0:00:03 > 0:00:07A quarter of a million offenders on probation and on our streets,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10so how safe are we?
0:00:10 > 0:00:13I just haven't stopped screaming and crying.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16I just constantly was keep asking, "What have you done to my son?"
0:00:16 > 0:00:21We speak to probation staff, who say they're swamped by their caseloads.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Some of these people are highly vulnerable, and they need help,
0:00:24 > 0:00:28and they need intervention. They're not getting that.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30And families, whose lives have been devastated by offenders
0:00:30 > 0:00:32whose supervision failed.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35I've lost my job, I've lost me.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39And obviously, the biggest loss is Conner.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41We reveal the huge number of probation appointments
0:00:41 > 0:00:44still being missed by offenders, despite official warnings.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48I expressed grave concerns about the number
0:00:48 > 0:00:50of missed appointments, and the number of people
0:00:50 > 0:00:52not being seen at all.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57We ask, is it time for the government to rethink
0:00:57 > 0:01:00controversial reforms introduced just three years ago?
0:01:00 > 0:01:03We need to have a clear set of proposals from government
0:01:03 > 0:01:06as to what they're going to do to act.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Conner was an 18-year-old, who was just sort of
0:01:24 > 0:01:28starting out on his, sort of, next phase of his adventure.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31He'd finished school, he'd been to college,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35and he was really just enjoying the fact that he sort of
0:01:35 > 0:01:38had something to look forward to.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43He'd arranged with a few of his friends to go down to Porthcawl.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47There was an unwritten rule, that wherever he was,
0:01:47 > 0:01:52he'd always send me a text when he got home,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55just so that I knew he was safe. And he would always text,
0:01:55 > 0:01:56"Nos da. Garu di."
0:01:56 > 0:02:02Which was, "Good night. I love you." And I didn't get the text.
0:02:02 > 0:02:10Conner was attacked just yards from the caravan in South Wales
0:02:10 > 0:02:12where he was staying, by a stranger, David Braddon.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16He had a history of violence, alcohol and drug abuse.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20He attacked him from behind with some sort of blunt instrument.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25And then, this horrific attack just played out.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30He'd really, really beaten him badly.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35A few days later, in March, 2015, Conner died in hospital.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39It was five months before Nadine found out that David Braddon had
0:02:39 > 0:02:46been on probation at the time of the murder.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Probation officials only wrote to her after Braddon had
0:02:48 > 0:02:49been jailed for life.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Not once had it been mentioned or suggested that there was any
0:02:52 > 0:02:58probation link whatsoever.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02And then, we had this letter, and it sort of changed the whole game.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06David Braddon had been under the supervision of a private company
0:03:06 > 0:03:10called Working Links.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13It took over the running of most of the probabtion
0:03:13 > 0:03:22service in Wales in 2015.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Under radical government reforms, the supervision of low and medium
0:03:25 > 0:03:27risk offenders across England and Wales was privatised.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30High risk offenders became the responsibility of the new state
0:03:30 > 0:03:39run National probation service, but there were concerns from the start.
0:03:39 > 0:03:47We warned that the total separation of the service into two arms
0:03:47 > 0:03:51was likely to spell disaster in terms of organisation,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53in terms of the cost to the taxpayer.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55And, I suppose, most importantly, the impact
0:03:55 > 0:03:59on communities and public safety.
0:03:59 > 0:04:08It wasn't just the union that was worried.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Some inside the Ministry of Justice were, too, according to
0:04:11 > 0:04:12an internal memo.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14It's clear that the government was given explicit warnings before
0:04:14 > 0:04:16it incremented the reforms about the dangers and
0:04:16 > 0:04:17risks of them failing.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20This is a leaked government policy document, which makes it perfectly
0:04:20 > 0:04:23clear that "there was a risk of an unacceptable drop
0:04:23 > 0:04:25in operational performance during the programme,
0:04:25 > 0:04:32which might lead to delivery failure and reputational damage."
