This instruction applies to: / Reference
Providers of Probation Services
NOMS HQ / PI 15 / 2014
AI 15/ 2014
Issue Date / Effective Date
Implementation Date / Review Date
1 February 2015
(Revised) / 1 June 2014 / 1 August 2015
Issued on the authority of: / NOMS Agency Board
For action by: / All staff responsible for the development and publication of policy and instructions
NOMS HQ
Heads of Groups
National Probation Service (NPS) Directorate
Community Rehabilitation Companies
NOMS Rehabilitation Contract Services Team
All other providers of Probation Services
Instruction type / service specification support / service improvement
For information / SFO Leads and, where relevant, Single Points of Contact (SPOC), other NPS/CRC staff, CRC sub-contractors, Head of OMPPG (NOMS), Director of NPS, Director of NOMS in Wales, NOMS Director for Operational Services, Head of Dangerous Offenders Section, OMPPG (NOMS), OMPPG SFO Team (NOMS)
Provide a summary of the policy aim and the reason for its development / revision / A revised PI to replace PI 15/2014 is now needed to account for multiple providers of probation services who will all be required to comply with this new PI in the notification and review procedures for Serious Further Offences.
Contact / Deanna Francis, Head of Serious Further Offences Team,
Dangerous Offenders Section
Offender Management and Public Protection Group
National Offender Management Service
Telephone 0300 047 4550
Associated documents / PI 14/2012 The Approval and Implementation of Policy and Instruction, PI 32/2014 Implementation of the Approved Premises Specification
PI 01/2014 Reviewing & Reporting Deaths of offenders under Probation Supervision in the Community
PI 48/2014 Victim Contact Scheme Guidance Manual
PI 57/2014 Process for CRC’s to refer cases in the community to NPS for Review/Risk Escalation Review
PI 07/2014 Case Transfers for Offenders Subject to Statutory Supervision Either Pre-Release From Custody or Whilst Completing an Order Or Licence
Practice Framework: National Standards for the Management of Offenders 2011,
NOMS Risk of Serious Harm Guidance (2009),
Offender Assessment System (OASys),
MAPPA Guidance,
Inspection of Adult offending work case assessment Guide 2013 (HMI Probation),
PSI 04/2015 - PI 01/2015 Rehabilitation Services Specification
PSI xx/2015 Release on Temporary Licence (yet to be published)
Community Supervision, Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (October 2013), Extant Transforming Rehabilitation Programme Target Operating Model (TOM)
Account Management Manual
Multi-Agency Statutory Guidance for the Conduct of Domestic Homicide Reviews (August 2013),
Replaces the following documents which are hereby cancelled :
Probation Instruction PI 04/2013 -
All hard copies of these Instructions must be destroyed
Audit/monitoring:
The Director of NPS, Director of NOMS in Wales and NOMS Director of Rehabilitation Services for CRCs will monitor compliance with the mandatory requirements in this instruction.
NOMS contract management will hold providers to account for delivery of mandated instructions as required in the contract.
Introduces amendments to the following documents: None
NOTES:Update: 1 February 2015 - PI 15/2014 was prepared in readiness for the implementation of the Government’s Transforming Rehabilitation Programme (TRP). This revised PI takes account of the impact of TRP and recognises that the current procedures continue to provide a framework for the review of practice in incidents of Serious Further Offences. The revisions to the PI take the opportunity to provide updates in terms of the impact of the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 and highlights the use, by prisons, of these procedures for incidents of SFOs on Release on Temporary Licence, as set out in PSI xx/2015 Release on Temporary Licence (yet to be published). Additional annexes relevant to the prison procedures are now also included in this PI.
All mandatory actions in this Instruction are shown in italics and must be strictly adhered to.
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CONTENTS
Section / Title / Relevant to1 / Executive summary / NPS, CRCs and other providers of probation services involved in Offender Management and Courts
2 / Operational Instructions
3 / Policy and strategic context
Annex A / Victim summary report template and guidance. / SFO Review Authors, NPS/CRC SPOCs and nominated SFO Leads, OMPPG SFO Team, Deputy Directors for Custody, Prison Governors
Annex B / SFO Operational Guidance
Annex C / Serious Further Offences qualifying list / NPS, CRCs and other providers of probation services involved in Offender Management and Courts
SFO Document Set Consists of Annexes D to L / SFO Review Authors, NPS/CRC SPOCs and nominated SFO Leads, OMPPG SFO Team, Deputy Directors for Custody, Prison Governors
Annex D / SFONotification
Annex E / Standard Review form
Annex F / Shortened SFO Review form
Annex G / ROTL SFO Review form
Annex H / Review Chronology
Annex I / Action PlanUpdate
Annex J / QuarterlySummary of Action on Learning Points
Annex K / Outcome
Annex L / Media communications template
1.Executive Summary
Background
1.1There have been procedures in place for the reporting of serious further offending by offenders subject to supervision in the community by Probation Trusts, and now the National probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies, for over 10 yearsand these have developed over time.
