New
Home Office reforms of the probation service will place serious burdens on
probation officers, according to the GMB union.
The
‘Carter Reforms’ will unify the prison and probation services to create the
National Offender Management Service.
This
new body will be responsible for crime reduction, corrective punishment orders,
securing prison services and drug reduction/basic skills programmes.
The
union claims that the reforms will mean probation officers will have to
maintain the existing service and implement the new structure, as well as
having to worry about the impact of these ‘fundamental reforms’ on their jobs
and career prospects.
Mick
Graham, GMB public services national secretary, said that no one was more
committed to crime reduction and the rehabilitation of offenders than probation
officers themselves.
"The
Government repays them with job insecurity, constant reorganisation and even
fails to consult them on changes that will affect every aspect of their working
lives," he said.
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