0:04:32 > 0:04:35The death of Conner Marshall looked like an early failure.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38His mother Nadine wanted to know exactly what had gone wrong,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40but struggled to get any answers.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Nobody wanted to tell us anything.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50I just kept on and on, and on, for weeks, four months,
0:04:50 > 0:04:56until eventually, we were told that this report had been generated.
0:04:56 > 0:05:06It was a serious further offences report, written by the company.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12It took Nadine eight months to get government permission
0:05:12 > 0:05:13to have a copy.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15It revealed failures in how Braddon's level of risk,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18how dangerous he was to the public, was assessed and monitored.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21They found that David Braddon was either low to medium risk,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25even though he had this history of violence and drugs.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28But what we now know was that that risk assessment was never revisited.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30The report found that Braddon's increasingly withdrawn behaviour
0:05:30 > 0:05:39and lack of cooperation wasn't being properly dealt with.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42He was known to be doing all the things that were showing
0:05:42 > 0:05:43that he wasn't complying.
0:05:43 > 0:05:50And yet, the probation supervision wasn't increasing.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54The main purpose of probation is to monitor and supervise
0:05:54 > 0:05:56offenders who have just been released from prison,
0:05:56 > 0:06:01or who are serving their sentences in the community.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Under its reforms, the government hope to reduce reoffending
0:06:03 > 0:06:07by expanding the service to more people.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12The big new idea was to extend probation to a group of offenders
0:06:12 > 0:06:13who have previously been unsupervised after being
0:06:13 > 0:06:17released from prison.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20This was the group of up to 50,000 prisoners who'd only served
0:06:20 > 0:06:22short-term sentences of up to a year, but were, in fact,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24among the most likely to reoffend.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27I'm meeting one of them.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Sean was given an eight week sentence in March for possessing
0:06:30 > 0:06:34an offensive weapon.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Like all recently released short-term prisoners,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40he's now on probation for 12 months.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Tell me a bit about yourself. When did you get out of prison?
0:06:43 > 0:06:46I got out in May.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49What contact have you had with probation since then?
0:06:49 > 0:06:57Very little.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59I didn't even meet my probation officer until about three weeks,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01almost a month, after my release.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03So tell me about the housing. Where are you living now?
0:07:03 > 0:07:05What's your situation?
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I'm staying with, like, some friends, and stuff.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Have you had your own place since you came out in May?
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Since I've come out of prison, no. I haven't had my own place at all.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Not having a permanent place to live makes it more likely that offenders
0:07:16 > 0:07:18will go back to crime.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20So helping people like Sean get settled is a top priority.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Everybody needs, like, a base to function from.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27It's not easy. It's quite daunting.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Sometimes it can lead to other things as well, like,
0:07:30 > 0:07:31I can see how people can reoffend.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34You've been in trouble before, haven't you, in the past?
0:07:34 > 0:07:35Yeah, a couple of times.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38So, you must have had contact with probation then as well?Yeah.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Have you noticed any difference in probation since then?
0:07:40 > 0:07:43It seems like it's gotten worse, to be honest.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Because at least back then, I kind of knew exactly
0:07:45 > 0:07:48who my probation officer was. But these days, it's hard to tell.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51The company is now supervising all low and medium risk offenders
0:07:51 > 0:07:56agreed contracts with the government worth nearly £4 billion
0:07:56 > 0:07:59over seven years.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04But there was a problem.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Most of their income depends on the number of people there supervising,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11and private companies expected more work, more offenders to look
0:08:11 > 0:08:20after them actually materialise.
0:08:22 > 0:08:23When the government reorganised the probation service,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26it expected the private companies to get 70% of the work.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28In reality, it turned out to be more like 50%.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30They weren't making enough money.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32We were very concerned indeed.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34They weren't getting the volumes of work coming through that
0:08:34 > 0:08:36had been anticipated.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40That leads us to concerns as to whether some of those will be
0:08:40 > 0:08:43able to sustain the contracts, and that was likely to feed
0:08:43 > 0:08:45through into whether or not it was a long-term stable
0:08:45 > 0:08:46system going forward.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48The performance of the privately run probation companies
0:08:48 > 0:08:51is being closely monitored.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Amongst the private companies, we're seeing a very mixed picture.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57A minority of those that we've been to see it are doing well enough,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01but the majority are not.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06They're not yet in a stable position, they're not yet operating
0:09:06 > 0:09:10in an established way, and that does surprise me.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13And just how alarming is the picture with those private companies?
