Probation hostels in England and Wales forced to shut after staffing crisis

Staffing challenges at the probation hostels include untrained security guards having to fill in for staff, officials have confirmed. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Staffing challenges at the probation hostels include untrained security guards having to fill in for staff, officials have confirmed. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Probation hostels in England and Wales forced to shut after staffing crisis Watchdog says public being put in danger by closure of premises that accommodate most dangerous offenders Nearly one in ten probation hostels where England and Wales’ most dangerous offenders live after leaving prison have been closed after a staffing crisis. As ministers prepare the early release of thousands of inmates in September, a leaked memo revealed that “staffing challenges” have led to temporary closures of the heavily-supervised “approved premises”. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed that nine out of 105 approved premises are currently closed. Untrained security guards are sometimes having to fill in for probation staff, officials have confirmed. It is not clear when any of the closed hostels will reopen. The developments come after the government refused to rule out the early release of violent rapists and paedophiles among 6,000 men to be released in early September. In response to the findings, Martin Jones, the HM inspector of probation, said the public was being put in danger by closures of approved premises and failing to ensure they had properly trained staff. The Guardian view on prisons: the public deserves better than this litany of failure | Editorial Read more “Approved premises are the place where the highest risk individuals go after release and it is vital that as many places are there for them and you have to get the right staff in place. “If you have security guards doing their jobs, there is a big risk of things going wrong and the public being put in danger. The government has to get this right,” he said. Approved premises, or probation hostels, supervise about 2,000 criminals across England and Wales considered too dangerous to release back into the community. Residents often have drug and alcohol problems and complex mental health needs. They live in the hostels for about eight to 12 weeks, and can be recalled to prison if they refuse to submit to drug and alcohol tests or have their rooms searched. Staff are required to monitor residents with rapid enforcement action needed to stop violent incidents, self-harm and overdoses. Insiders, however, said high stress levels coupled with the expiry of contracts with private companies Sodexo and OCS, which provided overnight staff cover at the hostels, had led to a staffing crisis. A probation manager said: “They’ve known this was coming for 18 months, we’ve not been supported to put staffing in place. The closures mean dangerous men don’t get beds, somewhere someone will get hurt because they didn’t get a hostel bed.” Another in