is of a 10% drop in the number of offenders given community sentences despite the justice secretary relying on their greater use to help stabilise and reduce the prison population. The judiciary voices concerns about the partial and unsuccessful privatisation of the probation service, the inefficiencies and failures of many CRCs leading to a lack of confidence in making community sentences to be supervised by them, cases reported of infrequent contacts with offenders and by telephone, little relationship between the judiciary and CRCs,.... and a general belief that suspended sentences with treatment options are a better bet.
TR: the greatest mistake since Noah took the two woodworm onto the Ark.
As my membership of Napo slips away from me, and I await the plug being pulled on my member access to this Forum, I recall the ubiquitous aphorism which I used to see on noticeboards and walls of practitioners:
Reorganisation
We trained hard; but it seems that every time that we were beginning to form into a team we would be reorganised. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising, and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation.
The quote was always attributed to Caius/Gaius Petronius although we now that that this is untrue; its author was Charlton Ogburn Jnr about 1958.
I can't be sure of the date when I will be denied access but it will be in the next few weeks. I hope that my contributions to this Forum have shown some nous and perhaps even some rigour from time to time; and appreciated by some whilst being ignored by Napo. Incidentally, it was disappointing to see the non-word Xmas appearing from Napo. The word is Christmas. My Christian friends tell me that taking the Christ out of the word Christmas is offensive to them. I agree. We as trade unionists and as people should be showing respect to all faiths (as the law requires).