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Well, clearly, I'm expressing a significant amount
0:09:15 > 0:09:17of concern about it.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19The financial stability of the private companies
0:09:19 > 0:09:24was at the heart of those concerns.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Some of these companies are losing significant amounts of money.
0:09:27 > 0:09:32It's not surprising, then, that they are looking for ways
0:09:32 > 0:09:35to balance the books, so they should.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Often as not, that does mean reducing staff numbers to what,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41in my view, is below an acceptable level.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43The general strategy has been to reduce costs as low
0:09:43 > 0:09:49as you can to make a profit.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51What that has meant is, although there are less
0:09:51 > 0:09:53people coming through, actually, you've got less
0:09:53 > 0:09:54people doing the work.
0:09:54 > 0:09:55So they've actually got higher caseloads.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57This whistle-blower, whose identity we're protecting,
0:09:57 > 0:10:02works for MTC Novo.
0:10:02 > 0:10:08The company won the £980 million probation contract for London.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13We've been told it's employing fewer fully qualified probation officers.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18I used to manage around 50 offenders when we were London Probation Trust.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23When we were privatised, I had a caseload of around 76.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Some of these people are highly vulnerable, and they need help,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29and they need intervention. They're not getting that.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32We're not building a rapport.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36If you see me once a month for 20 minutes, how are you going to open
0:10:36 > 0:10:39up to me and tell me what's going on inside your head?
0:10:39 > 0:10:41What's going on behind the scenes?
0:10:41 > 0:10:43The new way, I don't know them, they don't trust me.
0:10:43 > 0:10:44You're stranger to them. Exactly.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48And they're a stranger to me.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52What we're seeing is shortages of staff with probation officers
0:10:52 > 0:10:56carrying alarmingly high caseloads, in some cases, and the consequences
0:10:56 > 0:10:58of that are that people under supervision are not
0:10:58 > 0:11:01being supervised effectively.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04I've seen an explosion in my caseload of offenders reoffending,
0:11:04 > 0:11:09and some serious offences.
0:11:09 > 0:11:16You know, GBH, racially aggravated violent offences
0:11:16 > 0:11:18and domestic violence, abuse of their partners
0:11:18 > 0:11:19and to their children.
0:11:19 > 0:11:25This is Alex Malcolm, the video was filmed
0:11:25 > 0:11:31by his mother, Liliya.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32This baby. How old is he there?
0:11:32 > 0:11:38This is about one and a half.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Through friends, Liliya was introduced last year
0:11:40 > 0:11:41to this man, Marvyn Iheanacho.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44He was coming to the end of a prison sentence.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Iheanacho hid from Liliya that he'd been jailed
0:11:46 > 0:11:47for attacking a former partner.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50They began a relationship.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54He said he was innocent.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58He just had been in the wrong time, wrong place.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02I'm quite a trustworthy person. There was no reason not to believe.
0:12:02 > 0:12:08Iheanacho quickly became part of Liliya's life,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10and a father figure to five-year-old Alex.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13He would help Alex to do his homework.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15He sometimes would be cooking, also.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20You know, just really normal day-to-day.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Iheanacho was being supervised by the government run
0:12:22 > 0:12:25National Probation Service.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30He was a high-risk offender, but no one told Liliya.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33London, November, 2016, and the figure walking
0:12:33 > 0:12:39in the distance is Marvyn Iheanacho.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41I was cooking dinner.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45And Marvyn, he just wanted to go to the shop.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49He asked if he can take Alex with him.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52And then, I said, "You know what, it's Sunday.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57He still needs to do his homework."
0:12:57 > 0:13:00I expected them to be no longer than an hour,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03and be back by the time I'd finished cooking dinner.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08Without telling Liliya, Iheanacho had taken Alex to a local park.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12It started getting late, then I started panicking, and thinking,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14"Why are they still not back?"
