Calm and chaos: A story of probation
This is a blog by our Communications and Campaigns Manager, Keeva Baxter.
Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate and a former probation officer has published a new poem about his experience working within probation. The powerful poem is an insight into both the joys and challenges faced by those working within the prison and probation system.
The poem goes through the alphabet, highlighting the experiences of different people who have been convicted of a crime, and their journey to a new life through the probation system.
A Life In The Day Of
Written by Simon Armitage
A’s sprawled in reception, he’s sofa surfing, needs a bed.
B left a message, she’s hearing voices again in her head. Make a plan. Rip it up. Boil the kettle.
C keeps his third appointment in a row – minor miracle. Tell D a hard truth.
Give E some tough love.
Juggle custard, plait sawdust, meet a deadline,
get F over the breadline
for another week, clear emails, having a good morning
till G fluffs his final warning.
Team meeting: we’re ghostbusters, sort of, we’re
tightrope-walking the high wire
between care and control, calm and chaos, we’re magicians conjuring big difference from small changes.
Proud of H, she’s kicked the habit, found work, high five. Say a few words at I’s funeral, he was one of mine.
Count to ten, breathe deep on the fire escape;
big heart, thick skin, the patience of Job – that’s what it takes. J got banged up overnight, he’s going to prison.
K needs a shoulder to cry on – sit and listen.
Lunch break: open a can of worms.
L’s stayed clean, M’s paid her fines, N’s learned
a life lesson and texts THANK U.
O asks me to turn a blind eye – no can do.
P’s done some terrible things but I need to keep seeing
P as a human being.
Boxes ticked: Q, R, S and T have planted
saplings, picked litter, strimmed verges, painted
the park gates, paid the community back. U’s failed
a drug test again and gone AWOL, it’s jail
for him, but could I have done more? Home visits:
get V on a waiting list, sort W’s benefits.
This time last year X was suicidal,
now she’s a mum. Talk Y out of a downward spiral.
Z comes into the office and says I helped him become
an actual person. Handshake. Case closed. Job done.
Simon Armitage©
Armitage’s poem aptly describes the struggles of people who have been involved in the justice system, from homelessness, poverty and addiction to struggles with mental health. In addition to the commentary on the experience of those on probation, the poem touches on the struggles of probation staff, from “tightrope-walking” between “calm and chaos” to attending the funerals of people they support.
The publication of the poem coincides with the launch of the Probation Inspectorate’s annual report, which has exposed the under-resourcing of the institution that Simon Armitage is shining a light on. The Chief Inspector of Probation, Martin Jones, summarises the report by saying “I continue to emphasise that the Probation Service currently has too few staff, with too little experience and training, managing too many cases.”
The report highlights consistent staffing problems, competing priorities and resource constraints. Martin Jones said “My main area of concern is the work to manage risk of harm and keep others safe. We have found this to be consistently insufficient across all our inspections, where work undertaken to protect actual or potential victims needs to improve considerably, and I hope to see improvements to this area of work over the coming year.”
Staffing has also been a recurring topic of conversation, with Jones saying “It has been positive to see that recruitment efforts by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) are gradually closing the gap between actual and target staffing numbers in most regions; however, in some regions vacancies are still too high, especially at probation officer grade. More needs to be done to close these gaps, while focusing the finite resources on the cases that matter most.”
At the moment, a lack of staff and resources is putting pressure on the entire system, and we hope that the report, along with the poem, will bring attention to the sector and help progress to be made. Ultimately, the probation system is in need of adequate staffing and resourcing to ensure that people that have been through the justice system can be supported to reintegrate into their communities.
Watch Simon Armitage narrating his poem here: