in to,

Thanks so much for your tips . I Will be starting from the 18th of next month. I also wanted to know if I would be entitled for a blue light card .lol…. Thats the only thing my family wants to know … also with the salary, is it true that probation services get pay rise bi annually? This is what it looks like from the description. They’ve stated that every october and april , they pay has increased by certain percentage.

Yes, you will be eligible for a BLC.

This is only because of a 3-year pay deal it's not the norm. I think it ends 2025 and then will need to be re-negotiated

@BlueWhale47 So this means everyone who joins is entitled to it ? Or is it performance based only ?

Mix of both - I believe on the union websites you can access more info on the pay deal and look at the "pay journey" in accordance with what band you are. I think you said you're joining as a PSO so would be band 3.

There is a competency based framework which you need to evidence you meet the competencies needed to do the job. You need to pass this to move on to the next pay point in your band. Will see if I can find a photo.

@Vaanyawonderments seem to have brain fog so can't explain properly but hopefully the pic gives you a idea of how it works.

@BlueWhale47 yes its band three. Thanks so much for this .. ill try to go through it and figure out :)

My husband got recalled for going on hoilday will he be recalled for 28 days or the rest of his sentence