11 June 2007
Probation staff from all over England and Wales will be celebrating the Probation Service's centenary today (Monday 11 June) in Westminster Abbey.
Probation staff from all over England and Wales will be celebrating the Probation Service's centenary today (Monday 11 June) in Westminster Abbey.
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Lord Falconer welcomed the event and acknowledged the hard work of the Probation Service but reiterated that there is much work to be done and many challenges to be faced. He said,
It is a significant landmark and all who work, or have worked in the Probation Service have much to be proud of. I am looking forward to the future making the most of the opportunity the Ministry of Justice presents. Prison will always remain the right place for violent and dangerous offenders. However, prison is not always the most effective way of punishing and rehabilitating offenders who have not committed violent and dangerous offences.
Community Penalties are punishments which are tough, safe and effective. Punishments that are hard work, that restrict liberty, but crucially which also encourage rehabilitation. They can have a significant impact both on the offender and on the community. Bringing about a reduction in re-offending, as well as reparation and benefits and for the community.
Community penalties work. Offenders who are given a community penalty re-offend 20 per cent less than those who are given a short custodial sentence. The experiences of offenders show that they find Community Penalties as tough a punishment as prison, if not in fact more of a punishment.
We want to look at how we can improve community penalties both in their application and promotion. I want to see change, I want to give the public confidence, I want to see sentencers using community penalties as we believe they should be.
Lord Falconer has asked the Director of the Probation Service Roger Hill to put together and chair a group of probation chiefs, chairs and offender managers, who will meet and come up with suggestions as to how we can get the best out of Community Penalties.
The National Probation Service has a major role to play in reducing crime. The 21,000 staff of the service are committed to minimising the impact of crime on communities and especially victims. They are actively committed to; rehabilitating offenders given community sentences and those released from prison; enforcing the conditions of their court orders and release licences and to taking whatever steps in their power to ensure the public continue to be protected.
Welcoming the event, Justice Minister David Hanson said,
The national service, as the National Probation Service for England and Wales, is only six years old, founded in 2001. Yet in this short time the Service has given the Government some of the strongest performances against targets set for a public sector body.
Good performance is not just an indication of how hard people are working or how focused we are on particular aspects of practice. The figures inevitably relate to individuals that have received something from the Service that has made a concrete difference. A difference that will cut the likelihood of future offending.
The National Probation Service has had its most successful ever year. Achieving record rates of enforcement as well as seeing more offenders complete accredited programmes and unpaid work than ever before. Similarly more offenders started and completed the drug treatment and testing order or drug rehabilitation requirement than in any previous year. The number of referrals to skills for life exceeded the target by 25%. Targets for victim contact, BME staff representation in the workforce and accurate and timely ethnicity data have again been exceeded.
Public protection is paramount so it is a great achievement that the completion of assessments on time for high risk offenders and persistent and priority offenders has improved to the point where performance of 94% (for high risk) and 96% (for persistent and priority offenders) has been achieved. This is compared to two thirds of assessments completed on time in August 2005 to a target of 90%,
The multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey marked 100 years since the first Probation of Offenders Act turned a voluntary sector organisation into a state service. It was led by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Revd John Hall, with prayers and readings from representatives of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu faiths.
Ends