Should I stay or should I go? What to do about the probation staffing crisis

Abstract

After the turbulence of years of reforms and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Probation Service for England and Wales, in common with other public sectors faces a staffing crisis. The latest workforce data released by HMPPS, and the MoJ in August 2023 shows that there has been an increase in staff working within the Probation Service over the past year (13.2%). This is largely due to the recruitment drive for new trainees and the expansion of the PQiP training programme, which has seen new providers come onstream. However, despite the opening up of the recruitment pipeline, the workforce statistics point to a continued shortfall in staffing numbers and a concerning trend of more experienced staff departing the service. The workforce data reports that the number of Probation Service Officers (PSOs) have increased by almost a fifth in the past year (19%), largely due to PQiP recruitment. However, the number of Probation Officers working in the service has decreased over the past year and follows a longer-term trend of the departure of more experienced staff. PQiP trainees work as PSOs during their training, so a proportion of the existing PSO cohort will transition to Probation Officer roles, but the issue of staff retention remains a concern. While the number of Senior Probation Officers (SPOs) has increased, there have been rising rates of PSO resignations over the past year and there is still a substantial shortfall in the number of Probation Officers required: