Out of Jail: Free to Offend Again? Panorama


Out of Jail: Free to Offend Again?

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Out of Jail: Free to Offend Again?. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

A quarter of a million offenders

on probation and on our streets,

0:00:030:00:07

so how safe are we?

0:00:070:00:10

I just haven't stopped

screaming and crying.

0:00:100:00:13

I just constantly was keep asking,

"What have you done to my son?"

0:00:130:00:16

We speak to probation staff, who say

they're swamped by their caseloads.

0:00:160:00:21

Some of these people are highly

vulnerable, and they need help,

0:00:210:00:24

and they need intervention.

They're not getting that.

0:00:240:00:28

And families, whose lives have been

devastated by offenders

0:00:280:00:30

whose supervision failed.

0:00:300:00:32

I've lost my job, I've lost me.

0:00:320:00:35

And obviously,

the biggest loss is Conner.

0:00:350:00:39

We reveal the huge number

of probation appointments

0:00:390:00:41

still being missed by offenders,

despite official warnings.

0:00:410:00:44

I expressed grave concerns

about the number

0:00:440:00:48

of missed appointments,

and the number of people

0:00:480:00:50

not being seen at all.

0:00:500:00:52

We ask, is it time for

the government to rethink

0:00:520:00:57

controversial reforms

introduced just three years ago?

0:00:570:01:00

We need to have a clear set

of proposals from government

0:01:000:01:03

as to what they're

going to do to act.

0:01:030:01:06

Conner was an 18-year-old,

who was just sort of

0:01:210:01:24

starting out on his, sort of,

next phase of his adventure.

0:01:240:01:28

He'd finished school,

he'd been to college,

0:01:280:01:31

and he was really just enjoying

the fact that he sort of

0:01:310:01:35

had something to look forward to.

0:01:350:01:38

He'd arranged with a few of his

friends to go down to Porthcawl.

0:01:380:01:43

There was an unwritten rule,

that wherever he was,

0:01:430:01:47

he'd always send me

a text when he got home,

0:01:470:01:52

just so that I knew he was safe.

And he would always text,

0:01:520:01:55

"Nos da. Garu di."

0:01:550:01:56

Which was, "Good night. I love you."

And I didn't get the text.

0:01:560:02:02

Conner was attacked just yards

from the caravan in South Wales

0:02:020:02:10

where he was staying,

by a stranger, David Braddon.

0:02:100:02:12

He had a history of

violence, alcohol and drug abuse.

0:02:120:02:16

He attacked him from behind

with some sort of blunt instrument.

0:02:160:02:20

And then, this horrific attack

just played out.

0:02:200:02:25

He'd really, really

beaten him badly.

0:02:250:02:30

A few days later, in March, 2015,

Conner died in hospital.

0:02:300:02:35

It was five months before Nadine

found out that David Braddon had

0:02:350:02:39

been on probation at the time

of the murder.

0:02:390:02:46

Probation officials only wrote

to her after Braddon had

0:02:460:02:48

been jailed for life.

0:02:480:02:49

Not once had it been mentioned

or suggested that there was any

0:02:490:02:52

probation link whatsoever.

0:02:520:02:58

And then, we had this letter, and it

sort of changed the whole game.

0:02:580:03:02

David Braddon had been under

the supervision of a private company

0:03:020:03:06

called Working Links.

0:03:060:03:10

It took over the running

of most of the probabtion

0:03:100:03:13

service in Wales in 2015.

0:03:130:03:22

Under radical government reforms,

the supervision of low and medium

0:03:220:03:25

risk offenders across England

and Wales was privatised.

0:03:250:03:27

High risk offenders became

the responsibility of the new state

0:03:270:03:30

run National probation service, but

there were concerns from the start.

0:03:300:03:39

We warned that the total separation

of the service into two arms

0:03:390:03:47

was likely to spell disaster

in terms of organisation,

0:03:470:03:51

in terms of the cost

to the taxpayer.

0:03:510:03:53

And, I suppose,

most importantly, the impact

0:03:530:03:55

on communities and public safety.

0:03:550:03:59

It wasn't just

the union that was worried.

0:03:590:04:08

Some inside the Ministry of Justice

were, too, according to

0:04:080:04:11

an internal memo.

