Guidance

Probation instructions (PIs)

Policy and guidance for prison and probation professionals in England and Wales.

Applies to England and Wales

Index and notes

This page lists all current probation instructions (PIs). From 2019, all new prison and probation operational policies are published as policy frameworks.

If the PI you want is not listed here, check the PI index. This document lists every PI issued and includes details of those which have been cancelled, updated or replaced by a policy framework. The index also includes the most up-to-date contact details for the owner of each PI.

A PI remains in force until it is formally cancelled, even if the document has passed its expiry date.

Some PIs are not published here because they are restricted or sensitive. HR and other staff-related PIs are not published here but are available on your departmental intranet.

If you have any questions about the contents on this page or would like an electronic copy of a cancelled policy, please email ops3@justice.gov.uk.

Probation instructions index

Prison Service Orders

Prison service instructions

2019 instructions

Number Title
04/2019 Unpaid work
04/2019 Annex A: Community payback practice guidance (PDF)
04/2019 Annex B: Guidance on resolving unpaid work requirements and extensions (PDF)
02/2019 Health and safety arrangements for workplace inspections (PDF)
01/2019 Information sharing and the effective managment of electronic monitoring

2018 instructions

Number Title
06/2018 Referring serious further offences for review
05/2018 Liaison arrangements between sentencers and providers of probation services (MS Word)
04/2018 Critical public protection case MP notification scheme (MS Word)
03/2018 Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (PDF)
02/2018 Records information management policy

2016 instructions

Number Title
17/2016 Public protection manual
15/2016 Information sharing agreements
14/2016 Sharing sensitive information with the Parole Board
13/2016 Health and safety arrangements for manual handling operations (MS Word)
12/2016 Consulting on health, safety and fire issues
11/2016 Health and safety arrangements for fire safety in probation premises (MS Word)
10/2016 Supervised Individual Childcare
08/2016 Information risk management
07/2016 Arranging unpaid work as part of an enforcement order
06/2016 Adult social care
04/2016 Determining pre-sentence reports
02/2016 Offender travel

2015 instructions

Number Title
25/2015 Health and safety performance monitoring (PDF)
13/2015 Health and safety arrangements
12/2015 Management of violence and agression in the workplace (PDF)
08/2015 Managing indeterminate sentenced offenders on licence (PDF)
06/2015 Early days in custody
05/2015 Implementation of the support delivery of the alcohol treatment requirement specification (PDF)
04/2015 Implementation of the support delivery of the drug rehabilitation requirement specification (PDF)
03/2015 Managing health and safety
02/2015 Reconsideration of central vetting decisions by exception
01/2015 Prisoner rehabilitation services

2014 instructions

Number Title
63/2014 Mother and baby units
62/2014 Crown copyright and licences (MS Word)
60/2014 Exclusion of personnel on the grounds of misconduct
59/2014 Management of offender records (MS Word)
58/2014 Setting rehabilitation activity requirements
55/2014 Using offenders as mentors in the community and in custody
52/2014 Provision of offender risk information to Home Office immigration enforcement (MS Word)
51/2014 Handling complaints
32/2014 Approved premises (MS Word)
32/2014 Annex A: Approved premises manual (MS Word)
30/2014 Drug appointments and testing for licence conditions and post-sentence supervision (MS Word)
26/2014 Release on licence for foreign national prisoners pending deportation (MS Word)
25/2014 Prison service performance hub data quality policy (MS Word)
23/2014 Security vetting: additional risk criteria for ex-offenders
20/2014 Implementation of the Armed Forces Act 2006
19/2014 IT Security Policy
17/2014 Research applications
16/2014 Data gateway service: approval of data collections (MS Word)
13/2014 Sentence planning
05/2014 Case allocation
04/2014 Government secure classification policy
03/2014 Security vetting
02/2014 Checking the barred status of prisoners

2013 instructions

Number Title
01/2013 First move skills screening tool (MS Word)

2012 instructions

Number Title
17/2012 Service specification for unpaid work (MS Word)
14/2012 The instruction system: the approval and implementation of policy and instructions (MS Word)
09/2012 Implementation of the deliver supervision on licence specification (MS Word)
08/2012 Implementation of the service specification for “Manage the sentence: pre and post-release from custody” (MS Word)
04/2012 Implementation of the service specification for bail services (MS Word)
01/2012 Implementation of the deliver accredited programmes specification (MS Word)

2010 instructions

Number Title
08/2010 Offender management feedback questionnaire (MS Word)
08/2010 Questionnaire leaflet (PDF)
07/2010 Probation qualifications framework (PDF)
05/2010 Statutory changes to community safety partnerships (PDF)
04/2010 Community compacts (MS Word)
01/2010 Licences for music in probation areas and trusts (MS Word)

Some older prison service instructions have been archived by The National Archives and are made available here through the UK Government Web Archive.

Published 20 January 2021
Last updated 11 March 2024 + show all updates
  1. Index updated.

  2. Instructions updated.

  3. Probation instructions index updated

  4. Probation instructions index

  5. Probation instructions index updated

  6. PI 03/2017 removed.

  7. Probation instructions index updated

  8. Index updated.

  9. Index updated.

  10. Index updated.

  11. Index updated.

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  18. Page updated.

  19. Index updated.

  20. First published.