Approved Premises are residential units providing a temporary placement in the community for high-risk and complex offenders and offering enhanced supervision and rehabilitative support to individuals following their release from prison.
They have two main roles: to help rehabilitate and resettle some of the most serious offenders and to make sure that the public are protected during an individual’s early months in the community.
Our core inspection of probation delivery units has uncovered concerns in the delivery of work to protect the public, yet there is currently no routine inspection of the work that APs deliver. Although we have undertaken thematic inspections, most recently in 2017, we want to provide independent oversight of the arrangements for managing those individuals who pose a higher risk of serious harm.
Our focus through these inspections will be on how well APs protect the public and promote rehabilitation. We will look at whether they do so in an environment that is safe, governed and led effectively and staffed by people who are skilled, motivated, and supported to do a good job.
We published a consultation on this upcoming work in July 2024 and will be sharing our response and next steps soon.