0:04:110:04:12

It's clear that the government

was given explicit warnings before

0:04:120:04:14

it incremented the reforms

about the dangers and

0:04:140:04:16

risks of them failing.

0:04:160:04:17

This is a leaked government policy

document, which makes it perfectly

0:04:170:04:20

clear that "there was a risk

of an unacceptable drop

0:04:200:04:23

in operational performance

during the programme,

0:04:230:04:25

which might lead to delivery failure

and reputational damage."

0:04:250:04:32

The death of Conner Marshall

looked like an early failure.

0:04:320:04:35

His mother Nadine wanted to know

exactly what had gone wrong,

0:04:350:04:38

but struggled to get any answers.

0:04:380:04:40

Nobody wanted to tell us anything.

0:04:400:04:45

I just kept on and on, and on,

for weeks, four months,

0:04:450:04:50

until eventually, we were told

that this report had been generated.

0:04:500:04:56

It was a serious further offences

report, written by the company.

0:04:560:05:06

It took Nadine eight months to get

government permission

0:05:070:05:12

to have a copy.

0:05:120:05:13

It revealed failures in how

Braddon's level of risk,

0:05:130:05:15

how dangerous he was to the public,

was assessed and monitored.

0:05:150:05:18

They found that David Braddon

was either low to medium risk,

0:05:180:05:21

even though he had

this history of violence and drugs.

0:05:210:05:25

But what we now know was that that

risk assessment was never revisited.

0:05:250:05:28

The report found that Braddon's

increasingly withdrawn behaviour

0:05:280:05:30

and lack of cooperation wasn't

being properly dealt with.

0:05:300:05:39

He was known to be doing

all the things that were showing

0:05:390:05:42

that he wasn't complying.

0:05:420:05:43

And yet, the probation

supervision wasn't increasing.

0:05:430:05:50

The main purpose of probation

is to monitor and supervise

0:05:500:05:54

offenders who have just

been released from prison,

0:05:540:05:56

or who are serving their

sentences in the community.

0:05:560:06:01

Under its reforms, the government

hope to reduce reoffending

0:06:010:06:03

by expanding the service

to more people.

0:06:030:06:07

The big new idea was to extend

probation to a group of offenders

0:06:070:06:12

who have previously been

unsupervised after being

0:06:120:06:13

released from prison.

0:06:130:06:17

This was the group of up to

50,000 prisoners who'd only served

0:06:170:06:20

short-term sentences of

up to a year, but were, in fact,

0:06:200:06:22

among the most likely to reoffend.

0:06:220:06:24

I'm meeting one of them.

0:06:240:06:27

Sean was given an eight week

sentence in March for possessing

0:06:270:06:30

an offensive weapon.

0:06:300:06:34

Like all recently released

short-term prisoners,

0:06:340:06:37

he's now on probation for 12 months.

0:06:370:06:40

Tell me a bit about yourself.

When did you get out of prison?

0:06:400:06:43

I got out in May.

0:06:430:06:46

What contact have you had

with probation since then?

0:06:460:06:49

Very little.

0:06:490:06:57

I didn't even meet my probation

officer until about three weeks,

0:06:570:06:59

almost a month, after my release.

0:06:590:07:01

So tell me about the housing.

Where are you living now?

0:07:010:07:03

What's your situation?

0:07:030:07:05

I'm staying with, like,

some friends, and stuff.

0:07:050:07:07

Have you had your own place

since you came out in May?

0:07:070:07:09

Since I've come out of prison, no.

I haven't had my own place at all.

0:07:090:07:13

Not having a permanent place to live

makes it more likely that offenders

0:07:130:07:16

will go back to crime.

0:07:160:07:18

So helping people like Sean

get settled is a top priority.

0:07:180:07:20

Everybody needs, like,

a base to function from.

0:07:200:07:24

It's not easy. It's quite daunting.

0:07:240:07:27

Sometimes it can lead to

other things as well, like,

0:07:270:07:30

I can see how people can reoffend.

0:07:300:07:31

You've been in trouble before,

haven't you, in the past?

0:07:310:07:34

Yeah, a couple of times.

0:07:340:07:35

So, you must have had contact

with probation then as well?

Yeah.

0:07:350:07:38

Have you noticed any difference

in probation since then?