0:13:14 > 0:13:20I gave him a call to ask, where are you guys?
0:13:20 > 0:13:24And then, he just simply replied, "Alex lost his shoe."
0:13:24 > 0:13:33Iheanacho was caught again on CCTV carrying the limp figure of Alex.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36In a rage, he'd beaten the boy over the missing shoe.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39When I ran quickly downstairs, all I saw was just Alex
0:13:39 > 0:13:40just wasn't conscious. Sorry...
0:13:40 > 0:13:43I just always get really upset...
0:13:43 > 0:13:46That's fine. That's fine. Take your time.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48Was he holding Alex at that point? Yeah.
0:13:48 > 0:13:54He hold him like a baby.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59I just haven't stopped screaming and crying ever since I saw him,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01I just constantly was keep asking, "What happened?
0:14:01 > 0:14:06What have you done to my son?"
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Alex died in hospital from his injuries.
0:14:10 > 0:14:17Iheanacho was convicted of murder and jailed for life.
0:14:17 > 0:14:23During his trial, it emerged that he had a long list
0:14:23 > 0:14:25of convictions for violence, including six for domestic abuse.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28This came as a shock to Liliya.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30There's not one, two, three.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32There was four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.
0:14:32 > 0:14:39This guy had the worst track record you can imagine.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Liliya should have been told that she and Alex were in danger,
0:14:42 > 0:14:47but the probation service didn't warn her.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52How do you know that probation knew that you were his girlfriend?
0:14:52 > 0:14:54He told them.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57He told them I was his girlfriend, and he told them I have child.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59And the probation officer, didn't she ask you?
0:14:59 > 0:15:03She just asked me who I was, and I said I was Marvyn's girlfriend.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05And she said, "Oh, OK, fine."
0:15:05 > 0:15:07And that's it.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10How easy would it have been for the probation service to have
0:15:10 > 0:15:13prevented Alex's murder?
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I cannot blame them completely, but they did play a big part
0:15:16 > 0:15:20in what happened to Alex.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22And...
0:15:22 > 0:15:25If they did inform me about his previous conviction,
0:15:25 > 0:15:31100% I won't be involved with this person.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33The National Probation Service, which was supervising Iheanacho,
0:15:33 > 0:15:39was also under pressure following the reforms.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41While the private companies had less work than they
0:15:41 > 0:15:45expected, it had more.
0:15:45 > 0:15:46It too has been inspected.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48We weren't entirely satisfied with how the NPS
0:15:48 > 0:15:51were performing in London.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54It is a difficult city, actually, to deliver probation service in 32
0:15:54 > 0:15:56boroughs and a rather mobile offending population,
0:15:56 > 0:16:01so it's a particularly onerous task.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05We're inspecting again in London now as we speak.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10The inspection reports say that the National Probation Service
0:16:10 > 0:16:12is generally doing better outside London.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15But an officer who works outside of London says the reforms
0:16:15 > 0:16:16are undermining her work.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20We're protecting her identity.
0:16:20 > 0:16:21We know it's a mess.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Everyone knows it's a mess.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Last week in my full working week I spent no more than two hours
0:16:27 > 0:16:33in actual physical face to face contact with the people I supervise.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36How would it have been, say, five years ago or whatever,
0:16:36 > 0:16:37before the reforms?
0:16:37 > 0:16:39I think I would have spent about half of my
0:16:39 > 0:16:41time, 15 hours a week.
