Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation has published a report that looks at the experiences of black, Asian and minority ethnic people in probation services – both as service users and staff.
The Inspectorate found:
- probation officers are failing to speak to service users about their race, ethnicity and cultural background, and are not tailoring services accordingly
- there is no national strategy for the delivery of services to ethnic minority individuals on probation
- urgent improvements are needed to rebuild trust with ethnic minority probation staff, especially around promotions, complaints and grievances.
The Inspectorate has made 15 recommendations, with the aim of achieving greater racial equality in probation.
HM Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “Probation services will be unified in England and Wales at the end of June. This is an important opportunity to reset and raise the standard of work with ethnic minority service users and staff.”
- Read and share the Race equality in probation report.
- Follow HM Inspectorate of Probation on Twitter.
A presentation about the Race equality in probation report will be posted on HM Inspectorate of Probation’s YouTube channel towards the end of the week.