0:07:380:07:40

It seems like it's gotten worse,

to be honest.

0:07:400:07:43

Because at least back then,

I kind of knew exactly

0:07:430:07:45

who my probation officer was.

But these days, it's hard to tell.

0:07:450:07:48

The company is now supervising

all low and medium risk offenders

0:07:480:07:51

agreed contracts with the government

worth nearly £4 billion

0:07:510:07:56

over seven years.

0:07:560:07:59

But there was a problem.

0:07:590:08:04

Most of their income depends on the

number of people there supervising,

0:08:040:08:08

and private companies expected

more work, more offenders to look

0:08:080:08:11

after them actually materialise.

0:08:110:08:20

When the government reorganised

the probation service,

0:08:220:08:23

it expected the private companies

to get 70% of the work.

0:08:230:08:26

In reality, it turned out

to be more like 50%.

0:08:260:08:28

They weren't making enough money.

0:08:280:08:30

We were very concerned indeed.

0:08:300:08:32

They weren't getting the volumes

of work coming through that

0:08:320:08:34

had been anticipated.

0:08:340:08:36

That leads us to concerns

as to whether some of those will be

0:08:360:08:40

able to sustain the contracts,

and that was likely to feed

0:08:400:08:43

through into whether or not

it was a long-term stable

0:08:430:08:45

system going forward.

0:08:450:08:46

The performance of the privately

run probation companies

0:08:460:08:48

is being closely monitored.

0:08:480:08:51

Amongst the private companies,

we're seeing a very mixed picture.

0:08:510:08:53

A minority of those that we've been

to see it are doing well enough,

0:08:530:08:57

but the majority are not.

0:08:570:09:01

They're not yet in a stable

position, they're not yet operating

0:09:010:09:06

in an established way,

and that does surprise me.

0:09:060:09:10

And just how alarming is the picture

with those private companies?

0:09:100:09:13

Well, clearly,

I'm expressing a significant amount

0:09:130:09:15

of concern about it.

0:09:150:09:17

The financial stability

of the private companies

0:09:170:09:19

was at the heart of those concerns.

0:09:190:09:24

Some of these companies are losing

significant amounts of money.

0:09:240:09:27

It's not surprising, then,

that they are looking for ways

0:09:270:09:32

to balance the books,

so they should.

0:09:320:09:35

Often as not, that does mean

reducing staff numbers to what,

0:09:350:09:37

in my view, is below

an acceptable level.

0:09:370:09:41

The general strategy has been

to reduce costs as low

0:09:410:09:43

as you can to make a profit.

0:09:430:09:49

What that has meant is,

although there are less

0:09:490:09:51

people coming through,

actually, you've got less

0:09:510:09:53

people doing the work.

0:09:530:09:54

So they've actually

got higher caseloads.

0:09:540:09:55

This whistle-blower,

whose identity we're protecting,

0:09:550:09:57

works for MTC Novo.

0:09:570:10:02

The company won the £980 million

probation contract for London.

0:10:020:10:08

We've been told it's employing fewer

fully qualified probation officers.

0:10:080:10:13

I used to manage around 50 offenders

when we were London Probation Trust.

0:10:130:10:18

When we were privatised,

I had a caseload of around 76.

0:10:180:10:23

Some of these people are highly

vulnerable, and they need help,

0:10:230:10:27

and they need intervention.

They're not getting that.

0:10:270:10:29

We're not building a rapport.

0:10:290:10:32

If you see me once a month for 20

minutes, how are you going to open

0:10:320:10:36

up to me and tell me

what's going on inside your head?

0:10:360:10:39

What's going on behind the scenes?

0:10:390:10:41

The new way, I don't know them,

they don't trust me.

0:10:410:10:43

You're stranger to them.

Exactly.

0:10:430:10:44

And they're a stranger to me.

0:10:440:10:48

What we're seeing is shortages

of staff with probation officers

0:10:480:10:52

carrying alarmingly high caseloads,

in some cases, and the consequences

0:10:520:10:56

of that are that people

under supervision are not

0:10:560:10:58

being supervised effectively.

0:10:580:11:01

I've seen an explosion in my

caseload of offenders reoffending,

0:11:010:11:04

and some serious offences.