0:16:41 > 0:16:41Right, OK.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45And she says the reforms have caused division and inefficiency.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47The natural relationships are severing with the colleagues
0:16:47 > 0:16:49in the private companies.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Previously if I had a problem with somebody who someone
0:16:52 > 0:16:55else was supervising, say, I'd walk across the office
0:16:55 > 0:16:56and have a conversation.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59But if I want to e-mail somebody from the private company,
0:16:59 > 0:17:00that just takes longer.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03If I phone up I get a call centre.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06So that sense of being actually able to communicate in a sensible,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10ordinary way, is gone.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21Nadine Marshall is now campaigning against the reforms.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23The report written by Working Links, the company supervising
0:17:23 > 0:17:26the man who killed her son, reveals that David Braddon had been
0:17:26 > 0:17:32evading probation staff.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35I read the rest of the document.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37That was when we found out the equally horrific information
0:17:37 > 0:17:42with appointments missed.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45He was missing eight appointments.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Offenders who fail to comply with the terms of their probation,
0:17:48 > 0:17:50like missing appointments, can be taken back to court
0:17:50 > 0:17:54and even imprisoned.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57But in Braddon's case, that didn't happen.
0:17:57 > 0:17:58What might have happened to him?
0:17:58 > 0:18:01It's very likely that he would have been taken to prison,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04because he wasn't complying.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06So that means that he might not have been around to attack...
0:18:06 > 0:18:09He might not have been at liberty to attack Conner?
0:18:09 > 0:18:10Yeah, he wouldn't, yeah.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11That's the horrible, horrible point that
0:18:11 > 0:18:14you have to digest - which we can't - is that, yeah,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17had they done what they should have done, the very likelihood
0:18:17 > 0:18:22is that he wouldn't have been there.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Of the eight appointments missed by Braddon, Working Links says only
0:18:25 > 0:18:29two were judged to be unacceptable.
0:18:29 > 0:18:30After the second, they started proceedings
0:18:30 > 0:18:34to take him back to court.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39By then, Braddon had committed his fatal attack and was on the run.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42The company says: "The serious further offences report found
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Braddon's management wasn't linked to Conner's murder, which was not
0:18:46 > 0:18:48predictable or preventable, a conclusion supported
0:18:48 > 0:18:53by the probation inspector."
0:18:53 > 0:18:56The company says public protection is its top priority and it's changed
0:18:56 > 0:18:58the way it works to give front line probation officers more
0:18:58 > 0:19:05time with service users who are most likely to reoffend.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07The Ministry of Justice says had Braddon been sent back to court,
0:19:07 > 0:19:13it's unlikely he would have been jailed.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Dealing with offenders who miss appointments is a key part
0:19:17 > 0:19:20of a probation officer's job.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24We've discovered evidence that one company has a big problem.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Panorama has seen records from inside the company that handles
0:19:26 > 0:19:33all low and medium risk offenders on probation in London, MTCnovo.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37The records reveal that offenders across the capital missed more
0:19:37 > 0:19:40than 15,000 appointments over a 16 month period, and the probation
0:19:40 > 0:19:47officers looking after them failed to take any action at all.
0:19:47 > 0:19:48What's your opinion of that?
0:19:48 > 0:19:49Does that surprise you?
0:19:49 > 0:19:52It doesn't surprise me.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56I inherit cases where there is 20 to 30 appointments
0:19:56 > 0:19:58that they haven't attended, for unpaid work or for
0:19:58 > 0:20:03their supervision, and no action has been taken.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05But he says the company did take some action,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09instructing staff to alter records.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11We've also heard that there was an order that went out
0:20:11 > 0:20:14within the London private company that any missed appointments
0:20:14 > 0:20:17by offenders which hadn't already been addressed could just be wiped
0:20:17 > 0:20:21from the system if they were more than two weeks old.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23That was correct.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Yeah, about six months ago we got an instruction from our managers,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28and I went through all my cases and cleared those
0:20:28 > 0:20:30missed appointments up.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Some of them were two years old.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37That's completely unacceptable.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41If there are unactioned missed appointments then how can you have
0:20:41 > 0:20:43that level of monitoring and control to reassure the public that things
0:20:43 > 0:20:48are being done properly and there is not the risk
0:20:48 > 0:20:51of reoffending or harm to members of the public?
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Our evidence reinforces concerns raised last year
0:20:54 > 0:20:56following an inspection of part of MTCnovo's operations
0:20:56 > 0:21:02in North London.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Inspected London probation company last year, and I expressed grave
0:21:04 > 0:21:07concerns about the number of missed appointments and the number
0:21:07 > 0:21:12of people not being seen at all.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15I was so concerned about it I required an action plan from it
0:21:15 > 0:21:22and I am inspecting that London probation company again now.
