One thousand probation officers recruited by MoJ

The Ministry of Justice has announced that more than 1,000 new trainee probation officers have been recruited to bolster the vital work the Probation Service does to cut crime and protect the public, meeting a government target set last July.

The 1,007 new recruits, a record number for a single year in the history of probation, will allow staff to keep an even closer eye on offenders, including the most dangerous, and prevent more people from becoming victims.

Probation officers supervise offenders leaving prison on licence and those serving community sentences. They protect the public by meeting regularly with offenders and ensuring they are complying with the conditions of their release from prison or sentence and not committing crime. Where offenders have been released from prison and breach their conditions or commit further offences, probation officers have the power to recall them back to prison, helping to cut crime and protect the public.

Increased staffing in the Probation Service means  probation officers will be able to supervise fewer offenders, and be better able to use their professional skills and legal powers to help stop offenders from committing more crime.

Prisons and Probation Minister Alex Chalk said: “Probation officers are unsung crime fighters, sending offenders back to prison if they breach their licence conditions, and helping others turn their lives around so that they don’t commit more crime. These new recruits are a key part of our plan to make the country safer, alongside 20,000 more police officers, tougher sentences and the building of 18,000 new prison places.”

The government has also stated that public safety will be boosted further later this month when the supervision of low and medium risk offenders comes back under public sector control, meaning that probation officers will be able to devote more time to the most high-risk offenders.