Recommendation 198

Throughout our inquiry, we heard that the Probation Service is facing a range of challenges. It suffers from staff shortages, resulting in unmanageable caseloads, and its mission is being questioned as its focus has shifted from the supervision of low-level offenders to the protection of the public against high-risk criminals. It also comes under criticism for the decline in the number and quality of pre-sentence reports it produces. This affects whether community orders are imposed, as well as their effectiveness. We review these challenges in this chapter. Staffing issues