You probably don’t know the name of any of your local probation officers.
But they might be the only reason the man who served time for domestic abuse – who now lives three doors down – hasn’t hurt anyone again.
You rarely see them on the front pages. But they are there, quietly working late, managing the release of someone convicted of serious sexual violence back into the community, ensuring conditions are tight, victims are protected, and risks are controlled.
Probation staff don’t wear uniforms. They don’t chase headlines. But they are the last line of defence between high-risk offenders and the public.
And now, they’re walking towards the edge as ballot papers are currently landing on their doormats.
A service in crisis is a risk to us all
These are the people who:
- Supervise individuals convicted of rape, stalking, terrorism, and child abuse
- Monitor those released early from overcrowded prisons
- Intervene when people spiral back into violence
- Spend their days surrounded by trauma, navigating risk, and making life-or-death judgement calls
And they’re doing it on pay that in many cases qualifies them for universal credit.
Many are now turning to food banks. Some are walking away altogether.
Would you trust a system like that to keep your family safe?
Public safety shouldn’t be this fragile
Since 2010, probation staff have lost around 60% of their pay in real terms.
One in five have used a food bank in the past year.
Over 103,000 working days were lost last year to stress-related illness.
Meanwhile, workloads have exploded.
Experienced staff are leaving in droves. New recruits are being thrown in at the deep end.
While police staff received pay rises of 20%, and prison officers saw 16.8% increases in recent years, probation workers were handed just 9.9%.
The government has found ways to reward others in the justice system – and rightly so – but probation is always last in line. This is despite the fact that probation staff are now picking up the slack caused by overcrowded prisons and rising police workloads. The people expected to carry the burden of everyone else’s crisis are being paid the least to do it.
And the public? You’re being told the justice system is working while it quietly crumbles around you.
Probation doesn’t make the news until it fails
Probation only hits the headlines when something goes wrong.
When someone is murdered.
When a high-profile case is mismanaged.
When the question on every journalist’s lips is: “Why wasn’t this stopped?”
The answer is often the same: the risk wasn’t picked up, or wasn’t followed up, because there weren’t enough staff. Because someone was covering 60+ cases. Because the system was at breaking point.
You don’t see the hundreds of success stories every day. The people turned away from crime, the plans carefully managed, the victims kept safe. But if probation staff walk, if the government keeps refusing to invest, those success stories will stop.
And you will feel it. In your community. On your street.
This is about survival for all of us
Probation isn’t just about punishing people after they commit crimes.
It’s about stopping them doing it in the first place.
It’s about rehabilitation. Risk. Prevention.
It’s the difference between a near-miss and a national scandal.
And right now, it’s being run on the fumes of goodwill.
The people who do this work are voting on whether to take industrial action. Not because they want to walk out but because they have no other choice.
They’ve tried being patient. They’ve tried explaining. They’ve been promised recognition, reward, and respect.
What they’ve received is silence.
The government knows what’s coming. Do you?
The prisons are full. Police are overstretched. And the government is relying on probation staff to carry the burden.
But probation staff are saying: enough.
This is not just a warning from workers. It’s a warning for the public.
The justice system cannot function without them. And public safety depends on their ability to do their jobs.
They are protecting you.
But who is protecting them?
Follow Napo’s probation pay campaign here: https://www.napo.org.uk/respect-probation-pay-probation
8 responses
They do an amazing job with little credit
We are the most undervalued service in the CJS!
It’s ridiculous!
Always the forgotten service until something goes horribly wrong!
These people are unrecognised for doing a job that most people wouldn’t understand. They are underpaid and all deserve a medal.
They need paying accordingly!
And protection is a MUST!
These guys are over worked and zero protection!
ITS SHOCKING!!!
They do a great job, and the stress is unreal,but there is a misconception that police staff receive more money, which is not correct.
We all need a decent pay rise !
The People’s party will correct your problems! Jeremy & Sultana are going to change everything, all this Zionist Starmer Government have done will be undone!
Join today go on line don’t wait, over 6 hundred thousand new members all around the Country are fed up being treated like second class Citizen’s!
The level of expectation placed onto probation staff isn’t just unfair it is harmful. There will be many staff who will never recover from the levels of stress imposed on them. I hope we can move forward to industrial action to highlight the issues. So the public gain a better understanding of this forgotten service.
The low pay means that the Probation Service is struggling to be attractive to people looking for a second career. Experienced in life and probably earning substantially more, whilst they want to be be a part of the service, work with those convicted of crime, the pay, the hours and the career structure is not that attractive. Reform needs to be across the service with better pay and more opportunities to grow both a career pathway ( post qualification) and also to earn a competitive salary.