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High Risk Offenders Commit Further Violent Crime

14 replies

PavlovtheCat · 19/09/2013 22:55

that heading will be the news in a few years' time

The government organisation for monitoring, supervising and rehabilitating some of the most vulnerable, chaotic and occasionally dangerous offenders is being sold to the likes of G4S, Serco, and possibly even worse (is that eve possible?) small third sector groups being put together as we speak.

They will manage 'low-to-medium risk of serious harm' offenders. For those who work in the criminal justice sector, you will know, and those who don't, you should know, that a large proportion of the 'medium risk of serious harm' go on to commit further violent offences; serious violent offences. Probation work extremely bloody hard to minimise this risk, using highly trained, experienced and dedicated officers, making constant, high level risk assessments every step of the way. These medium risk of serious harm offenders are now going to be managed by anyone that wants to put in a bid for services. They will have no idea how to recognise if a risk is increasing, let alone what to do about it!

These untrained teams will manage domestic abuse perpetrators, child protection issues, violent offenders, sex offenders, those at high risk of further offending such as prolific burglars, criminals who have convictions for carrying weapons, and more


There will be a tiny proportion of probation left to manage high risk offenders. And, apparantly, if a 'medium risk of serious harm' offender's risk increases they will be passed back to that team. Except. How the fuck will this untrained team of people know that the risk of harm has escalated to High risk of causing serious harm? And, well, then, it's probably too fucking late!

High risk of serious harm means = imminent risk of causing harm from which recovery will be difficult of impossible. imminent.

Chris Grayling is a prick. I know that is not intellectual, but fuck it, there are no other words that I feel comfortable sharing.

Anyway, there are 24,000 signatures on the e-petition. That is pathetic. There were more people signing the e-petition for allowing children to go on holiday, by at least 60,000. That is shocking.

Please, please sign it. Get your family, friends and work colleagues to sign it. If this happens, your streets will be far less safe than they are now. Your children will not be safe, and nor will their children.

save probation
another one hardly any signatures on that one!

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weregonnaneedasmallerPan · 19/09/2013 23:08

It's a dark day that's been coming.

Those who 'know' about this stuff know that 'serious further offences' AREN'T generally commited by High Risk people - they are closely supervised. It's exactly the low-medium risk people who do these things that Grayling wants to hand over to the private sector who will, naturally slash corners to save money.

This foolery is genuinely dangerous to the public, but as OP suggests, hindsight in a few years time will mean bugger all. We will just have more deaths and abused people to care for.

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PenguinSalute · 19/09/2013 23:14

So so glad to see this, thanks for raising awareness Pavlov

I work doing psychological interventions with these 'low/medium' risk offenders and can safely say they are much more likely to reoffend and affect the life of your average Joe Bloggs than the so-called high riskers. It makes me so angry that these plans are being snuck under people's noses, and have become Grayling's hideous flagship of reform.

I do however, find it hard to fight the apathy when we're told from the highest level that its happening, and quickly, no matter what...

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PavlovtheCat · 19/09/2013 23:14

exactly. high risk, closely supervised. medium risk will become unsupervised high risk. Not to mention the increase in crime generally, not just violent crime.

I am not scared for my own professional wellbeing. I am done. I am scared for the country I live in, having worked in the criminal justice sector for over 11 years, I can see where it's going. And it's not going to be pretty. It's going to be, exactly as you say. Dark.

And fucking quick. How on earth can private companies prepare themselves for something that the probation service started over a 100 years ago? How can they prepare themselves to hit the ground running by 2015? they are going to be bidding on contracts that are not even finalised, they don't even know what they are bidding to do yet, so how can they prepare for it? Even a little?

It's so scary it's unreal.

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PavlovtheCat · 19/09/2013 23:17

penguin but, it's because we have apathy that Grayling is doing this. There has been little resistance, the general public have little clue what probation do, unless they work in that field, for that field, have had contact with that field of work through being an offender, being a victim, being a family of an offender. If they don't understand what they are fighting for, how can they fight it?

