Alyce
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Had McCann been referred to the Parole Board, it would not have considered his release until the summer. A panel would have assessed his case in great detail and the expectation is that he would not have been let out at that stage.
Questions about the failure to notify the board centre on the National Probation Service - and in particular, its office at Watford, Hertfordshire, where McCann's case was being handled.
Ian Lawrence, general secretary of the probation union NAPO, said there was a variety of problems there, including a number of senior staff changes.
"It was pretty much chaos in the office in terms of the supervisory system," he told BBC News. "It was not a happy place."
In September 2019, an inspection report found that performance in the wider region was undermined by workloads that were "too high", with officers having to manage an average of 42 cases each.
The report said there were "significant staff shortages", with gaps filled by agency workers, and identified problems assessing the threat posed by offenders.
"Staff did not sufficiently analyse the risk of serious harm or consider victims and potential victims," it added.
As a result of the failings, four probation officers from the Watford office faced disciplinary proceedings, one of whom was found guilty of gross misconduct and has since been demoted.
Two other workers were investigated for poor performance, including their handling of the McCann case. One employee was sacked and the contract of the other individual, who was from an agency, was terminated.
much more at the link ...............
The failures that let Joseph McCann out of prison
Questions about the failure to notify the board centre on the National Probation Service - and in particular, its office at Watford, Hertfordshire, where McCann's case was being handled.
Ian Lawrence, general secretary of the probation union NAPO, said there was a variety of problems there, including a number of senior staff changes.
"It was pretty much chaos in the office in terms of the supervisory system," he told BBC News. "It was not a happy place."
In September 2019, an inspection report found that performance in the wider region was undermined by workloads that were "too high", with officers having to manage an average of 42 cases each.
The report said there were "significant staff shortages", with gaps filled by agency workers, and identified problems assessing the threat posed by offenders.
"Staff did not sufficiently analyse the risk of serious harm or consider victims and potential victims," it added.
As a result of the failings, four probation officers from the Watford office faced disciplinary proceedings, one of whom was found guilty of gross misconduct and has since been demoted.
Two other workers were investigated for poor performance, including their handling of the McCann case. One employee was sacked and the contract of the other individual, who was from an agency, was terminated.
much more at the link ...............
The failures that let Joseph McCann out of prison
Robert BucklandThe Minister of State, Ministry of Justice
