The safety pilots proposed in December 2025 which were a response to the incidents in Preston and Oxford have now finally been rolled out.
From Ashington in Northumberland through to Swansea in Wales we have seen a significant change coming with the introduction of Knife Arches, electronic handheld wands, through vison technology, body worn video camera surveillance, and personal safety training in all the seven areas selected as part of the safety pilots.
And like any new process it is not without its problems and unforeseen obstacles
We have also witnessed the universal introduction of lockers, bleed kits and mandatory sip testing which has dramatically transformed the landscape throughout the probation community.
Communication is crucial
Napo health and safety leads through continued discussions have demanded that communication takes place with all those who will be affected by this seismic change
This has been achieved through Delius where every person on probation has received a letter explaining the changes, expectations and importance of maintaining compliance, signage has also been displayed in probation buildings.
A much more realistic equality impact assessment has been produced with the Trade unions and the employer working collaboratively and sent to the regional probation directors in the seven pilot areas and implementing into the safe system of working document.
Napo rightly welcome any plans to address the health and safety and wellbeing of all our members.
The Perception of the safety pilots
We have been made aware of how the enhanced safety measures have landed for our members which has been expressed through individual conversations, in health and safety meetings and through email exchanges, some members commenting the safety measures now allow us to work without fear and risk and we now feel much safer.
This is something that will be encouraging for minister James Timpson who has recently announced he will be attending several roadshows within the pilot areas to discuss the enhanced safety measures and garner staff feelings and reflections
The enhanced measures are to be reviewed in six months’ time.
In contrast Napo have also been made aware of the response coming from those who were not chosen to be part of safety pilots often with uncertainty and questioning what happens for them? In the meantime, those staff outside the pilot areas continue to work without these protections, despite facing the same risks that led to the pilots in the first place.
The Risk is real
After the terrible incident in Oxford one thing which was made clear to everyone in the probation community was that the risk of harm is not somewhere else anymore, it is in your office, court building, approved premises, on an unpaid work site and in your home with your family. Parents. mothers, fathers and children this was something which truly resonated with everyone in the probation community.
Workloads and staffing
Napo rightly supports any measures that address the health and safety and wellbeing of our members’ and improve conditions when a probation worker going to work feels safe , however the enhanced safety measures cannot be a postcode lottery nor can health and safety be viewed as a theoretical exercise , the safety measures alone will not address the real problems within probation which contribute to the growing number of violent and aggressive incidents our members face daily .
There has been in growth in violence and aggression in workplaces across all sectors and we often here about the experience staff face in retail, public transport and for those in probation it is no different.
Violence and aggression
The rising anger from people on probation coming as a direct response to the lack of adequate resources to meet the growing demands placed on probation to provide accommodation and timely access to drug and counselling services coupled to a target driven service and culture of enforcement with a shift away from rehabilitation are also contributory factors.
Napo has consistently raised serious concerns with the employer’ about the approach to staff safety and has made it clear that members’ safety cannot be addressed piecemeal. Health and safety is everyone’s concern, and it is the employer’s responsibility to provide safe systems of working, with enough trained staff in place to do the work with manageable workloads.
Don’t just change the landscape change the culture
The enhanced safety measures may have altered the landscape within our offices and on unpaid work sites in the pilot areas; however implementation has done very little to ease the pressures of chronic staffing levels, unmanageable workloads, staff sickness absence and the presence of staff being overwhelmed and, in many cases, burnt out. Culminating in staff leaving the service
The Unpaid work Subcommittee
More recently we have seen the introduction of a JNC subcommittee around unpaid work which has replaced the forum which previously operated to discuss and address the issues current and on those the horizon for our members in unpaid work.
The subcommittee has been established as a framework to escalate concerns which have not been addressed on a local level through JCC.
Which presents the opportunity for Napo representatives to work collaboratively with the employer to address issues around staffing and recruitment, training , safety and Sphera recording the matters for discussion will not be limited to these areas ,
It is perceived that this forum will provide a framework to address the real concerns of Napo members in unpaid work
