Agenda item

Update from the NPS and CRC on:

·         Performance overview

·         Follow up to the North Quadrant HMIP inspection

·         Recent developments

·         Horizon scan

·         Other updates

Clare Ansdell, Interim Head of Service for NPS London, updated the Board.

·         Figures over the past year from the North Quadrant HM Inspector of Probation, showed that the number of people offending in Barnet, Brent and Enfield had reduced, but those offenders were committing a greater number of crimes. Final figures for Barnet would be available at the end of October. The Barnet, Brent and Enfield cluster continued to be in the top three performing clusters in NPS London.

The latest statistics for the 2014 cohort were available on the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) website. A borough-by-borough breakdown of offences and analysis of offending trends should be available shortly.

The rise in the number of knife-related crimes amongst young men was a cause for great concern.

·         The latest NPS inspection had revealed that there was room for improvement in Barnet.

·         A piece of work was being carried out on women offenders; half were currently in custody. Barnet’s figures were similar to Brent and Enfield’s. 

·         Barnet had a higher proportion of sex offenders than the two other boroughs (383); this was significantly above average. There was no identifiable reason and this was felt to be nothing more than general variation.

·         None of the child safeguarding alerts had been in Barnet but lessons could still be learnt to ensure more robust working. All NPS staff were completing mandatory training in child safeguarding.

·         The biggest challenge in relation to offenders was the provision of stable housing.

·         There was a focus on improving and establishing best practice in relation to recall and working with recalled offenders and the bar had been raised substantially higher for recall to be considered and approved by the PPCS.

·         MASH continued to be successful; a version of MASH for adults had therefore been proposed and was being considered.   

·         Hendon Magistrates Court would move to Willesden on 1 December. This could be challenging for the NPS with no representation in Hendon.

·         Resourcing for women’s services was a challenge – mainly due to a lack of accommodation.

·         Staffing was a challenge, with around 80% of posts filled; the cost of housing was a major factor. A Housing Advice Worker, provided by the Single Homeless project (SHP) for Barnet Probation, had been appointed though this was a very limited project.

·         The Personality Disorder Programme had been successful but often problems occurred when people moved on.

·         Many offenders were using the Through the Gate Resettlement Services.

Aveen Gardiner, Area Manager for North London Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), updated the Board.

·         A change plan was underway following a red alert for CRC London at the inspection in 2016. Improvements had already been demonstrated;  inspections were held every 7 weeks.

·         Ms Gardiner agreed to provide figures on community payback as well as a breakdown of the boroughs at the next meeting.  [ACTION]

·         560 offenders were currently on licence in Barnet. Enforcement had been shown to be inadequate and the CRC was improving this. A new IT system was being used to closely monitor what CRC employees were doing in relation to enforcement. Officers were also being retrained in offender management, with the aim of reducing reoffending. Ms Gardiner would share this data when published in early 2018.  [ACTION]

·         Ms Vagarwal noted that a subgroup of the Safer Communities Partnership Board (SCPB) - the Reducing Reoffending Delivery Group (RRDG) - had been set up and would be responsible for the oversight and delivery of the strategic objectives and the performance of the integrated offender management (IOM) scheme in Barnet. The RRDG would meet bi-monthly and would be accountable to the Board. It was hoped that a CRC representative could join the RRDG and jointly the performance indicators could be looked at.

·         Ms Gardiner noted that the CRC would continue to produce standard reports but specific information for Barnet could be requested; this was due to the limited means CRC had for reporting across 32 boroughs. She offered to feed back the data Barnet requested. Requests could also be made through Ms Ansdell.

The Chairman asked when an outline of the inspection could be brought to the Board. Ms Ansdell reported that oral feedback would be give to the NPS I December and a draft report would be available in February 218. She would report to the Board after this. [ACTION]