Our 2030 Strategic Plan
This year marks 90 years of probation inspection and, as we prepare to mark that milestone, it is an important time to look to the future of HM Inspectorate of Probation.
To do this, my team and I have been developing a new Strategic Plan for the Inspectorate. One that is focused on challenging and supporting the organisations we inspect to drive meaningful improvement where it matters most – delivering better outcomes for the people and communities they serve.
My vision for our next five years is simple. Everything we do must create real impact.
I want us to be confident our findings support progress across every programme, never hinder or cause harm, and that our work positively shapes the wider public and political conversation about probation, youth justice and the criminal justice system.
To achieve this, we must keep testing ourselves through clear measures of success, always asking: What difference are we making, and how can we strengthen that impact even further?
Our strategic objectives have been set out to ensure we reach our goals:
- Impact: We will drive improvement by applying evidence-based standards, publishing findings, and monitoring progress of recommendations.
- Reach – We will shape national policy and direction through research, engagement, and sharing effective practice.
- Legitimacy – We are seen as a credible expert voice to set standards and support change in the justice sector.
We know the criminal justice system will continue to change over the next five years, with reforms across probation, prisons, youth justice, and courts. Despite these changes, the core purpose of probation and youth justice services remains the same: to change lives, keep people safe, and to deliver the sentence of the court.
This Strategic Plan sets out how we will support this journey and, through dynamic scrutiny and improvement, we will continue to work towards the delivery of our vision – high-quality probation and youth justice services that change people’s lives for the better.