1.2 Prior to this Instruction, the SFO Notification and Review Procedures have applied solely to Probation Trusts. This new Instruction recognises the changes that have resulted from the Government’sTransforming Rehabilitation Programme (TRP) which hasopened up the delivery of probation services to create a diverse range of rehabilitation providers. Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), who supervise low and medium risk of serious harm offenders. The National Probation Service (NPS), managed directly through NOMS will supervise all other offenders, including all MAPPA cases and offenders assessed as a high risk of serious harm. This new Instruction requires the NPS, CRCs and all other providers of probation and community services to comply with the SFO Notification and Review Procedures.
1.3The SFO Notification and Review Procedures are intended to ensure rigorous scrutiny of those cases where offenders under the management of the NPS or a CRC have been charged with a specified violent or sexual offence (please refer to the list of qualifying offences in Annex C), in order that:-
• the public may be reassured that the NPS, CRCs and all other providers of probation and community services are committed to reviewing practice in cases where offenders managed by them are charged with certain serious offences;
• areas of continuous improvement to risk assessment, risk management and offender management practice and policy within the NPS, CRCs and all other providers of probation and community services (together with other parts of the NOMS Agency or beyond as appropriate) are identified and disseminated locally and nationally, as appropriate; and
• Ministers, the NOMS Chief Executive, other senior officials within NOMS and the wider Ministry of Justice (MoJ), where appropriate, can be informed of noteworthy cases of alleged serious further offences committed by offenders whilst under supervision. The responsibility for this currently sits in the NOMS Offender Management and Public Protection Group (OMPPG).
1.4This Instruction aims to reflect the new structures within which probation services are delivered and provides a reference – at paragraph 2.11 - to PSI xx/2015, Release on Temporary Licence (yet to be published), which introduces the use of these procedures with cases of serious further offending when offenders are subject to Release on Temporary Licence (RoTL). The Instruction acknowledges that multiple providers are contracted to deliver probation services, and Deputy Directors in the NPS and CRC Chief Executives must to ensure compliance with this Instruction, in accordance with the SLA (for the NPS) and contracts (for the CRCs). The governance of the SFO Notification and Review procedures, including the action plans to take forward lessons learnt, will; for the NPS, be through the line management function and accountability against the SLA with the Directors of Probation within NOMS; whilst for CRCs it is recognised that they will have their own governance structures through the Chief Executive within each organisation but will also be held accountable through the contract management function within NOMS. This Instruction confirms the quality assurance function of the SFO Team within OMPPG for ensuring that all SFO reviews have been completed in line with the mandated procedures. This quality assurance function sits within NOMS but outside the Directorate of Probation.
Desired outcomes
1.5This Instruction aims to ensure that all instances of serious further violent or sexual offending that fall within the remit of the SFO Notification and Review Procedures are identified, notified and reviewed in line with the Agency’s requirements. This is to ensure that all providers of probation and community services can learn any lessons from the serious further offence and demonstrate a commitment to continuous practice improvement in the management of all offenders. This includes in particular that:-
- the criteria for placing the cases of offenders charged with a SFO under these procedures are known and understood;
- offenders charged with a SFO are promptly identified at local level and notified to OMPPG within the required timeframe;
- SFO Reviews are appropriately rigorous, produce findings that are supported by clear and comprehensive evidence and draw out all relevant learning points; and
- the role of the OMPPG in informing Ministers and senior officials about noteworthy SFOs is understood by the NPS, CRCs, all other providers of probation and community services and relevant stakeholders.
Application
1.6Section 2 of this Instruction sets out actions that must be taken to ensure that all SFOs are identified, notified and reviewed in line with current procedures. Requirements for Victim Summary Reports (VSRs) are also set out here. All staff with responsibility for courts, offender management, case administration and MAPPA must be familiar with this section.
1.7Section 3 briefly sets out the policy and strategic context that relates to SFO procedures.
1.8The revised SFO Document set is given in Annexes D to L.
Mandatory actions
1.9The mandatory actions for this Instruction are set out, in italics, in section 2 Operational Instructions. Additional guidance, including a table of mandatory actions is included in the SFO Operational Guidance, see Annex B.
1.10The CRC Chief Executive must ensure that all CRC staff, including any sub-contractors e.g. providers of electronic monitoring or drug treatment services, are aware of the contractual obligation to comply with this Instruction. The Directors of the NPS, or their representatives, must ensure that, as part of their SLA and routine oversight of the NPS, arrangements are in place to monitor the compliance with the requirements in this instruction.