0:11:040:11:09

You know, GBH, racially

aggravated violent offences

0:11:090:11:16

and domestic violence,

abuse of their partners

0:11:160:11:18

and to their children.

0:11:180:11:19

This is Alex Malcolm,

the video was filmed

0:11:190:11:25

by his mother, Liliya.

0:11:250:11:31

This baby.

How old is he there?

0:11:310:11:32

This is about one and a half.

0:11:320:11:38

Through friends, Liliya

was introduced last year

0:11:380:11:40

to this man, Marvyn Iheanacho.

0:11:400:11:41

He was coming to the end

of a prison sentence.

0:11:410:11:44

Iheanacho hid from Liliya

that he'd been jailed

0:11:440:11:46

for attacking a former partner.

0:11:460:11:47

They began a relationship.

0:11:470:11:50

He said he was innocent.

0:11:500:11:54

He just had been in the wrong

time, wrong place.

0:11:540:11:58

I'm quite a trustworthy person.

There was no reason not to believe.

0:11:580:12:02

Iheanacho quickly became

part of Liliya's life,

0:12:020:12:08

and a father figure

to five-year-old Alex.

0:12:080:12:10

He would help Alex

to do his homework.

0:12:100:12:13

He sometimes would be cooking, also.

0:12:130:12:15

You know, just really

normal day-to-day.

0:12:150:12:20

Iheanacho was being supervised

by the government run

0:12:200:12:22

National Probation Service.

0:12:220:12:25

He was a high-risk offender,

but no one told Liliya.

0:12:250:12:30

London, November, 2016,

and the figure walking

0:12:300:12:33

in the distance is Marvyn Iheanacho.

0:12:330:12:39

I was cooking dinner.

0:12:390:12:41

And Marvyn, he just

wanted to go to the shop.

0:12:410:12:45

He asked if he can

take Alex with him.

0:12:450:12:49

And then, I said,

"You know what, it's Sunday.

0:12:490:12:52

He still needs to do his homework."

0:12:520:12:57

I expected them to be

no longer than an hour,

0:12:570:13:00

and be back by the time

I'd finished cooking dinner.

0:13:000:13:03

Without telling Liliya, Iheanacho

had taken Alex to a local park.

0:13:030:13:08

It started getting late, then

I started panicking, and thinking,

0:13:080:13:12

"Why are they still not back?"

0:13:120:13:14

I gave him a call to ask,

where are you guys?

0:13:140:13:20

And then, he just simply replied,

"Alex lost his shoe."

0:13:200:13:24

Iheanacho was caught again on CCTV

carrying the limp figure of Alex.

0:13:240:13:33

In a rage, he'd beaten the boy

over the missing shoe.

0:13:330:13:36

When I ran quickly downstairs,

all I saw was just Alex

0:13:360:13:39

just wasn't conscious.

Sorry...

0:13:390:13:40

I just always get really upset...

0:13:400:13:43

That's fine. That's fine.

Take your time.

0:13:430:13:46

Was he holding Alex at that point?

Yeah.

0:13:460:13:48

He hold him like a baby.

0:13:480:13:54

I just haven't stopped screaming

and crying ever since I saw him,

0:13:540:13:59

I just constantly was keep asking,

"What happened?

0:13:590:14:01

What have you done to my son?"

0:14:010:14:06

Alex died in hospital

from his injuries.

0:14:060:14:10

Iheanacho was convicted of murder

and jailed for life.

0:14:100:14:17

During his trial, it emerged

that he had a long list

0:14:170:14:23

of convictions for violence,

including six for domestic abuse.

0:14:230:14:25

This came as a shock to Liliya.

0:14:250:14:28

There's not one, two, three.

0:14:280:14:30

There was four, five,

six, seven, eight, nine.

0:14:300:14:32

This guy had the worst track

record you can imagine.

0:14:320:14:39

Liliya should have been told

that she and Alex were in danger,

0:14:390:14:42

but the probation service

didn't warn her.

0:14:420:14:47

How do you know that probation knew

that you were his girlfriend?

0:14:470:14:52

He told them.

0:14:520:14:54

He told them I was his girlfriend,

and he told them I have child.

0:14:540:14:57

And the probation officer,

didn't she ask you?