And. I cannot just sit by and watch our country become a dangerous place to walk the streets in, even though it seems bleak and hopeless.

That is exactly where the government want us, with no fight left in us. Just accepting our fate as it is handed to us.

Fuck that.

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PavlovtheCat · 19/09/2013 23:20

"If we're stuck on this ship and it's sinking
Then we might as well have a parade
Cos if it's still going to hurt in the morning
And a better plan's set to get forming
Then where's the harm spending an evening
In manning the old barricades"

Always a place for a bit of Frank Turner Grin

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PavlovtheCat · 19/09/2013 23:22

penguin you really have to listen to some Frank Turner through headphones. Really, Fucking, Loud. He's great for a lifting the fighting spirit up I find!

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OhDearNigel · 19/09/2013 23:26

The Tories are dismantling the CJS as we know it, from the police to probation and every step inbetween. Ironic really from the Party Of Law and Order.

Working alongside CPS & HMCTS is like watching the Titanic sink, agonisingly slowly

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PenguinSalute · 19/09/2013 23:32

Oh Pavlov thank you, I feel like you've injected a bit of fighting spirit back into me where endless streams of Union emails have failed!

I just find it utterly horrifying the lies that are being paraded as fact in front of the public because most of them (luckily) have had very little to do with the justice system. Crazy. I can't get my head round the idea that 5 of my localish prisons are closing by the end of the year, with this 'super jail' not open until 2017. Where the fuck are they all going?!

And the idea that G4S and Serco's ongoing fraud investigations 'are not in conflict' with their bids, makes me just feel more than a bit stabby. I'm so conflicted, my loyalty is to the work I do, but I'll be fucked if I see G4S on the top of my payslip, I don't think DP would let me live it down!

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OhDearNigel · 19/09/2013 23:40

It's Progress doncha knowAngry

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PavlovtheCat · 19/09/2013 23:41

penguin I will not work for G4S. Not a fucking chance. But then, I live somewhere that they probably won't reach, as it's not financially viable for them to cook the books to be here. Large land mass, less people, than say London. The fact that they can bid when investigations for fraud are not concluded, it's almost even funny.

But what I do know is that the well established third sector groups in my area, the public sector organisations that are allowed to bid (Probation trusts are not even allowed to bid on these contracts, how about that?!!) they won't touch these bids with a bargepole, so the drug and alcohol support groups out there that already work with Probation for example who stand a vague chance of picking up some of these pieces, and already evidencing that they work with integrity and understanding, they are running for the hills away from this disaster. So it's going to leave chancers and unskilled people running the show.

And where are those prisoners going? Well, they will go back into the communities to be supervised by G4S, Serco, and whatever groups decide they want a slice of the pie as soon as they can! And before that, over to the ever dwindling 'us' as people jump ship...

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PavlovtheCat · 19/09/2013 23:52

penguin and I am glad I instilled a little fight. I expect the Union emails have less swear words in.

There is not enough anger in the unions. Why are there no strikes? If there was ever a reason to protest with banners, whistles and cups of cold coffee, this is it. Im not a big fan of strikes, I don't support them for any reason. They rarely solve anything are not usually anything close to successful; but for this, I will happily stand out there in the cold with my colleagues.

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PavlovtheCat · 20/09/2013 08:18
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PavlovtheCat · 20/09/2013 20:25

mnhq you need to spread this word too! your society being ripped apart too you know Wink not that I expect you to openly advertise your support! just signing the link will be enough...

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Joannasusan1 · 04/10/2013 17:33

I'm also a Probation Officer and am trying to start a campaign with women's groups against privatisation. I have contacted loads of groups, written to most Labour female MPs and Karl Turner, MP for Hull, is asking for a debate on women and TR in parliament. My MP is also asking, can everyone get their MP to as well as the speaker will be more likely to grant it the more MPs there are. I am also going to the lobby next week with Napo. We need a national campaign, maybe run by women who will be affected by G4S supervising most of those convicted of domestic abuse and sexual offending. I'm new to mumsnet and can't work out how to start a campaign, can you work with me, pavlovthecat and penguin and the rest?

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