Probation privatisation: MoJ's incompetence exposed, yet top official becomes chief inspector of probation

Earlier this month one of the most damning National Audit Office reports I have ever seen detailed the disastrous damage done to a previously reasonably well performing public probation service by a privatisation botched from the start, every which way, predicted by everyone to fail, and which has now utterly failed, with contracts ended early, wasting stupendous amounts of public money. But there is still more to this scandal:

1. In spite of MoJ re-jigging the contracts part way through to make it easier for probation companies to ‘achieve’ targets for reducing numbers reoffending, most still failed to do so, while the numbers of new offences per offender actually rose
2. MoJ nevertheless claims that CRCs ‘achieved’ a 2.5% fall in numbers reoffending. But did you know that MoJ fixed it so that you cannot compare this ‘success’ of CRCs with what the public sector NPS achieved - with much more difficult offenders? Very likely, given that inspections consistently show much higher compliances by NPS than by CRCs, the NPS has done much better. But MoJ have concealed this information from us.
3. In any case all this stuff about ‘achieving’ reductions in reoffending is a nonsense – rates for those receiving a disposal which does not involve the probation or prison services at all have fallen by much more – 2008-2016, caution down 18.7% to 14.9%, discharge from 36.5% to 29.6%, fine 31.7% to 25.7%. For that matter, rates for prisoners serving 4-10 years fell from 26% to 19.8 % over the same period - just as our prisons moved from stability into violent chaos. The idea that correctional services’ performance is reflected in such figures simply defies the real-world evidence. It is an ideologically-driven fantasy.
4. The probation changes were driven by the wish to extend post release supervision to those serving under 12 months, so as to cut high reoffending rates. But MoJ now says there is no point in sentences of 6 months or less – because of high reconviction rates! MoJ have thus themselves destroyed the policy  basis of their own privatisation.
5. Nevertheless, MoJ persist with this model of privatisation, despite the express comment of the NAO that this model is ill-conceived and cannot work.
6. The official who presided over probation policy, Justin Russell, is set to become Chief Inspector of Probation. In the new role, he will be expected to comment on the disastrous results of policy for which he had responsibility. This bizarre appointment makes a nonsense of a so-called independent inspectorate. Why not make the chief executive of G4S the next Chief Inspector of Prison?

Further evidence that the MOJ is simply unfit for purpose.