The Probation Service “has too few staff, with too little experience and training, managing too many cases”

Chief Inspector of Probation, Martin Jones CBE, said:

“Since becoming Chief Inspector of Probation in March 2024, I have seen the dedication and hard work of probation staff. I know the work carried out by the Probation Service is of critical importance, and I commend those working on the frontline, who are sometimes performing heroics, working under increasing pressure to deliver services which are of critical importance.

“However, I continue to emphasise that the Probation Service currently has too few staff, with too little experience and training, managing too many cases. While it has been positive to see that recruitment efforts by HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) are gradually closing the gap between actual and target staffing numbers in most regions, vacancies are still too high – especially at Probation Officer grade. 

“My main area of concern is the work to manage risk of harm and keep others safe. We have found this to be consistently insufficient across all our inspections, where work undertaken to protect actual or potential victims needs to improve considerably, and I hope to see improvements to this area of work over the coming year. Positively, I would like to call attention to the high standard our inspections saw in the small number of statutory victim cases for the most serious offenses – all three regions have had this work rated as ‘Outstanding’.”

“I now await the outcome of the Sentencing Review, if it follows the evidence, must inevitably result in the redrawing of boundaries between prison and the community. Implemented carefully, this could ensure we have a more sustainable system with lower reoffending rates. However, to succeed, any reforms to sentencing must ensure the Probation Service is properly resourced to be able to deal with the cases it is required to manage. A service which is under-resourced and over-stretched will not be able to provide the effective service that the public and victims need.”

Key findings

• During the reporting period (February 2024 to February 2025), the Inspectorate completed inspections of three regions – all rated ‘Requires improvement’, and inspected 24 PDUs – rating 10 as ‘Requires improvement’ and 14 as ‘Inadequate’.
• PDU inspections found work undertaken to protect actual or potential victims needed to improve considerably. Work to keep others safe has consistently been the least sufficient area of practice at all stages of sentence management.  
• Our inspections assess whether high-quality, personalised, and responsive services are delivered to promote desistance – we rated all three regions as ‘Inadequate’ in supporting people on probation to change.
• We consistently found staffing problems across PDUs, reflecting national challenges, which impacted the quality of work to support people on probation and protect victims. Despite increased recruitment by HMPPS, all three inspected regions continued to face major staff shortages, particularly at the Probation Officer (PO) grade.
• Despite strong central direction from HMPPS, competing priorities and resource constraints have led to inconsistent support for women. Interventions tailored to women are available but not widely implemented, and there has been no systematic evaluation of their effectiveness.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) replaced Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the National Probation Service (NPS), which merged into a unified Probation Service in June 2021.
2. This report is available on our website on 18 March 2025 00.01.
3. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales.
4. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. An Inspectorate rates specific aspects of each service and also gives an overall rating.
5. For media enquiries, please contact media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)