PRT comment: PAC report on the Probation Service

Commenting on today’s Public Accounts Committee report ‘Efficiency and resilience of the Probation Service’, Alex Hewson, Senior Policy and Communications Officer at the Prison Reform Trust said:

“Today’s report makes clear that, after years of turbulent reforms, the Probation Service is now facing unsustainable pressures: declining performance, chronic staff shortages, a loss of experienced practitioners, and rising caseloads.

“It is welcome that the government recognises it cannot build its way out of the current capacity crisis, and that greater use of effective community sentences is essential. The Sentencing Act should help reduce the number of people sent to prison on short sentences, which have some of the highest rates of reoffending. But we have repeatedly warned that efforts to ease the pressure on prisons must not simply shift that burden onto an overstretched Probation Service.

“Although additional investment is promised, the challenge now is ensuring the Probation Service has the staff, skills, and resources to safely manage the increased numbers under community supervision. A long‑overdue shift towards effective community sentencing will only succeed if probation is equipped to deliver it. These vital reforms cannot be allowed to falter because the service is being asked to do too much, with too little.”