Irish Probation Service recruiting extra staff amid chronic prison overcrowding and rising court referrals

The prison system is chronically overcrowded currently and, since June, every day more than 5,000 inmates are packed into cells designed to hold a maximum of around 4,500.

Probation Service staffing levels have increased by almost 20% in the last five years — but the organisation is facing a difficult period ahead, with rising court referrals and packed prisons, according to the head of the service.

Director Mark Wilson said probation officers were also dealing with greater complexity of needs among offenders.

In terms of attracting more staff, they had to contend with rising cost of living and a restrictive labour market.

In a bid to address future staffing requirements, the service is currently recruiting senior probation officers, probation officers and probation assistants, with the latter two competitions launched on Wednesday.

Mr Wilson was speaking at the launch of the Probation Service Strategy of Statement 2024-2016 and accompanying action plan.

The launch was attended by Justice Minister Helen McEntee and secretary-general of the Department of Justice Oonagh McPhillips.

Figures provided by the Probation Service show total staffing levels in the organisation has increased from 409 in December 2019 to 488 currently — a rise of 19%.

Most of the increase has taken place in recent years, with numbers growing from 425 in 2022 to 456 in 2023 and then to 488 now.

The total number includes probation officers as well as senior probation officers, regional managers, senior managers and administrative staff.

The strategy report said on a typical day, the Probation Service is managing in excess of 12,000 offenders in the community and working with up to 2,000 prisoners in custody.

Of those supervised in the community, some 1,700 are serving post-release supervision orders.

“As probation officers, we believe that our clients must accept responsibility for their behaviour and where possible, make good on the harm they have caused through crime,” Mr Wilson said. 

“All aspects of our work are focused on motivating clients to change their behaviour, helping them sustain their commitment to change and facilitating improved opportunities for change.” 

But he said there were difficulties ahead: “Over the next three years, the Probation Service will face many challenges, with rising numbers of court referrals; sustained pressure on prison capacity; changing complexity of needs among clients; rising cost of living costs, and a restrictive labour market.” 

The prison system is chronically overcrowded currently and, since June, every day more than 5,000 inmates are packed into cells designed to hold a maximum of around 4,500.

Temporary release has increased, with between 530-560 typically on temporary release every day over the last month.

Asked in relation to expanding probation resources to try and ease prison pressures, the Department of Justice said the Irish Prison Service in 2023 expanded the criteria for prisoner participation in the Community Return and Community Support Schemes, which are structured and supported temporary release schemes from prison.

In a statement, the department said the Probation Service had worked with the IPS to ensure it could “support increased numbers accessing these schemes”.

The statement added: “In addition, to address the increasing operational stress due to an unprecedented increase in prisoner population numbers, a Prison Overcrowding Response Group, composed of officials from across the Department of Justice and representatives from the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service, the Courts Service, and An Garda Síochána, was established in July 2023. 

"This group identified a wide range of proposals to address overcrowding in the prison estate and a number of actions are now being advanced by the relevant parties as appropriate.” 

The Probation strategy said the service would commission, with another agency, research on the prevalence of mental health issues and neurodiversity among people in prison, with post-release supervision orders.

The strategy also said it would advance proposals to the Department of Justice to recruit “people with lived experience” — ie offenders who have been supervised by probation officers at some stage — into the Probation Service.

It is also looking to set up a consultative forum with this group of people.