National Probation Service
Encyclopedia
The National Probation Service for England
and Wales
is a statutory Criminal Justice Service, mainly responsible for the supervision of offenders in the community and the provision of reports to the criminal courts to assist them in their sentencing duties. It was established in its current form by the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act in April 2001, but has existed since 1907 as a set of area based services interacting at ever-shortening arms-length with central government. Northern Ireland
has its own probation service, whilst in Scotland criminal justice social work services are managed within the social work departments of local authorities.
In its current form, the NPS is part of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) previously within the Home Office
but since 9 May 2007 within the Ministry of Justice, and comprises 42 probation areas which are coterminous with police force area boundaries, served by 35 Probation Trusts. Trusts are funded by NOMS and employ all staff except the Chief Officer; they are accountable to their Boards (comprising up to 15 members appointed by the Secretary of State) for day to day operations and financial management, and to NOMS via a Regional Offender Manager
, with whom they have service level agreements, for performance against the targets for the offender management and interventions services for which they have been funded.
The work of Probation Trusts is scrutinised by NOMS, which reports independently to UK Government Ministers; and by HM Inspectorate of Probation
.
The Service, at the start of 2004, had some 18,000 staff. Statistics for the year 2002 state that it supervised just less than 193,000 offenders and provided 253,000 Pre Sentence Reports to courts in England and Wales, advising them on the background of and proposing appropriate sentences for convicted offenders. In addition, it has responsibility for ensuring that victims of violent and sexual crime resulting in prison sentences of over 12 months are consulted before offenders are released from custody.
The advent of NOMS in 2004 changed the pattern of correctional services delivery in England and Wales. The Offender Management Bill, introduced in Parliament late in 2006, was intended to enable probation areas to become trusts as part of wider Government policy to open up the provision of correctional services to greater competition from the voluntary, community, and private sectors. This was one of the recommendations of the Carter Report (2003): others were to introduce a system of end-to-end offender management, with one named offender manager having responsibility for an offender throughout his or her sentence (be it in custody, the community, or both), and to rebalance sentencing in order to redress the drift towards less and less serious offences resulting in imprisonment or community sentences. Carter saw the need to improve public and sentencer confidence not only in community sentences but also in the fine as credible sanctions for appropriate offenders and offences.
The Bill completed its passage through parliament in July 2007, and the first six probation trusts came into being on 1 April 2008 (Merseyside, South Wales, Humberside, Dyfed/Powys, West Mercia and Leicestershire & Rutland). Lancashire Probation Trust
achieved Trust status on 1 April 2009.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
is a statutory Criminal Justice Service, mainly responsible for the supervision of offenders in the community and the provision of reports to the criminal courts to assist them in their sentencing duties. It was established in its current form by the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act in April 2001, but has existed since 1907 as a set of area based services interacting at ever-shortening arms-length with central government. Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
has its own probation service, whilst in Scotland criminal justice social work services are managed within the social work departments of local authorities.
In its current form, the NPS is part of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) previously within the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
but since 9 May 2007 within the Ministry of Justice, and comprises 42 probation areas which are coterminous with police force area boundaries, served by 35 Probation Trusts. Trusts are funded by NOMS and employ all staff except the Chief Officer; they are accountable to their Boards (comprising up to 15 members appointed by the Secretary of State) for day to day operations and financial management, and to NOMS via a Regional Offender Manager
Regional Offender Manager
There has been a Regional Offender Manager for each of the nine English Regions and Wales since 2004/5, when the National Offender Management Service within the Home Office was created to oversee correctional services in England and Wales...
, with whom they have service level agreements, for performance against the targets for the offender management and interventions services for which they have been funded.
The work of Probation Trusts is scrutinised by NOMS, which reports independently to UK Government Ministers; and by HM Inspectorate of Probation
HM Inspectorate of Probation
HM Inspectorate of Probation is a statutory body and independent UK inspectorate funded by the Ministry of Justice, formed in 1936.-Role and functions:...
.
The Service, at the start of 2004, had some 18,000 staff. Statistics for the year 2002 state that it supervised just less than 193,000 offenders and provided 253,000 Pre Sentence Reports to courts in England and Wales, advising them on the background of and proposing appropriate sentences for convicted offenders. In addition, it has responsibility for ensuring that victims of violent and sexual crime resulting in prison sentences of over 12 months are consulted before offenders are released from custody.
