May 28, 2005: Probation Performance Achieves New Record

A culture of performance measurement with a framework of targets has gripped the public sector, not least the criminal justice system. The National Probation Service (NPS) has been part of that culture. The NPS has just released up-to-date information on its performance in 2004/05. Performance Report 16 indicates that almost every target for performance is achieved.

• In terms of enforcement, 87% of cases monitored between April 2004 and March 2005 were enforced within 10 days, in accordance with National Standards for the Supervision of Offenders In the Community. (National Standards provide the minimum provision that the National Offender Manager will expect for offenders under supervision. The current national standards, effective from 4th April 2005, have been designed to reflect the establishment of the National Offender Management Service, and the 2003 Criminal Justice Act.)
• In terms of compliance, 2004/05's cumulative figure was 79%, compared with the target of 70% for all orders and licences. In other words, nearly 8 out of 10 offenders are still in acceptable contact with their NPS supervisor after 6 months' supervision. (This includes those offenders who have been breached by the NPS but where the court has allowed the order to continue.)
• In terms of Offending Behaviour Programmes, a total of 15,595 programmes were completed in 2004/05 (the original 15,000 target was therefore beaten by 4%.)
• In terms of Enhanced Community Punishment, 38,473 completions were achieved, 28% above target.
• In terms of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs), 10,322 DTTOs commenced in 2004/05 meaning that 79% of the 13,000 target on commencements was met. This is against a target that has increased by 44% since last year. Over 1,800 more starts were achieved in 2004/05 than in 2003/04.
  In terms of Basic Skills, 34,199 offenders commenced basic skills courses in 2004/05, 7% above the 32,000 target.
• In terms of victims of crime, in the first 9 months of the the year 2004/05, 93% of victims were contacted within the 8-week standard.

Given this record of achievement, it is hardly surprising that probation union Napo's General Secretary Judy McKnight poses the following question about contestability in her weblog:

"So why do politicians continue to assert that contestabilty is necessary to increase performance in the public sector?"

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