Unison warns 10% probation staff cut 'puts public at risk'
Friday 01 March 2013
Printable
EmailHuge cuts to the number of probation workers are putting the public at risk from dangerous offenders, Unison warned today.
Ministry of Justice figures revealed 10 per cent of the probation workforce was cut in the last year, amounting to 1,800 staff.
Unison warned that the cuts will mean fewer staff watching ever increasing numbers of offenders, making it more likely that something will go wrong.
"Probation staff are there to ensure that the public are kept safe from potentially dangerous offenders, and this massive reduction in their workforce will make a difficult job only harder," Unison national officer Ben Priestley said.
He urged the government to act and invest in a "proper, proportionate probation workforce."
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