Concerns raised over public protection work in Suffolk probation cases
A new inspection found fewer than half of cases met the required standard in key public protection areas.
Concerns have been raised about public protection work in Suffolk and the wider East of England after a new inspection found fewer than half of the cases reviewed met the required standard in key areas.
The report
HM Inspectorate of Probation said assessment, implementation and review activity were sufficient in fewer than half of the cases it examined across the East of England region, which includes Suffolk.
The inspection looked at 70 cases across the region and found ongoing problems around information-sharing, engagement with partner agencies, including police, and what inspectors described as limited “professional curiosity”.
Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “While strategic public protection work had been strengthened, and we saw improvements since our last inspection, fewer than half the cases inspected sufficiently met our standards in three out of four key questions.”
He added: “A notable theme that ran throughout our findings was a lack of engagement with partner agencies, including police, and limited professional curiosity also continued to be a concern.”
The East of England probation region covers Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and North and South Essex.
At the time of the inspection, the region was supervising 20,900 people in the community or in custody. Inspectors said low staffing levels and workforce instability were continuing to affect service delivery, with only 73% of probation officer roles filled and 35% of probation service officers having less than two years’ experience.
Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner response
Despite the concerns, Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said there was no reason for “great public alarm”.
He said: “I don’t think there’s any need for great public alarm, but what I do think is that everybody within the whole system, all agencies, do need to come together far better, exchanging information data on a confidential basis to make sure, as far as possible, that there is no threat to or risk to public safety.”
Mr Passmore added, “I have no information at the moment that there is. I do know these things are monitored carefully.”
He said communication between agencies remained crucial, particularly given wider pressures on the justice system.
“We do have excellent relationships with the constabulary, ourselves and probation and the prison service and what I’m trying to say here is this is so important that we all talk and communicate with each other,” he said.
Improvements: "Everything possible is being done to maintain public safety"
The inspection found some improvement since the last review in 2024, including stronger use of domestic abuse and child safeguarding information in decisions around curfews. Inspectors said this had been done in 15 of the 17 relevant cases they reviewed.
There was also evidence of stronger regional leadership, including the creation of a safeguarding oversight board and a greater strategic focus on keeping people safe.
However, inspectors said these improvements had not yet translated consistently into frontline practice.
The report states: “Too often practitioners did not sufficiently analyse information on public protection, because they lacked either the knowledge or the confidence to seek clarification or more detail.”
Inspectors also highlighted continuing difficulties in engagement with police and children’s services, and said the quality of some shared information remained a concern.
Mr Passmore said the issue had already been discussed at the local criminal justice board, which he chairs.
He said “I do want to reassure everybody in Suffolk that everything possible is being done to maintain public safety.”
Reccomendations
The inspection made four recommendations for the East of England probation region, including improving staff confidence and experience in assessing and managing risk, and strengthening engagement with external agencies.
A further two recommendations were made to HM Prison and Probation Service, including reducing vetting delays and creating more responsive recruitment processes to address workforce instability.
Overall, inspectors said progress over the past 18 months was “encouraging”, but warned that work to keep people safe was “not yet sufficiently evident”.
We've contacted the Prison & Probation Service for a comment.