Probation Service sees significant drop in referrals due to Covid

Last year's tally of 6,661 referrals from courts was almost 4,000 fewer than in 2019

The pandemic had an impact on the provision of community service orders.

There was a significant fall in the number of referrals made to the Probation Service last year due to Covid-19, with the pandemic also impacting on the provision of community service orders.

The annual report from the Probation Service shows that it worked with 15,537 offenders in the community last year, with 9,366 probation reports completed and 2,164 community service assessments completed. It also worked with 2,730 prisoners in 2020.