Sadiq Khan: Give City Hall control of failing probation services

Privatising probation services has been a disaster in London, and Mayor Sadiq Khan is calling for the city to again be given a supervisory role. “A watchdog has warned that the public is being put at risk by ‘unacceptable’ probation failings in the capital. The chief inspector of probation, Dame Glenys Stacey, said the ‘poor performance’ of the London Community Rehabilitation Company, a private provider responsible for most probation work in the city, meant some offenders were not being monitored for months. Others were ‘lost in the system’ with the result that Londoners were being ‘exposed unduly to the risk of harm.’ In response, the Mayor said the Government's decision to privatise most probation work last year had backfired: ‘Today's report is deeply alarming and shows that London's probation service is simply not working, with Londoners significantly more at risk as a result of the upheaval caused by privatization.’”