Significant changes to the Probation Service, including new community sanctions, a dedicated service for young offenders and the roll-out of restorative justice programmes, are due to be announced today.
The reform of the service follows a wide-ranging review of the organisation which aims to rehabilitate offenders through community-based sanctions and other supports.
The Probation Service - which is changing its name from the Probation and Welfare Service - works with about 6,000 offenders subject to orders from courts, life sentence prisoners on temporary release and sex offenders. Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is to launch a three-year strategy statement today which will include plans to establish a young person's probation service.
This service will be aimed at the estimated 800 offenders aged under 18 in contact with the Probation Service who have previously been dealt with through the adult service. It will be accompanied by eight new community sanctions which are due to be enforced from next year.
In general, they will provide ways of supporting a child towards more constructive behaviour, such as requiring him or her to undergo sport, training or educational activities; offering a mentor or the close supervision of a relative with positive influence; or removing a child from negative peer or other influences in the community.
These community sanctions were provided for in the Children's Act (2001), but were never fully implemented. They are due to be in place by April next year. The work of this new section of the Probation Service will focus on marginalised communities in urban centres around the country.
The three-year strategic plan also involves the further development of restorative justice programmes and community sanctions. A number of pilot projects involving restorative justice - which gives a greater voice to the victim of a crime and offers an offender the chance to express remorse for their actions - have been taking place over recent years.
Using the results of these projects, the Probation Service is to integrate a restorative justice approach into more of its day-to- day work. The service will also review expenditure across a range of services and develop standards for funded projects. New IT systems are being put in place to provide more information on the performance and effectiveness of the service.
Many of the changes follow on from concerns expressed by the Comptroller and Auditor General in 2004 over the lack of data regarding the service.
At present the Probation Service employs 330 staff, compared with 3,100 prison officers in the prison system. Its main functions are to provide probation reports, supervise community-based court sentences and plan and assist in the rehabilitation of prisoners. Social work professionals have been calling for an increase in its budget of €50 million - just a fraction of the bill for the prison service.