Tag Archives: probation

Cara Jenkinson

Opinion: Are we transforming rehabilitation?

By Cara Jenkinson | Thu 12th February 2015 - 3:26 pm

On Tuesday the London ‘Standard’ had the depressing headline “Rioters in new crime wave”. According to official statistics 1593 of the 3914 people charged or cautioned by the Met following the riots in August 2011 have since reoffended.

At our Autumn Conference in the month following the riots, I raised concerns as a Haringey magistrate that a knee-jerk approach was being taken to sentencing, with courts sitting overnight, dishing out custodial sentences as fast as they could. Prisons became overcrowded, sometimes with three prisoners sharing a cell meant for one; and precious little rehabilitation was going on.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 4 Comments
Cara Jenkinson

Opinion: If we remove prison as an option for drugs possession, savings must go to boost probation service

By Cara Jenkinson | Mon 18th August 2014 - 1:29 pm

Wormwood Scrubs prison - Some rights reserved by TheGooglyAs a magistrate in North London, I welcome the recent Liberal Democrat proposal to remove prison as a sentencing option for drug possession. I have seen so many defendants who are in and out of prison, never breaking the depressing cycle of re-offending. However to keep drug addicts out of prison we will need to make sure that the alternatives work.

Currently it is very rare that first time offenders accused of drug possession would be sent to prison With first time offenders, the …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 10 Comments
Andrew Neilson

Opinion: The future of the probation service

By Andrew Neilson | Wed 23rd February 2011 - 3:27 pm

In 2004, the last government merged the prison and probation services into one gigantic super-agency: the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). The changes exacted by NOMS have led to the systematic fragmentation and demoralisation of probation, whose purpose has been altered beyond all recognition.

Unrepresented at the highest management structure of NOMS, neglected and misrepresented, the probation service has for years plodded along in the shadows, only to be thrust into the limelight when the spotlight fell on individual tragedies amid media frenzies.

The creation of NOMS bought with it the mantra of ‘managerialism.’ Staff at all levels experienced a loss …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | Leave a comment
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Jana
    I’m not sure about what is taught south of the border but most Scottish pupils are taught politics and some international relations as part of their upper pri...
  • theakes
    But we have to attack them and not be generous in any way otherwise they will eventually see us off under different leadership....
  • Mick Taylor
    When the Victorians wanted to build a railway, a canal, a sewerage system etc, they gave all the necessary permissions, compulsory purchase orders, financial au...
  • Pawel Urbanski
    @Jana thank you, and fair challenge. You are right that "unearned" is the wrong word if it sounds like a verdict on effort. Beckham earned his money and paid in...
  • Jana
    @Nonconformistradical “What makes young people violent in the first place? This is the nature/ nurture question. Some think people are born ‘good’ and...