In England and Wales, probation officers have turned down a modest pay offer and withdrawn their willingness to work overtime, a quiet refusal that speaks to a deeper strain in how the state keeps its promises after prison doors open. The union Napo points to a government plan to release prisoners early, a plan that relies on already-stretched supervisors to watch over those returning to the community. Both sides insist they are protecting the public, the union by warning of exhaustion and the government by promising new recruits and contingency plans. What comes next will show whether the pro
Probation officers vote to reject 5% pay rise and refuse overtime amid early release pressures
More than 2,000 people freed in about six weeks
Mark
Why does a pay vote in probation matter to people outside the service?
Mimi
Because early release leans on probation. Over 2,000 people have been freed since 1 October, and officers are the ones monitoring them in the community.
Mark
What exactly are the officers doing on 23 November?
Mimi
They'll refuse overtime. Napo says strikes could follow if it deems that necessary, but that isn't decided.
Luke
Worth noting the claim that the service was already in crisis is the union's. The reporting backs the pressure on caseloads only as warnings from unions.
Mimi
True. The government's answer is a strong offer and 1,300 extra officers to cut workloads.
Mark
Does the article say when those officers arrive?
Luke
No. That's a gap. We don't know the timeline or whether 1,300 is net of people leaving.
Mark
And the tagging issue?
Mimi
An inspectorate report in September found almost half of tags weren't fitted on time. That's independent of the union.
Luke
Right, but it doesn't tell us what happened to those individuals or whether it has improved since. The contingency plans are also unspecified.
Mark
So the real test is June?
Mimi
The biggest cohort, 250 prisoners serving more than 12 years, is due out on 9 June, so yes, that's the horizon.
El Pulso
- Probation members have rejected a 5% pay rise and will refuse overtime from 23 November, with full strikes still on the table.
- Over 2,000 offenders have been released in roughly six weeks, and the union says the service was already in crisis before the scheme began.
- The Ministry of Justice counters with an offer it calls strong, a recruitment drive for 1,300 officers, and contingency plans to keep supervision rigorous.
- Inspectors found almost half of electronic tags were not fitted on time, leaving a gap in monitoring at the exact moment caseloads are rising.
- The pressure peaks with about 250 long-sentence prisoners due out on 9 June, and everyone is watching whether recruitment and tagging catch up in time.
In England and Wales, probation officers have turned down a modest pay offer and withdrawn their willingness to work overtime, a quiet refusal that speaks to a deeper strain in how the state keeps its promises after prison doors open. The union Napo points to a government plan to release prisoners early, a plan that relies on already-stretched supervisors to watch over those returning to the community. Both sides insist they are protecting the public, the union by warning of exhaustion and the government by promising new recruits and contingency plans. What comes next will show whether the promised reinforcements arrive before the largest releases in June.
Probation officers in England and Wales have voted to reject a 5% pay rise and to stop working overtime from 23 November. The members of Napo, their union, say the decision is a response to the strain of the government's early release scheme. That scheme depends on probation staff to supervise prisoners once they return to the community, and the union believes the service was already under heavy pressure before the releases began.
The releases have come in waves. On 1 October, 700 offenders were freed, followed by two further groups of 650 on 13 October and 10 November. Nine more groups are expected over the next seven months, and the later cohorts will include people who received longer sentences. The general secretary, Ian Lawrence, says staff have tried hard to carry out the early release schemes brought in by both the current and previous governments, but they have been asked to do so with too few people and too few resources.
The Ministry of Justice has pushed back. It says it has made a strong offer and is recruiting 1,300 extra officers to reduce workloads, and that contingency plans will keep supervision rigorous even if industrial action goes ahead. Electronic tags are meant to help monitor those released, but a September inspection found that almost half were not fitted on time.
The next test is whether the new officers arrive in time to ease caseloads and whether the tagging problems are fixed before the largest releases, including about 250 long-sentence prisoners, are due on 9 June.
Probation officers in England and Wales have voted to turn down a 5% pay rise and to stop working overtime from 23 November. Members of Napo, the probation service union, made the decision. They pointed to the pressure created by the government's scheme to release prisoners early, which depends on probation staff to supervise those freed once they are back in the community.
The overtime ban is the first step. The union has said it could move to strike action if it decides that option is necessary. Its general secretary, Ian Lawrence, said the service was already in crisis before the early release scheme began.
The releases have come in waves. On 1 October, 700 eligible offenders originally sentenced to up to 19 months were let out. Two further groups of 650 prisoners followed, on 13 October and 10 November. That is more than 2,000 people freed in about six weeks. Nine more groups are expected to leave prison over the next seven months, and the later cohorts will include inmates who received longer sentences. About 250 prisoners serving more than 12 years are due out on 9 June.
The government brought in the scheme because prisons were dangerously close to capacity. Napo says the effect has been to add fresh strain to a probation service that was already stretched. Unions in the sector have warned for some time that officers carry too many cases, and that the rate at which staff are leaving the profession has risen.
Lawrence said staff had tried desperately to put into practice the early release schemes brought in by both the current Labour government and the previous Conservative one. But they had been asked to do so, he said, with inadequate staff and a lack of resources.
The Ministry of Justice has defended its position. A spokesperson said the government had made a strong offer and was recruiting an extra 1,300 officers to significantly cut workloads. The spokesperson added that robust contingency plans were in place, so that offenders would still be subject to the same rigorous supervision if industrial action went ahead.
The government has also said that electronic tags and probation intervention will help manage those freed early. The Probation Service uses electronic monitoring to track curfews and the conditions of a court or prison order, and most of those now eligible for early release require a tag. But a September report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation found that almost half of the tags used to track offenders' movements were not fitted on time.
What to watch now is whether the promised 1,300 extra officers arrive in time to ease caseloads, and whether the tagging delays flagged by inspectors are fixed, before the larger releases scheduled through to 9 June.
Citas Notables
The service was already in crisis before the early release scheme came into force.— Ian Lawrence, Napo general secretary
The government has put forward a strong offer and is recruiting an extra 1,300 officers to significantly cut workloads.— Ministry of Justice spokesperson
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