Question
I have heard from far too many worried victims and parents of young victims in Yeovil about how much anxiety the potential early release of their offenders, including members of child grooming gangs, has caused. Probation services in rural areas are on their knees, so will the Minister tell victims in Yeovil what work has been done with probation services in the south-west to ensure they have all the personnel, resources and systems in place to safely manage the release of offenders to our communities?
Answer
I am sorry to hear about the experience of those young people in Yeovil. We need to be careful about some of the rhetoric around the subject and to always have victims in mind when we have these conversations. Yes, there must be robust challenge to ensure that we get this right and that we push the measures we are taking to the furthest point possible to make sure we keep people safe, but we must also respect the work of our probation teams who are monitoring offenders in the community and working to keep people safe. There are a range of offences that are excluded from the progression model, so those offenders are not eligible for progression. We have increased the tagging of offenders, even where they are excluded from progression but whose crimes are of a nature that we would want them to be tagged and monitored post-release in any event. I want to provide reassurance to young people: we are working at pace and our very hardest to ensure that we keep the public safe, and we manage offenders as they reintegrate back into the community.12% point-scoring 50% vibes
Verdict: AMBER (30/100)
The reply partly addresses the question. It refers to probation teams monitoring offenders and to expanded tagging of excluded offenders after release, which are relevant to safe management. It does not say what staffing, resources or systems support probation, gives nothing specific to the south-west, and describes no concrete departmental work with probation services. Overall it is mostly general reassurance, so the person who asked would likely need to submit a follow-up for specifics.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What work the department has done with probation services in the south-west to ensure they have the personnel, resources and systems in place to safely manage the release of offenders into local communities. | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply mentions probation teams monitoring offenders and the expanded tagging of excluded offenders post-release, which are relevant to safe management on release. However, it says nothing about the personnel, resources or systems supporting probation, nothing specific to the south-west, and no concrete department work with probation services. It is mostly general reassurance. |