The advent of NOMS in 2004 changed the pattern of correctional services delivery in England and Wales. The Offender Management Bill, introduced in Parliament late in 2006, was intended to enable probation areas to become trusts as part of wider Government policy to open up the provision of correctional services to greater competition from the voluntary, community, and private sectors. This was one of the recommendations of the Carter Report (2003): others were to introduce a system of end-to-end offender management, with one named offender manager having responsibility for an offender throughout his or her sentence (be it in custody, the community, or both), and to rebalance sentencing in order to redress the drift towards less and less serious offences resulting in imprisonment or community sentences. Carter saw the need to improve public and sentencer confidence not only in community sentences but also in the fine as credible sanctions for appropriate offenders and offences.
The Bill completed its passage through parliament in July 2007, and the first six probation trusts came into being on 1 April 2008 (Merseyside, South Wales, Humberside, Dyfed/Powys, West Mercia and Leicestershire & Rutland). Lancashire Probation Trust
Lancashire Probation Trust
Lancashire Probation Trust is a criminal justice agency responsible for protecting the public in Lancashire, England by punishing and rehabilitating offenders.It is one of 35 probation trusts in England and Wales that make up the National Probation Service...
achieved Trust status on 1 April 2009.
History
The Church of England Temperance Society and other voluntary societies appointed missionaries to the London Police Courts during the late nineteenth century. From this developed the system of releasing offenders on the condition that they kept in touch with the missionary and accepted guidance. In 1907 this supervision was given a statutory basis which allowed courts to appoint and employ probation officers.Probation Trusts
35 Probation Trusts provide the operational elements of probation in England and Wales. They are:- Avon & Somerset Probation Trust
- Bedfordshire Probation Trust
- Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Probation Trust
- Cheshire Probation Trust
- Cumbria Probation Trust
- Derbyshire Probation Trust
- Devon and Cornwall Probation Trust
- Dorset Probation Trust
- Durham Tees Valley Probation Trust
- Essex Probation
- Gloucestershire Probation Trust
- Greater Manchester Probation Trust
- Hampshire Probation Trust
- Hertfordshire Probation Trust
- Humberside Probation Trust
- Kent Probation
- Lancashire Probation TrustLancashire Probation TrustLancashire Probation Trust is a criminal justice agency responsible for protecting the public in Lancashire, England by punishing and rehabilitating offenders.It is one of 35 probation trusts in England and Wales that make up the National Probation Service...
- Leicestershire Rutland Probation Trust
- Lincolnshire Probation Trust
- London Probation Trust
- Merseyside Probation Trust
- Norfolk & Suffolk Probation Trust
- Nottinghamshire Probation Trust
- Northamptonshire Probation Trust
- Northumbria Probation Trust
- South Yorkshire Probation Trust
- Staffordshire & West Midlands Probation Trust
- Surrey & Sussex Probation Trust
- Thames Valley Probation
- Wales Probation Trust
- Warwickshire Probation Trust
- West Mercia Probation Trust
- West Yorkshire Probation Trust
- Wiltshire Probation Trust
- York & North Yorkshire Probation Trust
See also
- Violent and Sex Offender RegisterViolent and Sex Offender RegisterIn the United Kingdom, the Violent and Sex Offender Register is a database of records of those required to register with the Police under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, those jailed for more than 12 months for violent offences, and unconvicted people simply thought to be at risk of offending...
- OASysOASYSOASYS may refer to:* Korg OASYS, a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005* Omgeo OASYS, US financial markets trade confirmation service* OASys , a 100% subsidiary of Webasto...
- Criminal Justice Social Work Services, probation services are provided by local authorities in Scotland
- Drug Intervention Program
- Lancashire Probation TrustLancashire Probation TrustLancashire Probation Trust is a criminal justice agency responsible for protecting the public in Lancashire, England by punishing and rehabilitating offenders.It is one of 35 probation trusts in England and Wales that make up the National Probation Service...
External links
- National Probation Service
- Probation Statistics 2002
- Managing Offenders, reducing Crime - Home Office paper describing proposals for NOMS
- Excel spreadsheet linked to downloadable National Probation Service Circulars issued 1996 to 2007.
- Rehabilitation versus punishment – judge for yourself press release from the ministry of Justice for an interactive media overview of the England & Wales probation process
- Judge for yourself website
- Video clip about Desistance and Probation Practice Research by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research