South East probation services require improvement
Probation services in Kent, Surrey and Sussex have been rated as "requiring improvement" overall following an inspection.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation said the quality of work to manage people on probation was "insufficient" and found particularly "concerning" results in the standard of court reports and public protection.
The inspector said there were strengths in the area’s overall strategic arrangements and statutory victim work was delivered to a high standard.
A Probation Service spokesperson said they were taking "immediate action" to address the concerns.
The spokesperson said more than £155m a year is being invested into the Probation Service and 4,000 trainee probation officers had been hired since 2021.
Chief inspector of probation Martin Jones said staffing in the region was in a "fragile position".
Mr Jones said despite improvements to staffing numbers through proactive recruitment, significant gaps were still present.
He said: "National recruitment limitations and insufficient salaries to cope with the cost of living in the region were hampering the region’s ability to resource the service appropriately."
Mr Jones said there were also "limits" with experience and "deficits" with training.
Inspectors said improvements were needed in assessing and managing the risks people on probation pose to the community.
'The region can progress'
Inspectors found statutory victim work in the region was ‘outstanding’ and said all victims in reviewed cases were able to make relevant contributions before perpetrators were released.
The region’s leadership team was also found to be resilient, innovative and responsive to challenges faced.
Mr Jones said the region "will be disappointed" with findings and said the current recruitment model "is unlikely to address the issues it faces".
He said: "Achievements have been made by the region, but it continues to face challenges going forward.
"If the staffing difficulties can be addressed and there is a focus on the quality of casework and embedding learning, the region can progress on a continued positive trajectory.”
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