- Conference
- 2014 Police & Justice Conference
- Date
- 26 June 2014
- Decision
- Carried
It is Chris Graylings ideological view that private companies can run the probation service better than it is currently being run and he somehow believes that inexperienced private companies and their untrained staff can reduce reoffending in a very short period of time.
This proposal is not just due to austerity this is yet another attack from the ConDem government on the Probation Service and the justice system as a whole.
These cuts are an attempt by the coalition government to reverse years of improvement that have been achieved by the probation service. The lie that Chris Grayling and his Government cronies trot out to justify the privatisation ignore the fact that the rate of reoffending has dropped year on year for the criminals referred to the Service.
The Probation Service may be small in numbers but not in their ability to performance and exceed all targets set out by the Government which has been achieved with a continuously shrinking workforce and within tight budgetary restraints.
The Probation Service nationally has won awards and been recognised as a leading light in the criminal justice system and the rehabilitation of offenders for many years.
Why would anyone or Government want to privatise an award winning Service thus hitting a vital part of the criminal justice system?
We call on conference to urge our Service Group Executive and National Executive Council (NEC) to provide resources and support to take this challenge up locally, regionally and nationally together we can fight this and keep probation public.