Information for Sentencers
Welcome to the London Probation Information for Sentencers
webpage. This section of the site contains materials which will be
of use to Sentencers when presiding over cases which may result in
a community order. It also contains our regular newsletters, and
information about the quarterly Probation and Courts Forum.
Probation & Courts Forum
Events
Materials for Sentencers
Sentencer Liaison Guidelines
Newsletters
Probation Court teams’ contact details
Contact Us
Satisfaction Survey for Crown Court
Judges
The survey is now closed. Many thanks to
those of you who participated. Results of the survey will be
shared at the annual seminar for Crown Court Judges on the 23
November.
Thinking Skills Programme
The new Thinking Skills
Programme will soon be replacing the Think First programme in the
community, and the Enhanced Thinking Skills programme (ETS) in
prison, across the whole of England and Wales, and will now be
rolled out in London between October 2009 and March 2010. We will
be arranging briefings for sentencers as the Thinking Skills
Programme is implemented in you area.
Click
here to find out more about the new programme.
10 Day Remand in Custody Campaign
London Probation is required to prepare pre-sentence reports on
those defendants remanded into custody within 10 working days. This
is a national target and all probation areas are required to
complete at least 90 per cent of reports within this 10 day
timeframe.
While London Probation has made significant improvements in this
area, more work needs to be done for us to achieve the 90 per cent
target. Evidence suggests that probation areas are far more likely
to meet the 10 day target when the court has remanded for 10 days -
rather than the usual 15. London Probation is therefore encouraging
courts to remand for no more than 10 working days. We have recently
distributed publicity materials to all London District Judges,
Magistrates and Legal Advisors to remind them about this.
If you have any questions please email:
impactprogramme@london.probation.gsi.gov.uk
Tag-a-Mag
London Magistrate, Yvonne Powell, agreed to
be tagged for a week to help give magistrates a better
understanding about the effects tagging can have on a person's
everyday life, and to explore some of the common myths around
tagging.
To see how she got on, click
here
2009 Sentencer Survey
The 2009 London Probation survey for Magistrates and District
Judges has now closed. The surveys are being analysed and we will
let you have the results shortly.
Thank you to all of you who completed the survey.
Probation & Courts Forum
The Probation and Courts Forum
takes place quarterly at London Probation’s headquarters in
Westminster. The Forum, chaired by Caroline Corby, Magistrate and
member of the London Probation Board, is an opportunity for
probation staff and sentencers to get together to discuss topical
issues. Membership of the forum is by invite only.
However, if you wish to find out more about the PCF please email
rebecca.rae@london.probation.gsi.gov.uk
Forthcoming PCF dates:
9 March 2010
8 June 2010
14 September 2010
7 December 2010
15 March 2011
Minutes and Highlights from past forums
9 June 2009 - Minutes
24 March 2009 - Minutes
9 December 2008 - Minutes
16 September 2008 – Minutes
10 June 2008 - Minutes
Highlights
25 March 2008 - Minutes Highlights
11 December 2007 - Minutes
They need to go under the Probation and Courts Forum:
Events
Materials for Sentencers
The materials below have been produced by NOMS and London
Probation, and provide and overview of the services operated by
Probation in London. Every sentencer should have a hard copy of
either the bench guide or bench handbook. If you do not, please
alert your local court SPO.
Bench Handbook and Guide
Bench Handbook – for Crown Court Judges
Bench Guide* – for District Judges and
Magistrates
*Please note, the following programmes are not available from
London Probation, but are featured in the Bench Guide: One to One,
Controlling Anger and Learning to Manager it (CALM), Thames Valley
– Sex Offender Groupwork Programme (TV-SOGP), Northumbria - Sex
Offender Groupwork Programme (N-SOGP), Offender Substance Abuse
Programme (OSAP), Personal Reduction in Substance Misuse (PRISM),
Community Domestic Violence Programme
Impact Sentencer Bulletin
A monthly sentencer bulletin is sent to all London courts
featuring a different community sentence each month.
Click here to view electronic copies of these.
Programmes
The following leaflets give information on Offending Behaviour
Programmes available from London Probation:
· ART
· ASRO
· Cog Skills Booster
· C-SGOP
· DIDs
· DTTO
· Employment Pathfinder
· IDAP
· Intensive Supervison Monitoring
Scheme (ISMS)
· Think First
· Women's Programme
Data for sentencers
London Probation provide data three times a year for sentencers
to coincide with the Probation Liaison Committee meetings at
courts. The data covers requirements laid down by the Senior
Presiding Judge, and includes information on start times for Unpaid
Work orders, and Offending Behaviour Programmes. The most
recent data extracts are listed below.
Data for Sentencers - September 2009
Sentencer Liaison Guidelines
The following guidelines were issued by the Senior Presiding
Judge for England and Wales in June 2008 and sets out ways that
sentencers and representatives of the Ministry of Justice should
liaise in order to assure that the court is best assisted to do its
work.
Guidance from the Senior
Presiding Judge
Newsletters
Information for Judges, and Information for Sentencers are sent
out on a quarterly basis, with the aim of keeping all sentencers
updated on the latest news and developments from London Probation.
(as on the website currently under “resources”)
Information for Judges
Information for Sentencers (aimed at Magistrates)
Probation Court Team contact details
Names of SPO for each court are in the attached spreadsheet
here.
Contact us
If you have any general queries, comments or feedback on
Probation please email our dedicated account:
Sentencer_enquiry@london.probation.gsi.gov.uk
For queries regarding specific cases at your court, please
contact your local court SPO directly.