Lancashire Probation Becomes a Trust
26 Mar 2009
Lancashire Probation Service has been chosen by the Government as one of two areas in the country to be come a Probation Trust from 1 April 09 due to its outstanding performance.
For the third quarter running, Lancashire Probation has been identified as having “exceptional performance” by the Ministry of Justice. All 42 probation areas that make up the National Probation Service are measured throughout the year on their success rates in offender management, public protection, interventions and operational capability.
The Government can now use a variety of providers for managing offenders in the community, including those provided by the Probation Service. Granting Trust status to Lancashire Probation gives it a "licence" to provide services to the government and gives security for the future of the organisation.
Lancashire and Greater Manchester are the only two areas to achieve Trust status this April.
Being a Trust will provide the organisation with a greater degree of local focus. This means:
- The organisational structure will change from three districts to five districts to reflect the police’s basic command unit structure and allow better partnership working.
- The Trust will work closely with local councils and Lancashire County Council to tailor services to the needs of local communities
- In future, working with voluntary and other organisations to help deliver services such as programmes to change offending behaviour or unpaid work in the community.
Bob Mathers, Chief Executive of the new Trust says: “This is the start of a new era for probation in Lancashire. Achieving Trust status is recognition for our good performance due to the hard work that our staff carry out every day across the county. The aims of the Trust will still be to protect the public and help cut crime and we will work closely with our partners to achieve this.”
Lancashire Probation Trust will remain part of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the Ministry of Justice and still operate to National Standards for managing offenders. It will continue to operate with other criminal justice agencies such as the police and prisons service to protect the public.
Ends.