1.11 In order to demonstrate a commitment to continuous practice improvement in the management of all offenders, the Director of NPS,, Director of NOMS in Wales, Deputy Directors in the NPS and Chief Executives of CRCs must ensure that staff in their organisation:-
- identify and notify OMPPG of all qualifying SFOs in accordance with the operational requirements in this Instruction;
- undertake SFO Reviews in accordance with the operational requirements in this Instruction and in such a way that key lessons that arise out of reviews are shared with their staff and used to further improve policy and practice; and
- provide additional information relating to a SFO case to assist with any briefing for Ministers and senior officials being prepared by OMPPG, as required.
1.12Deputy Directors in the NPS must ensure that they receive regular updates on progress against SFO Review learning points. Within CRCs, the Services Agreement, as part of the contract management function, requires CRCs to report on SFO reviews in service reports.
Resource impact
1.13The SFO Notification and Review Procedures have always applied across all offenders subject to any form of statutory supervision irrespective of risk levels resulting, on average, in the receipt of 450-500 notifications each year – i.e. less than 0.5% of the probation caseload. However, one of the developments within the TRP, is that the cohort of offenders receiving sentences of less than 12 months will now be subject to statutory supervision, whereas previously this was not the case. This will, inevitably, increase the number of SFOs but it is difficult to estimate how many will be charged with one of the qualifying offences. Many of the additional SFOs will be committed by offenders who will be supervised by CRCs given that those sentenced to under 12 months are likely to be assessed as low or medium risk offenders. Even though it is unlikely that there will be an even spread of these SFOs across England and Wales, CRCs will need to factor this in to the consideration of the resources they will require in order to comply with the mandatory actions in this Instruction and may need to keep this under review with the NOMS contractmanagement function.
Employee care
1.14We know from experience that, when dealing with cases of serious further offending, it can be stressful for those staff involved. Therefore, good practice would suggest that it is important for both the NPS and the CRCs to exercise good employee care at these times. It shouldbe remembered that the review process is not about apportioning blame but developing practice through continuous improvement, even though in a very small number of cases the review process may result in capability and/or disciplinary proceedings being invoked. Good practice should include ensuring that any staff involved in the management of a case that leads to a SFO notification are made aware when a review is being undertaken, are able to prepare for any interviews that may be required and are given feedback on those outcomes of the SFO review that relate directly to them. During this process, line managers should provide appropriate support for their staff in line with their own agency HR policies, as they would in any other case where staff need support to deal with challenging issues at work. The NPS and CRCs should also ensure that any of their staff who are interviewed as part of a SFO Review are given a copy of ‘Serious Further Offence Review Process – A Guide for Staff’, which can be accessed in the SFO Operational Guidance at Annex B, via The Authority’s website link or from the SFO Team in OMPPG. Although the SFO Review is the key process for reviewing how the case has been managed, the ongoing management of the case will normally require that the offender manager and their line manager discuss the case, review risk and adjust sentence plans and risk management plans accordingly. In those few cases where the reviewing manager decides that they need to interview staff members before this takes place, they will inform the line manager in the case accordingly.
(Approved for Publication)
Sarah Payne
Director, NOMS in Wales
pp. Digby Griffith
Director of National Operational Services, NOMS
2.Operational Instructions
Where these constitute a mandatory action they are highlighted in italics. Additional guidance on the mandatory actions is included in the SFO Operational Guidance at Annex B.
2.1Notification of cases that qualify for a SFO Review
2.1.1The NPS and CRCs must notify the OMPPG using the Notification form in the SFO Document Set and complete the relevant sections when an eligible offender is charged with a qualifying offence, i.e. a violent or sexual offence listed in Annex C, and meets the criteria to qualify for a Review, details of which are given in this section and sections 2.2 and 2.3 below. The core requirements when it comes to completing and submitting a Notification in a qualifying case are that: (i) the NPS, through attendance at court, and the NPS or the CRCs, from knowledge of the offender, have processes in place to identify SFOs by or at first court appearance; and (ii) the Notification with full information is received at OMPPG within 10 working days of the first court appearance. There are three stages to the completion of the Notification documentation:
- Stage 1 and 2 will be completed by the NPS at court or shortly afterwards
- Stage 3 will be completed by the allocated provider of probation services so either the NPS or CRC, before submission of the Notification to OMPPG.
2.1.2Reviews will be required in any of the following cases:-
- any eligible offender who has been charged with murder, manslaughter, other specified offences causing death, rape or assault by penetration, or a sexual offence against a child under 13 years of age (including attempted offences) committed during the current period of management in the community of the offender by the NPS or a CRC; or whilst subject to ROTL. In addition, this will also apply during the 28 day period following conclusion of the management of the case; or
- any eligible offender who has been charged with another offence on the SFO qualifying list committed during a period of management by the NPS or a CRC and is or has been assessed as high/very high risk of serious harm during the current sentence (NPS only) or has not received a formal assessment of risk during the current period of management; or