0:14:570:14:59

She just asked me who I was, and I

said I was Marvyn's girlfriend.

0:14:590:15:03

And she said, "Oh, OK, fine."

0:15:030:15:05

And that's it.

0:15:050:15:07

How easy would it have been

for the probation service to have

0:15:070:15:10

prevented Alex's murder?

0:15:100:15:13

I cannot blame them completely,

but they did play a big part

0:15:130:15:16

in what happened to Alex.

0:15:160:15:20

And...

0:15:200:15:22

If they did inform me

about his previous conviction,

0:15:220:15:25

100% I won't be involved

with this person.

0:15:250:15:31

The National Probation Service,

which was supervising Iheanacho,

0:15:310:15:33

was also under pressure

following the reforms.

0:15:330:15:39

While the private companies

had less work than they

0:15:390:15:41

expected, it had more.

0:15:410:15:45

It too has been inspected.

0:15:450:15:46

We weren't entirely

satisfied with how the NPS

0:15:460:15:48

were performing in London.

0:15:480:15:51

It is a difficult city, actually,

to deliver probation service in 32

0:15:510:15:54

boroughs and a rather mobile

offending population,

0:15:540:15:56

so it's a particularly onerous task.

0:15:560:16:01

We're inspecting again

in London now as we speak.

0:16:010:16:05

The inspection reports say

that the National Probation Service

0:16:050:16:10

is generally doing

better outside London.

0:16:100:16:12

But an officer who works outside

of London says the reforms

0:16:120:16:15

are undermining her work.

0:16:150:16:16

We're protecting her identity.

0:16:160:16:20

We know it's a mess.

0:16:200:16:21

Everyone knows it's a mess.

0:16:210:16:24

Last week in my full working week

I spent no more than two hours

0:16:240:16:27

in actual physical face to face

contact with the people I supervise.

0:16:270:16:33

How would it have been, say,

five years ago or whatever,

0:16:330:16:36

before the reforms?

0:16:360:16:37

I think I would have

spent about half of my

0:16:370:16:39

time, 15 hours a week.

0:16:390:16:41

Right, OK.

0:16:410:16:41

And she says the reforms have caused

division and inefficiency.

0:16:410:16:45

The natural relationships

are severing with the colleagues

0:16:450:16:47

in the private companies.

0:16:470:16:49

Previously if I had a problem

with somebody who someone

0:16:490:16:52

else was supervising,

say, I'd walk across the office

0:16:520:16:55

and have a conversation.

0:16:550:16:56

But if I want to e-mail somebody

from the private company,

0:16:560:16:59

that just takes longer.

0:16:590:17:00

If I phone up I get a call centre.

0:17:000:17:03

So that sense of being actually able

to communicate in a sensible,

0:17:030:17:06

ordinary way, is gone.

0:17:060:17:10

Nadine Marshall is now campaigning

against the reforms.

0:17:160:17:21

The report written by Working Links,

the company supervising

0:17:210:17:23

the man who killed her son,

reveals that David Braddon had been

0:17:230:17:26

evading probation staff.

0:17:260:17:32

I read the rest of the document.

0:17:320:17:35

That was when we found out

the equally horrific information

0:17:350:17:37

with appointments missed.

0:17:370:17:42

He was missing eight appointments.

0:17:420:17:45

Offenders who fail to comply

with the terms of their probation,

0:17:450:17:48

like missing appointments,

can be taken back to court

0:17:480:17:50

and even imprisoned.

0:17:500:17:54

But in Braddon's case,

that didn't happen.

0:17:540:17:57

What might have happened to him?

0:17:570:17:58

It's very likely that he would have

been taken to prison,

0:17:580:18:01

because he wasn't complying.

0:18:010:18:04

So that means that he might not have

been around to attack...

0:18:040:18:06

He might not have been

at liberty to attack Conner?

0:18:060:18:09

Yeah, he wouldn't, yeah.

0:18:090:18:10

That's the horrible,

horrible point that

0:18:100:18:11

you have to digest -

which we can't - is that, yeah,

0:18:110:18:14

had they done what they should have

done, the very likelihood

0:18:140:18:17

is that he wouldn't have been there.

0:18:170:18:22

Of the eight appointments missed

by Braddon, Working Links says only

0:18:220:18:25

two were judged to be unacceptable.

