East Lancashire union members walk out over plan to privatise service

Members of the National Association of Probation Officers walked out at midday yesterday and said they would remain on strike until the same time today.

The union said the strike caused dozens of criminal cases to be delayed, including at Blackburn and Burnley magistrates’ courts and at Preston and Burnley crown courts.

Some of the court listings appeared significantly reduced yesterday, though a spokesman for Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service claimed the strike had no impact on the courts’ work.

NAPO has warned that privatisation would allow firms such as G4S and Serco to bid for the service.

Ian Lawrence, the union’s general secretary, said: “These are unprecedented times for our members as they fight to save the 106-year-old probation service.

“They strongly believe, along with other criminal justice agencies and experts, that [Justice Secretary] Chris Grayling’s plans will undermine public protection and put communities at risk, whilst also not providing the adequate service offenders need to turn their lives around.”

Caroline Bewley, chairwoman of the Lancashire branch, said members were concerned about their jobs, but also feared that high-risk offenders would not be properly supported, which could pose a risk to the public.

She added: “In Lancashire alone, we have four prisons releasing prisoners back into the community every day. We have one of the largest sex offender units in Europe, and as a result there are large numbers of sex offenders being released and managed in the area.”

Justice minister Jeremy Wright said: “It is disappointing NAPO has chosen to strike when we are making positive progress in meaningful discussions with them and other relevant trade unions as we transfer to the new arrangements.”

He said the changes would tackle high re-offending rates and offer more support to 50,000 short sentenced offenders each year who are currently released without any supervision.