Tomorrow 22nd October will see the release of approximately 1100 prisoners at the 40% stage of their sentence. The first tranche of SDS40 releases placed a huge amount of additional work on Probation staff across England and Wales. This continues as even more work has been involved in preparing for the second tranche of releases. As Napo feared would be the case, our members have reported that a significant number of those released so far have been already been recalled to custody. We call on HMPPS to be clear to the public about the results of the first tranche of the SDS40 scheme, for instance how many people have been recalled or committed serious further offences. It is important that this is monitored and reported on throughout the lifetime of this scheme, for all those released under these provisions.
SDS40 is less flawed than the End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) scheme it replaced but not without serious issues, and both fundamentally involve the trading off of the need to reduce the prison population with public safety. Napo are clear that these schemes are desperate, insufficient and temporary patches. The most effective, long-term solution to prison overcrowding is a significant, fully funded expansion of the use of community sentences, with a public Probation Service at it's heart (and no place for private profit), as the main outcome of the Government's planned sentencing review.
However, Napo members are reporting that they are still feeling the strain of the first tranche of releases in September, with relatively high rates of recall being reported as a direct result of some people left homeless for days or weeks post-release because of a lack of housing.
The second tranche of SDS 40 will see some prisoners serving sentences of five years or more released a minimum of six months early. This means a minimum six month’s additional supervision on the already excessive workloads of Probation staff.
Ian Lawrence General Secretary said: “Our members are at breaking point trying to cope with the pressures of SDS 40 on top of the workloads crisis in Probation caused by uncompetitive pay and thousands of unfilled vacancies across all regions of the Probation Service.”
Napo believes that SDS 40 is a short-term fix which will inevitably cause more problems in the long run. The union is calling for the government to undertake a holistic review of its sentencing policy which currently sees too many people remanded into custody with sentences getting longer and longer.
The union is also demanding an urgent care package for the probation service which includes additional funding that can drive meaningful recruitment and retention of staff.
Napo is also campaigning for probation to be taken out of the civil service and embedded in the local community it serves. This is vital for the long-term survival of probation which is currently being suffocated by centrally driven bureaucracy within HMPPS.