0:18:250:18:29

After the second,

they started proceedings

0:18:290:18:30

to take him back to court.

0:18:300:18:34

By then, Braddon had committed his

fatal attack and was on the run.

0:18:340:18:39

The company says: "The serious

further offences report found

0:18:390:18:42

Braddon's management wasn't linked

to Conner's murder, which was not

0:18:420:18:46

predictable or preventable,

a conclusion supported

0:18:460:18:48

by the probation inspector."

0:18:480:18:53

The company says public protection

is its top priority and it's changed

0:18:530:18:56

the way it works to give front line

probation officers more

0:18:560:18:58

time with service users

who are most likely to reoffend.

0:18:580:19:05

The Ministry of Justice says had

Braddon been sent back to court,

0:19:050:19:07

it's unlikely he would

have been jailed.

0:19:070:19:13

Dealing with offenders who miss

appointments is a key part

0:19:150:19:17

of a probation officer's job.

0:19:170:19:20

We've discovered evidence that one

company has a big problem.

0:19:200:19:24

Panorama has seen records

from inside the company that handles

0:19:240:19:26

all low and medium risk offenders

on probation in London, MTCnovo.

0:19:260:19:33

The records reveal that offenders

across the capital missed more

0:19:330:19:37

than 15,000 appointments over a 16

month period, and the probation

0:19:370:19:40

officers looking after them failed

to take any action at all.

0:19:400:19:47

What's your opinion of that?

0:19:470:19:48

Does that surprise you?

0:19:480:19:49

It doesn't surprise me.

0:19:490:19:52

I inherit cases where there

is 20 to 30 appointments

0:19:520:19:56

that they haven't attended,

for unpaid work or for

0:19:560:19:58

their supervision, and no

action has been taken.

0:19:580:20:03

But he says the company

did take some action,

0:20:030:20:05

instructing staff to alter records.

0:20:050:20:09

We've also heard that there

was an order that went out

0:20:090:20:11

within the London private company

that any missed appointments

0:20:110:20:14

by offenders which hadn't already

been addressed could just be wiped

0:20:140:20:17

from the system if they were more

than two weeks old.

0:20:170:20:21

That was correct.

0:20:210:20:23

Yeah, about six months ago we got

an instruction from our managers,

0:20:230:20:26

and I went through all my cases

and cleared those

0:20:260:20:28

missed appointments up.

0:20:280:20:30

Some of them were two years old.

0:20:300:20:33

That's completely unacceptable.

0:20:330:20:37

If there are unactioned missed

appointments then how can you have

0:20:370:20:41

that level of monitoring and control

to reassure the public that things

0:20:410:20:43

are being done properly

and there is not the risk

0:20:430:20:48

of reoffending or harm to members

of the public?

0:20:480:20:51

Our evidence reinforces

concerns raised last year

0:20:510:20:54

following an inspection of part

of MTCnovo's operations

0:20:540:20:56

in North London.

0:20:560:21:02

Inspected London probation company

last year, and I expressed grave

0:21:020:21:04

concerns about the number of missed

appointments and the number

0:21:040:21:07

of people not being seen at all.

0:21:070:21:12

I was so concerned about it

I required an action plan from it

0:21:120:21:15

and I am inspecting that London

probation company again now.

0:21:150:21:22

This latest inspection

is Londonwide.

0:21:220:21:32

The inspectorate routinely tells

the companies what it

0:21:330:21:35

intends to look at.

0:21:350:21:36

Insiders say this gives

them time to prepare.

0:21:360:21:37

We've been having team meetings,

senior managers have attended

0:21:370:21:40

those team meetings.

0:21:400:21:41

We've been scripted what to say,

what kinds of questions

0:21:410:21:43

are going to be asked and what kind

of answers we should be

0:21:430:21:46

giving to the inspection.

0:21:460:21:49

People's cases have been reduced,

and we're being given directives

0:21:490:21:51

to make the case look

as good as possible.

0:21:510:21:58

Recently released offender Sean

is under MTCnovo's supervision.

0:22:000:22:05

Is he feeling the effects

of its preparations for inspection?

