England: Probation to be renationalised after serious failures

England: Probation to be renationalised after serious failures

The probation service in England and Wales is to be brought back into the public sector after a watchdog highlighted serious failings in the partly-privatised system.

In a report published in March, the National Audit Office (NAO) said problems with the major reforms implemented in 2014 had cost taxpayers nearly £500 million.

All offenders will be once again be monitored by the publicly-owned National Probation Office from December 2020, BBC News reports.

Justice Secretary David Gauke said the system introduced by his predecessor, Chris Grayling, “isn’t working as we need it to work”.

Mr Grayling’s reforms saw probation services handed over to 21 regional Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), which were run by the private sector from 2015 onwards.

The reforms were designed to “turn the tide” on reoffending rates, which Mr Grayling said “have been high for too long”.

However, the National Audit Office said the reforms were “rushed” and the number of offenders returned to prison for breach of licence conditions had “skyrocketed”.

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