Staffing problems in the prison and probation service continue (summer 2024)

Probation staff

The total number of probation officers can be found in the infographic above (don't be fooled by the big jump in April 2021, this simply reflects the winding down of the Community Rehabilitation Companies and the return of staff to the public sector).

As at 30 June 2024, there were 5,908 full-time pay grade 3 probation officers in service, a decrease of 844 full-time employees (12.5%) on the previous year and a slight increase of 50 full-time employees (0.9%) on the quarter. In 2023/24, we have seen a lower number of probation officer trainees starting their training compared to 2022/23 (543 in 2023/24 compared to 1,514 in 2022/23), which has contributed to this net decrease. One factor contributing to the net decrease in probation officer trainees is the qualifications of probation officer trainees, with many Qualified Probation Officers entering into positions at Pay Grade 4 for Qualified Probation Officers.

There were 5,160 full-time equivalent probation officers in pay group 4, an increase of 533 full-time equivalents (11.5%) compared to the previous year, but a decrease of 178 full-time equivalents (3.3%) compared to the previous quarter.

In addition, there were 1,493 full-time probation officers in salary group 5, a slight increase of 18 (1.2%) from the previous year and no significant change since the last quarter.

Last year (as of June 30), 2,357 people left probation (an increase of 10.6 percent compared to the previous year).

On average, probation officers were on sick leave for 12.9 days per year, which is 0.3 days more than in the previous year.

Diploma

With increasing pressure on prison and probation staff, the Government must find a way to reduce demand on current staff to ensure enough people can remain in service while recruitment drives continue. The scale of this challenge can hardly be overestimated.

Many thanks to Andy Aitchison for kindly allowing me to use the header image in this post. You can see Andy's work Here