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‘Sentencing is for sentencers’. How often have you heard me say that? Even if it sounds over-familiar, I have no doubt that we will always agree on the principle. The usual context is to do with out-of-court disposals but this month I am thinking about sentencing and our very heavy responsibility every time we make a sentencing decision. We cannot hand that responsibility to anyone else, but it is right for us to be helped in reaching the decision, both through factual information and professional advice. Prosecution, defence and legal adviser all have their part to play, but in our decision on the most appropriate sentence the critical source of information is often probation.
Over the past few years the probation service has gone through enormous changes – and the list that follows does not attempt to be exhaustive. On top of the ever present concern over resources, they have gone through the creation of the National Probation Service, the appearance of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), the long drawn out passage of the Offender Management Act, the creation of the Ministry of Justice, a change of view over the role of NOMS, the emergence of Directors of Offender Management (DOMs) and in addition to all this they are now starting the transition from boards to trusts. I think most of us would agree that morale has suffered and – worst of all – that close links between probation and sentencers at local level have weakened. In the past, at national level, the Magistrates’ Association and the Association of Chief Officers of Probation (ACOP) – had a very fruitful partnership, but ACOP ceased to exist after the formation of the National Probation Service. That did not, of course, mean that all links were lost, and over the years we have worked very closely with the Probation Association (formerly the Probation Boards Association) not least in the successful development of Local Crime Community Sentence. This is an era when crucial numbers keep dropping – numbers of justices’ clerks spring to mind, and the reduced number of HMCS areas – so it is good that 42 probation areas still remain. National links remain essential but local links matter intensely and the importance of liaison between sentencers and probation practitioners at all levels cannot be overestimated. We are delighted that a new association of probation chief officers (of boards) and chief executives (of trusts) has been formed – the Probation Chiefs Association (PCA). We look forward to a very positive partnership with both organisations and believe that these links will be of real benefit both nationally and locally.
The Director of Probation within the recently reorganised NOMS structure, Roger Hill, has also made clear his commitment to close liaison with sentencers, which once again is very good news. We are having regular meetings with him and he intends to join the National Sentencer/
Offender Management Group (of which I am the joint chairman). This group has a valuable role to play in promoting the importance of local liaison and being a source of information for local groups, and its membership (the Magistrates’ Association, Justices’ Clerks’ Society and District Judges (MC) from the sentencer side, together with representation from the office of the Senior Presiding Judge) is ideally suited to promoting this.
Magistrates care about probation services – we have always valued close relationships with practitioners and over the past few years the gradual withdrawal of probation officers from court has been most unwelcome. There has been a strong feeling that central reorganisation and policy change has been unhelpful, that morale has suffered greatly, and that the services we need from probation continue to suffer through financial constraints. As members of society we have a right to expect that court orders are enforced – so we should never hear that a sentence of the court (unpaid work, for instance) is unavailable. As magistrates striving to achieve swift and effective justice, we do not wish or expect to hear that reports have not been prepared because of staff shortages. Different problems exist in different areas but we would all welcome improvement. With a more settled picture, an emphasis from NOMS on liaison with sentencers, our continuing links with the Probation Association, the establishment of the new Probation Chiefs Association – let us hope that the tide is now turning.
