Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2024 22:33:32 GMT
..Will Have ‘Catastrophic Effect’ on Public Safety, Union Warns
And this coupled with releasing offenders from prison to ease overcrowding?
Will Labour reverse this policy that I presume the Tories initiated?
New plans to cut the salaries of specialist probation officers who manage the risk of sex offenders could have a “catastrophic” effect on public safety, unions warn.
Sex offenders in England and Wales are often required to take part in Horizon, a programme designed to reduce their risk of reoffending. Around 1 in 10 sex offenders go on to commit a similar crime.
The programme is facilitated by specialised officers, many of whom have decades of experience working with sex offenders, but the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has decided the role will drop from band 4 to band 3 for new recruits from 1 August 2024, which will result in a pay cut of up to £10,000.
Facilitators will no longer be required to be qualified probation officers, which comes with two years’ training, including risk management and risk assessment.
Around 93% of Horizon facilitators think the public will be at increased risk following these changes, according to an internal survey of members of the union Napo seen by Byline Times.
These changes are like “putting the teaching assistants in charge of the school,” says Laura, a specialist probation officer with experience facilitating and managing these programmes. Laura, (not her real name) added that it takes a lot of experience to be able to idenitfy the signs that someone may reoffend.
“People with 10 to 20 years’ experience are really good at picking up on the signs when someone is becoming risky,” the specialist probation officer says. “And we have a degree-level qualification in managing risk.
Sex offenders in England and Wales are often required to take part in Horizon, a programme designed to reduce their risk of reoffending. Around 1 in 10 sex offenders go on to commit a similar crime.
The programme is facilitated by specialised officers, many of whom have decades of experience working with sex offenders, but the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has decided the role will drop from band 4 to band 3 for new recruits from 1 August 2024, which will result in a pay cut of up to £10,000.
Facilitators will no longer be required to be qualified probation officers, which comes with two years’ training, including risk management and risk assessment.
Around 93% of Horizon facilitators think the public will be at increased risk following these changes, according to an internal survey of members of the union Napo seen by Byline Times.
These changes are like “putting the teaching assistants in charge of the school,” says Laura, a specialist probation officer with experience facilitating and managing these programmes. Laura, (not her real name) added that it takes a lot of experience to be able to idenitfy the signs that someone may reoffend.
“People with 10 to 20 years’ experience are really good at picking up on the signs when someone is becoming risky,” the specialist probation officer says. “And we have a degree-level qualification in managing risk.
And this coupled with releasing offenders from prison to ease overcrowding?
Will Labour reverse this policy that I presume the Tories initiated?