- Conference
- 2022 Police & Justice Service Group Conference
- Date
- 27 June 2022
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes with concern how many Trainee Probation Officers (PQiPS) are reporting work place stress, feeling inadequately supported, going off sick and in the worst scenarios, abandoning their training.
The Probation Service has placed a huge financial investment into recruiting new trainee Probation Officers however, however have failed to ensure that there is enough support for these staff to be able to properly learn, develop and flourish in their new careers.
Training to be a Probation Officer requires not only the academic support from a university but also the input of a Practice Tutor Assessor, peer support and mentoring from their colleagues, an opportunity to experience different workplaces and working with different agencies. Trainees benefit from the the support and guidance of a Senior Probation Officer and the time and space to learn the multitude of policies and guidance which are inherent in the work we do. It also requires workloads to be properly protected during the training period and NQO period.
Without a whole staffing group that has time, space and manageable workloads how can we expect our trainee officers to succeed.
We call on the SGE to work with the employer in reaching an understanding that recruitment must be approached holistically, that we cannot talk about recruitment without thinking about retention. It is not enough to keep recruiting PQiPS if everyone else around them is buckling under the weight of unmanageable workloads and we require our trainee officers not only to join and thrive in our service but to see it as a long term career.