Probation and rehabilitation service is 'reflective organisation capable of addressing weakness in protecting victims', says report

Strong leadership and hard work by staff have yet to translate into effective work to protect victims from harm, inspectors found in the Cheshire and Greater Manchester Community Rehabilitation Company (CGM CRC).

CGM CRC provides probation and rehabilitation services on behalf of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) across Cheshire & Greater Manchester. This includes the supervision of offenders aged 18 and over in the community who are sentenced by the court to either a Community Order or a Suspended Sentence Order and the supervision of people allocated to the service who are in custody and those released from prison on licence. 

Dame Glenys Stacey, HM Chief Inspector of Probation said: “It is disappointing to learn that so little has improved since our last visit in 2016.

“The CRC’s operating model and organisation structure have been designed to enhance opportunities for rehabilitation and to reduce reoffending. However, despite an ongoing campaign by senior leaders to keep the profile of public protection high, they have been unable to embed a culture that recognises and responds effectively to the need to keep people safe from harm.”

Weaknesses in work to protect children were particularly highlighted.

Inspectors assessed that the 'risk of harm to others was underestimated in too many cases' and that 'the quality of planning was variable; plans lacked important detail, especially about how the CRC would keep people safe'.

Resourcing restraints beyond the CRC’s control had led to structural and policy changes. CRC leaders remained positive and worked hard to introduce and embed change and drive improvement.

“However, many practitioners feel overwhelmed by the pace of change and unable to meet the demands of the CRC’s expectations. There is a growing divide between the strategic aspirations of the CRC and the reality of practice,” Dame Glenys said.

The report noted that staff managed 'heavy and complex workloads within an environment of constant change'.

Staffing levels have reduced by a quarter since 2014 and some teams across the large and complex CRC were managing 'far too many' cases.

Some supervised cases 'beyond their competence and without the necessary support'. Some were ill-equipped to handle cases involving complex child safeguarding issues and work to address domestic abuse by men was inadequate. Inspectors found that some were 'extremely distressed' by their workloads.

Dame Glenys continued: “No matter how good a senior leadership team is, it is the effectiveness of case management that makes the difference to people’s lives. Currently, despite pockets of careful, competent practice, there is too much variation in the quality of case management. The CRC needs to do far more to protect victims and the public and to make sure the individuals with whom it works change their offending behaviour.”

More positively, though, inspectors found the CRC’s work to supervise Unpaid Work Orders imposed by courts to be good, though its ‘Through the Gate’ services for those leaving prison were inadequate.

Inspectors, moreover, had confidence in the leadership and staff to address weaknesses.

The report noted: “The CRC has a strong leadership team that demonstrates its commitment to quality probation services, its staff and other stakeholders. The ongoing investment with partners, providers and other stakeholders has helped create effective initiatives and interventions. The quality assurance framework provides a fully comprehensive system for driving improvements in policy and practice.”

Dame Glenys added: “This is a hard-working, reflective organisation and I have every confidence that leaders will respond positively to this report to improve service provision.”

Commenting on the report, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Hughes said: “Whilst it is disappointing to read that there has been limited progress since the last inspection, it is really encouraging to read that the culture of both strong leadership and hard work by staff has been recognised.

"This is a challenging environment, and the inspection acknowledges that many of the issues are beyond the CRC’s control - which makes it all the more important to support and value frontline staff.

"I will be using our unique position to lobby for changes to this system which can bring a unified approach to probation services in Greater Manchester."