Probation hostels in England and Wales forced to shut after staffing crisis | Prisons and probation
Almost one in ten parole hostels in England and Wales, where the most dangerous offenders live after leaving prison, have been closed following a staffing crisis.
As ministers prepared for the early release of thousands of prisoners in September, a leaked memo revealed that “staff shortages” had led to the temporary closure of heavily inspected “approved facilities”.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed that nine of the 105 approved facilities are currently closed. Officials confirmed that untrained security guards sometimes had to replace probation staff. It is unclear when any of the closed hostels will reopen.
The developments come after the government refused to rule out the early release of violent rapists and pedophiles among the 6,000 men set to be released in early September.
Responding to the findings, HM probation inspector Martin Jones said the public was being put in danger by closing approved facilities and failing to ensure staff were appropriately trained.
“Approved facilities are where people at highest risk go after evacuation and it is vital that you have as much space for them as possible and that you have the right staff in place.
“If your security guards are doing their job, there is a big risk that things will go wrong and the public will be endangered. The government needs to fix this,” he said.
Approved facilities, or probation hostels, supervise around 2,000 offenders in England and Wales who are considered too dangerous to be released back into society.
Residents often have drug and alcohol problems and complex mental health needs. They stay in hostels for about eight to 12 weeks and can be recalled to prison if they refuse to submit to drug and alcohol tests or have their rooms searched.
Staff are required to monitor residents with rapid enforcement needed to stop violent incidents, self-harm, and overdoses.
But insiders said high stress levels, combined with the expiration of contracts with private companies Sodexo and OCS, which provide nightly staff protection at hostels, had led to a staffing crisis.
A probation manager said: “They’ve known this was coming for 18 months, we’ve had no support in recruiting staff. The closures mean dangerous men can’t get beds, someone’s going to get hurt because there’s no hostel beds somewhere.”
Another insider said: “There’s no room for error, you’re surrounded by high-risk people, many of whom are trying to harm themselves or others. It’s a stressful situation and leads to many staff taking leave due to stress-related illnesses.”
Senior public officials have been briefed on staffing issues at approved facilities. In an email to staff in May, Michelle Jarman-Howe, interim chief operating officer of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), wrote: “I would like to acknowledge recent staffing challenges which have at times led to the temporary closure of some approved facilities. I know how hard my colleagues have worked during this period and have often stepped in at short notice and done their best to maintain safe services.”
Probation officers’ union Napo sent a survey to 21 staff working in hostels last month. They found that 16 had witnessed security guards monitoring work often carried out by probation staff.
Ian Lawrence, Napo’s general secretary, said: “We are seeing more closures due to a property that is not fit for purpose, long delays in vetting new staff and a poorly managed process to bring private provider staff into the home.
“Our approved facility land needs significant investment if it is to provide much-needed accommodation for people leaving prison at high risk of harm.
“The use of security guards to fill gaps in staffing is completely unacceptable as these individuals are neither trained nor employed to work with people on probation.”
Recent inspections by the probation watchdog have revealed serious problems at approved facilities.
“Serious safety concerns” were raised at Weston AP in Weymouth, Dorset, after staff failed to complete checks on residents at high risk of overdose, basic processes for tackling suicide and self-harm were not followed and faulty CCTV cameras were found.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman confirmed that the probation unit continues to use security guards at the last minute to fill staffing vacancies.
They said: “While a number of facilities have been temporarily closed, we have increased the total number of beds in approved facilities to accommodate the highest risk offenders and ensure the safety of the public.
“Approved facilities are just one of the ways we manage offenders in the community. We have invested a record £700 million in probation and community services so we can increase tough controls on offenders released from custody, including punitive restrictions on their movements and 24-hour monitoring through tags.”
