Probation Service Annual Report 2018

17th June 2019

The Probation Service Annual Report 2018 was published by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, on the 17th of June, 2019. The report contains achievements and developments in 2018 by the Probation Service in Ireland.

This includes publication of their third Strategic Plan, 2018-2020, which concentrates on offender rehabilitation and reintegration, whereby the Probation staff deliver programmes to prisoners (2,500) to aid in their rehabilitation and re-entry into society. IPRT had made a submission to this strategic planning process.

The Probation Service reports that they continued in their efforts to grow social enterprises, thereby increasing prospects of employment for offenders.

In March 2018, it was decided that the entry requirement to be a Probation Officer would be that he must be registered on the Social Work Register, thereby bringing social work to the forefront of the service provided.

In October, the Probation Service National Restorative Justice, and the Victim Services Unit were established.

A Domestic Violence Practice Manual was developed to support staff in their supervision of perpetrators, and the Probation Service also up-skilled employees in areas concerning addiction and mental health.

Young people who were referred to the Probation Service, received an ‘evidence based holistic interagency’ response.

2018 in numbers:

• 15,777 offenders were dealt with in the community
• 355,404 hours of community service work was carried out instead of 1,054 years in prison being served; thereby saving over €3 million of taxpayers’ money as a result of the unpaid work completed. Communities all over Ireland benefited from this.
• 2,524 prisoners worked with the Probation Service in 2018
• €16,732 million funding was given to Community Based Organisations working with adults, and to Young Persons Probation, that provide crucial services in reducing reoffending.
• The Joint Agency Response to Crime (J-ARC) was delivered to over 130 ‘high profile’ offenders throughout 2018, in 7 different locations across Ireland, all of which received an inter-agency case management plan.