0:21:22 > 0:21:32This latest inspection is Londonwide.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35The inspectorate routinely tells the companies what it
0:21:35 > 0:21:36intends to look at.
0:21:36 > 0:21:37Insiders say this gives them time to prepare.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40We've been having team meetings, senior managers have attended
0:21:40 > 0:21:41those team meetings.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43We've been scripted what to say, what kinds of questions
0:21:43 > 0:21:46are going to be asked and what kind of answers we should be
0:21:46 > 0:21:49giving to the inspection.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51People's cases have been reduced, and we're being given directives
0:21:51 > 0:21:58to make the case look as good as possible.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Recently released offender Sean is under MTCnovo's supervision.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10Is he feeling the effects of its preparations for inspection?
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Sean's got a job on a construction site, and I'm down here
0:22:13 > 0:22:15to meet him during his break because apparently his probation
0:22:15 > 0:22:17officer has said there's a problem.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19Hey.
0:22:19 > 0:22:20How you doing?
0:22:20 > 0:22:21How you doing, Sean?
0:22:21 > 0:22:22Good to see you.
0:22:22 > 0:22:23So what's the latest?
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Basically they've said to me that if I don't attend
0:22:25 > 0:22:27an appointment with them tomorrow, that they're basically
0:22:27 > 0:22:30going to recall me, which is going to basically put me
0:22:30 > 0:22:31back into prison.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33If I don't come tomorrow, it's curtains for me.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34Why?
0:22:34 > 0:22:35Why have they said that?
0:22:35 > 0:22:38I don't know, like, your guess is as good as mine.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40They said that I've missed a couple appointments,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42but I've not been made of any appointments at all.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44So this just caught you by surprise?
0:22:44 > 0:22:45Yeah, exactly.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47So I'm also going to have to miss work now.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Sean still hasn't found a permanent place to live.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53I meet him the next day after the appointment
0:22:53 > 0:22:55with his probation officer.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56How you doing?
0:22:56 > 0:22:57How you doing?
0:22:57 > 0:22:58All right, man.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59Good to see you.
0:22:59 > 0:23:00Take a seat.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01Yeah, that's great.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04How did the meeting with your probation worker go?
0:23:04 > 0:23:05Because I've missed two appointments, according to them,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08that's going to send me back to prison, and that's also
0:23:08 > 0:23:11going to mess up the housing situation which I'm currently trying
0:23:11 > 0:23:12to work on.
0:23:12 > 0:23:13These meetings that you apparently missed,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15when were they meant to have been?
0:23:15 > 0:23:16In September.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18They're saying to me that they've sent letters,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20but they know that my current housing situation,
0:23:20 > 0:23:21they know what that is.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26I'm trying to work hard to do all these things,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29I've got myself employment, all of this stuff I'm trying to do
0:23:29 > 0:23:31for myself and basically they are just jeopardising it.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Sean has been asked to account for his missed appointments.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36If the reasons he gives aren't judged good enough,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39he could be sent back to jail.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43MTCnovo says it can't comment on individual cases.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47It says public protection is its number one priority,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50that staff are required to take action on any missed appointments
0:23:50 > 0:23:52and this is closely monitored.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55It says it inherited issues from before the reforms and it's
0:23:55 > 0:23:57made significant progress over the last 12 months in reducing
0:23:57 > 0:24:01and balancing caseloads.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05It says preparing for inspections is standard practice.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13I'm waiting for Liliya.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16She's been at a serious case review, an official inquiry into the murder
0:24:16 > 0:24:20of her five-year-old son, Alex.
0:24:20 > 0:24:21She's discovered more about her former boyfriend
0:24:21 > 0:24:26and the terms of his supervision by the National Probation Service.
0:24:26 > 0:24:27Hiya.
0:24:27 > 0:24:28How did it go?
0:24:28 > 0:24:29It went well.
0:24:29 > 0:24:30Yeah?