0:22:050:22:10

Sean's got a job on a construction

site, and I'm down here

0:22:100:22:13

to meet him during his break

because apparently his probation

0:22:130:22:15

officer has said there's a problem.

0:22:150:22:17

Hey.

0:22:170:22:19

How you doing?

0:22:190:22:20

How you doing, Sean?

0:22:200:22:21

Good to see you.

0:22:210:22:22

So what's the latest?

0:22:220:22:23

Basically they've said to me

that if I don't attend

0:22:230:22:25

an appointment with them tomorrow,

that they're basically

0:22:250:22:27

going to recall me,

which is going to basically put me

0:22:270:22:30

back into prison.

0:22:300:22:31

If I don't come tomorrow,

it's curtains for me.

0:22:310:22:33

Why?

0:22:330:22:34

Why have they said that?

0:22:340:22:35

I don't know, like,

your guess is as good as mine.

0:22:350:22:38

They said that I've missed

a couple appointments,

0:22:380:22:40

but I've not been made of any

appointments at all.

0:22:400:22:42

So this just caught you by surprise?

0:22:420:22:44

Yeah, exactly.

0:22:440:22:45

So I'm also going to

have to miss work now.

0:22:450:22:47

Sean still hasn't found

a permanent place to live.

0:22:470:22:50

I meet him the next day

after the appointment

0:22:510:22:53

with his probation officer.

0:22:530:22:55

How you doing?

0:22:550:22:56

How you doing?

0:22:560:22:57

All right, man.

0:22:570:22:58

Good to see you.

0:22:580:22:59

Take a seat.

0:22:590:23:00

Yeah, that's great.

0:23:000:23:01

How did the meeting with your

probation worker go?

0:23:010:23:04

Because I've missed two

appointments, according to them,

0:23:040:23:05

that's going to send me back

to prison, and that's also

0:23:050:23:08

going to mess up the housing

situation which I'm currently trying

0:23:080:23:11

to work on.

0:23:110:23:12

These meetings that

you apparently missed,

0:23:120:23:13

when were they meant to have been?

0:23:130:23:15

In September.

0:23:150:23:16

They're saying to me that

they've sent letters,

0:23:160:23:18

but they know that my current

housing situation,

0:23:180:23:20

they know what that is.

0:23:200:23:21

I'm trying to work hard

to do all these things,

0:23:210:23:26

I've got myself employment,

all of this stuff I'm trying to do

0:23:260:23:29

for myself and basically

they are just jeopardising it.

0:23:290:23:31

Sean has been asked to account

for his missed appointments.

0:23:310:23:34

If the reasons he gives

aren't judged good enough,

0:23:340:23:36

he could be sent back to jail.

0:23:360:23:39

MTCnovo says it can't comment

on individual cases.

0:23:390:23:43

It says public protection

is its number one priority,

0:23:430:23:47

that staff are required to take

action on any missed appointments

0:23:470:23:50

and this is closely monitored.

0:23:500:23:52

It says it inherited issues

from before the reforms and it's

0:23:520:23:55

made significant progress over

the last 12 months in reducing

0:23:550:23:57

and balancing caseloads.

0:23:570:24:01

It says preparing for inspections

is standard practice.

0:24:010:24:05

I'm waiting for Liliya.

0:24:110:24:13

She's been at a serious case review,

an official inquiry into the murder

0:24:130:24:16

of her five-year-old son,

Alex.

0:24:160:24:20

She's discovered more

about her former boyfriend

0:24:200:24:21

and the terms of his supervision

by the National Probation Service.

0:24:210:24:26

Hiya.

0:24:260:24:27

How did it go?

0:24:270:24:28

It went well.

0:24:280:24:29

Yeah?

0:24:290:24:30

Yeah.

0:24:300:24:31

Apparently he wasn't even

allowed to be around

0:24:310:24:33

kids under 16 years old.

0:24:330:24:35

Under the terms of his probation,

Marvyn Iheanacho wasn't meant

0:24:350:24:38

to have unsupervised

contact with children.

0:24:380:24:41

Spending time with Alex should have

had serious consequences for him.

0:24:410:24:47

He should have been

recalled back to prison.

0:24:470:24:49

That's another

shocking thing for me.

0:24:490:24:51

So the probation has clearly just

failed to do their job,

0:24:510:24:54

particularly with Marvyn.

