Leaked report shows 10,000 shortfall in probation staff

According to documents obtained by the BBC, there is a shortfall of around 10,000 probation workers to care for offenders serving sentences in the area. After being released from jail, probation officers monitor prisoners to make sure they comply with their parole rules, including curfews, not taking opioids, and wearing badges that restrict their movement. In addition, they safeguard the public by assessing the likelihood of reoffending. The shortfall of full-time workers involved with sentence administration was revealed by a series of documents leaked to the BBC. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said in reaction that it had inherited a probation service under intense strain, and that last year, it had recruited 1,000 trainee officers.

According to a government report released last year, 17,170 full-time employees were required to deal with sentence management in September 2023. This was before the government started releasing tens of thousands of prisoners early to create more space in overcrowded jails, adding to the demand for the probation service. According to a sentence management report by His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), there are only 7,236 members of staff who work in this specific position - approximately 10,000 fewer than is necessary. The BBC acknowledges that the findings were gathered through staff surveys, analysis of timesheets, and monitoring how employees work on a daily basis. A probation officer told the BBC that

these jobs are the bread and butter of probation, and the staffing situation is much worse than is expected, particularly at a time when the strain on us is high.

It's enraged when some of us are told it's our fault we're not doing enough and that we must step up our game,

says the author, but in fact, the workload is soaring. According to Probation workers, the early release program known as SDS40 has significantly increased their workload. The program ran from 10 September 2024 to the end of March this year, with 26,456 people released as a result. According to the staff, failure to supervise released prisoners could result in a rise in reoffending and others going off the official radar, implying that they are entirely unsupervised. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in February that she would recruit 1,300 probation officers by April 2026. Officers had been

asked to do too much for too longandburdened with heavy workloads,

the MoJ said at the time, implying that they were unable to pay enough attention to offenders who pose the greatest danger. The MoJ said in certain instances, this resulted in

missed warning signs

where offenders went on to commit serious crimes such as murder. At the end of March 2025, the probation caseload – the number of prisoners awaiting treatment – was 241,540, an increase of 9% over a decade. In a week, employees may have multiple appointments with each offender.

Someone is going to get seriously hurt because you're so ill and overworked, you can't get it right,another probation officer said.They [ministers] are trying to give the appearance that it's all OKay and that they're pumping in workers, but they'll never come close to filling the voids. And remember that it will take a year or more to prepare someone properly.

The HM Inspectorate of Probation's annual report last year cited

chronic under-staffingand theknock-on effect on workloads

as two key areas of concern. There were 21,022 full-time probation officers in England and Wales in March 2025, up 610 on the previous year. Sentence service employees are included in the larger group of probation employees. One probation officer characterized the workload as

non-stopand up untilyou simply can't cope,one probation officer said.Several of the recommendations made in the Independent Sentencing Review earlier this year are expected to be presented before parliament next month. Rather than serving jail time, they include more offenders being dealt with in the community. This will again increase the probation workload. The MoJ said in reaction to the findings that pressure on the probation service

has placed too much strain on our hardworking employees. According to a spokesperson, they had recently announced a £700 million increase in funding by 2028, as well as recruiting more trainee probation officers.

We're also investing in new technologies that reduces the administrative burden on employees so they can concentrate on dealing with offenders and protecting the public," they said.