Published date:
The Probation Board for Northern Ireland is seeking the public’s views on how to help shape the future of probation services in Northern Ireland.
A public consultation is now open for 10 weeks as part of the development of the Board’s Corporate Plan for 2023-26 which will set out the strategic direction of the organisation over the next three years.
Max Murray Chair of the Board said: “The Probation Board is committed to working in partnership to help us reduce reoffending, tackle the root causes of offending behaviour and make communities safer. This Plan provides an important opportunity for us to hear from stakeholders and communities about the services that are being delivered and how we can shape services over the coming three years.
“The challenges faced over the last Corporate Planning period have been unprecedented. This Plan has been developed against the backdrop of continuing challenges. The pandemic, pressures on budgets and the fact that our staff are working with more people who are suffering from poor mental health and addictions are impacting upon how we deliver services. While these issues pose particular challenges for PBNI there is also an opportunity for us to implement learning from the last number of years and continue to be innovative in developing our practice.
“This Plan sets out our desire to continue to be an organisation which is innovative, creative, collaborative and solution focused. Working alongside our partners we want to develop and continue to improve our services to provide a high quality, probation service to all.”
Chief Executive Amanda Stewart continued: “Probation has a statutory role to deliver services to people who have offended and victims who are registered with our Victim Information scheme to help make communities safer. Currently probation staff are working with over 4,000 individuals and the complexity of cases we are dealing with has significantly increased with individuals presenting with addictions, mental health issues, with many at risk of suicide and self-harm. The numbers of victims registered with the Victim Information Scheme has increased over the last Corporate Plan period and we have significantly developed our restorative approach. This is an area we will continue to develop. A critical element of our role is working with those who have committed sexual and violent crime, including domestic abuse and this will continue to be a priority”.
Ms Stewart continued: “Probation’s strength lies in its ability to work in partnership with a range of organisations including statutory partners such as the prison service, police service, courts, key stakeholders in health and education as well as the large network of voluntary and community groups across Northern Ireland. If we are to be effective in preventing people from re-offending we need to intervene at the earliest opportunity and that means working alongside a range of partners and within local communities. Only by working together can we effectively change lives for safer communities.”
Information on the consultation can be found in publications
We want to hear your views. This consultation seeks views on Probation's priorities for the Corporate Plan 2023-26. We invite comments on this Plan from members of the public, key stakeholders as well as organisations and individuals who have an interest in this area. Responses or requests for further information should be provided by 10 November 2022 (please note that it may not be possible to accept consultation responses after this date). You can respond to the consultation exercise by email or post.
Please respond by email to info@probation-ni.gov.uk or by post to:
Gail McGreevy, Probation Board for Northern Ireland Head of Communications 80-90 North Street BELFAST BT1 1LD