The Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is urging the Government to press ahead with probation reforms after a community rehabilitation company went into administration.

Alison Hernandez has welcomed Government support that will ensure Working Links Dorset, Devon and Cornwall can continue to provide services to protect the public.

The troubled provider has also been the subject of a damning report following an inspection by Dame Glenys Stacey, HM Chief Inspector of Probation.

Inspectors found staff were under-recording the number of riskier cases because of commercial pressures. They were also completing individuals’ sentence plans to meet performance targets, without actually meeting the offender.

The Government has agreed that Seetec, owners of Kent, Surrey and Sussex CRC, will take over the Working Links CRCs. Ministers recently took the decision to terminate all 21 CRC contracts early, next year.

In the report, Dame Glenys said these were “immutable lines” which had been crossed. She said: “The professional ethos of probation has buckled under the strain of the commercial pressures put upon it here, and it must be restored urgently.”

Alison, whose office works with probation services to reduce reoffending, said that she would take time to read and digest the implications of the inspector’s report.

“Probation plays a vital role in reducing reoffending, protecting the public and offering people alternatives and better choices in life,” she said.

“I welcome the fact that the Government has realised that CRCs were not working effectively and radical reform is required.

“I am here with my colleagues to listen to those staff affected by these challenges and we will work with the Government to create a probation service for the future that is effective and sustainable.

“It’s important that we learn lessons from this experience and ensure that such a collapse does not happen again. I am aware that the teams work tirelessly to help offenders keep on the straight and narrow and this report is not a reflection on individuals’ competence.”

Inspectors classed Through the Gate services for people leaving prison as ‘good’. These services are outsourced in a well-contracted and properly-resourced scheme. But, Dame Glenys said: “Most other work is of poor quality, and simply not enough meaningful work is being done. Instead, effort is focused disproportionately on reducing the risk of any further contractual (financial) penalty. For some professional staff, workloads are unconscionable.”

Some officers had on average of between 80-100 cases, with some caseloads reaching 168 – ‘an unmanageable workload’. CRC staff had been cut by one-third since 2015 and one manager described the pressure as “mind-blowing”. Courts had very little confidence in the CRC.

The report noted: “There were many concerns about the personal safety of staff in operational offices.”