0:24:30 > 0:24:31Yeah.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Apparently he wasn't even allowed to be around
0:24:33 > 0:24:35kids under 16 years old.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Under the terms of his probation, Marvyn Iheanacho wasn't meant
0:24:38 > 0:24:41to have unsupervised contact with children.
0:24:41 > 0:24:47Spending time with Alex should have had serious consequences for him.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49He should have been recalled back to prison.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51That's another shocking thing for me.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54So the probation has clearly just failed to do their job,
0:24:54 > 0:24:56particularly with Marvyn.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58So it's like, step-by-step, I'm constantly finding
0:24:58 > 0:24:59out new little things.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04And this is really upsetting.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06The Ministry of Justice says it apologises sincerely to Liliya
0:25:06 > 0:25:09for unacceptable failings.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12These include repeated breaches of his licence conditions
0:25:12 > 0:25:19being ignored and information suggesting Iheanacho was in contact
0:25:19 > 0:25:25with a number of women and children not being acted on.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28It says two members of staff have been suspended and strict procedures
0:25:28 > 0:25:31have been put in place to help prevent a tragic case
0:25:31 > 0:25:32like this happening again.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34It's now clear the Government is concerned about the way
0:25:34 > 0:25:36its reforms are working.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39This summer it rewrote the contracts with private companies to give them
0:25:39 > 0:25:42greater financial security.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46It says this will enable them to focus on rehabilitating offenders.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49But that's not all.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Earlier this year the Government ordered a review of its probation
0:25:52 > 0:25:56reforms following widespread concern about how they were working.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59But it seems that the results are going to be for ministers' eyes
0:25:59 > 0:26:01only, because so far they are refusing
0:26:01 > 0:26:05to publish any of it.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08I think, actually, the Government should come clean and publish that.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11And we need also to have a clear set of proposals from Government
0:26:11 > 0:26:14as to what they're going to do to act upon what I suspect
0:26:14 > 0:26:19are going to be the deficiencies that that review finds.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22The Ministry of Justice says public protection is its top priority,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25and while probation needs to work better it was absolutely right
0:26:25 > 0:26:28to reform the system, which has led to 40,000 previously
0:26:28 > 0:26:35unmonitored short-term offenders being supervised.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38It says there is a great deal of evidence that private companies
0:26:38 > 0:26:40and the National Probation Service, which is expanding and recruiting
0:26:40 > 0:26:44more staff, are working closely together to ensure offenders
0:26:44 > 0:26:49have the most appropriate level of supervision.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52But calls for the Government to think again about its controversial
0:26:52 > 0:26:57reforms to the probation service are growing louder.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00I think no one in the probation service would have accepted that
0:27:00 > 0:27:02everything was perfect, but I think what they've
0:27:02 > 0:27:06done is that they've destabilised the system.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08How broken is the system now?
0:27:08 > 0:27:11By and large, from where it was four years ago, yeah, it's broken.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14We want probation to work.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18It's in no one's interest if suddenly services just collapse.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21How alarmed should members of the public be by the way
0:27:21 > 0:27:24that the probation service is currently working?
0:27:24 > 0:27:26Well, I'm not able to provide them with the assurance that
0:27:26 > 0:27:29I would like, and I can't say for certain that every private
0:27:29 > 0:27:35company is managing to protect the public as well as it could.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38The flaws in the probation service have already left the deepest
0:27:38 > 0:27:43of scars across the lives of some families.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46How likely is it that another tragedy is going to happen?
0:27:46 > 0:27:48It's going to happen any time, anywhere.
0:27:48 > 0:27:55If nothing changes, 100% it will happen.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58It's affected every part of my life.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02I've lost my job, I've lost me, and obviously
0:28:02 > 0:28:05the biggest loss is Conner.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07I've lost my number one.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11No amount of searching through reports is going to help me there.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13My little boy.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18And that's when it gets me.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23The Government is about to release its latest reoffending figures.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Whatever they reveal, critics of the probation reforms say
0:28:26 > 0:28:27the Government shouldn't ignore deep-seated problems they say
0:28:27 > 0:28:34are putting lives at risk.