0:24:540:24:56

So it's like, step-by-step,

I'm constantly finding

0:24:560:24:58

out new little things.

0:24:580:24:59

And this is really upsetting.

0:24:590:25:04

The Ministry of Justice says it

apologises sincerely to Liliya

0:25:040:25:06

for unacceptable failings.

0:25:060:25:09

These include repeated breaches

of his licence conditions

0:25:090:25:12

being ignored and information

suggesting Iheanacho was in contact

0:25:120:25:19

with a number of women

and children not being acted on.

0:25:190:25:25

It says two members of staff have

been suspended and strict procedures

0:25:250:25:28

have been put in place to help

prevent a tragic case

0:25:280:25:31

like this happening again.

0:25:310:25:32

It's now clear the Government

is concerned about the way

0:25:320:25:34

its reforms are working.

0:25:340:25:36

This summer it rewrote the contracts

with private companies to give them

0:25:360:25:39

greater financial security.

0:25:390:25:42

It says this will enable them to

focus on rehabilitating offenders.

0:25:420:25:46

But that's not all.

0:25:460:25:49

Earlier this year the Government

ordered a review of its probation

0:25:490:25:52

reforms following widespread concern

about how they were working.

0:25:520:25:56

But it seems that the results

are going to be for ministers' eyes

0:25:560:25:59

only, because so far

they are refusing

0:25:590:26:01

to publish any of it.

0:26:010:26:05

I think, actually, the Government

should come clean and publish that.

0:26:050:26:08

And we need also to have a clear set

of proposals from Government

0:26:080:26:11

as to what they're going to do

to act upon what I suspect

0:26:110:26:14

are going to be the deficiencies

that that review finds.

0:26:140:26:19

The Ministry of Justice says public

protection is its top priority,

0:26:190:26:22

and while probation needs to work

better it was absolutely right

0:26:220:26:25

to reform the system,

which has led to 40,000 previously

0:26:250:26:28

unmonitored short-term

offenders being supervised.

0:26:280:26:35

It says there is a great deal

of evidence that private companies

0:26:350:26:38

and the National Probation Service,

which is expanding and recruiting

0:26:380:26:40

more staff, are working closely

together to ensure offenders

0:26:400:26:44

have the most appropriate

level of supervision.

0:26:440:26:49

But calls for the Government to

think again about its controversial

0:26:490:26:52

reforms to the probation service

are growing louder.

0:26:520:26:57

I think no one in the probation

service would have accepted that

0:26:570:27:00

everything was perfect,

but I think what they've

0:27:000:27:02

done is that they've

destabilised the system.

0:27:020:27:06

How broken is the system now?

0:27:060:27:08

By and large, from where it was four

years ago, yeah, it's broken.

0:27:080:27:11

We want probation to work.

0:27:110:27:14

It's in no one's interest

if suddenly services just collapse.

0:27:140:27:18

How alarmed should members

of the public be by the way

0:27:180:27:21

that the probation service

is currently working?

0:27:210:27:24

Well, I'm not able to provide them

with the assurance that

0:27:240:27:26

I would like, and I can't say

for certain that every private

0:27:260:27:29

company is managing to protect

the public as well as it could.

0:27:290:27:35

The flaws in the probation service

have already left the deepest

0:27:350:27:38

of scars across the lives

of some families.

0:27:380:27:43

How likely is it that another

tragedy is going to happen?

0:27:430:27:46

It's going to happen

any time, anywhere.

0:27:460:27:48

If nothing changes,

100% it will happen.

0:27:480:27:55

It's affected every part of my life.

0:27:550:27:58

I've lost my job, I've

lost me, and obviously

0:27:580:28:02

the biggest loss is Conner.

0:28:020:28:05

I've lost my number one.

0:28:050:28:07

No amount of searching through

reports is going to help me there.

0:28:070:28:11

My little boy.

0:28:110:28:13

And that's when it gets me.

0:28:130:28:18

The Government is about to release

its latest reoffending figures.

0:28:180:28:23

Whatever they reveal,

critics of the probation reforms say

0:28:230:28:26

the Government shouldn't ignore

deep-seated problems they say

0:28:260:28:27

are putting lives at risk.

0:28:270:28:34

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS