Probation Service Reinvigoration Campaign
Who we are :
Chris Hignett, Martin Page and Will Watson.
About the authors: all three authors are retired Probation Officers, who worked in the London area for a total of some ninety years.
Chris Hignett retired in 2007 as a Senior Probation Officer of many years standing.
Martin Page MA Oxon worked in generic Probation and at Crown Court, retiring in 2000: he is also the author of a history of the London Probation Service “Crime-fighters of London”.
Will Watson MA Oxon, Dip Soc Admin LSE took “early retirement” as a Probation Officer in 1995, but returned to work in sundry posts under the NOMS-led Probation Service from 2001 to 2006.
Honorary Consultants:
Mr Hugh Gee, M.A.,P.D.S.A.[Oxon], D.M.H.
Psychological-Analyst
Mr Gee is a Training Analyst for the Society of Analytical Psychology, The Severnside Institute for Psychotherapy, The West Midlands Institute of Psychotherapy, The British Association of Psychotherapists and registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council.
He was one of the staff at the Littlemore Hospital, Oxford, who were consulted when the therapeutic community prison of Grendon Underwood was being set up in 1962.
Mr Gee continues to be involved in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis .
Dr Bob Johnson, Consultant Psychiatrist, MA[psychol.], PhD [medical computing,MBCS,DPM,MRCS, MRCPsych, MRCGP.
Dr Bob Johnson was formerly Head of Therapy at Ashworth Maximum Security Hospital, Liverpool, and Consultant Psychiatrist working directly and therapeutically with long-term offenders in Parkhurst Prison.
We are in close touch with :
Roger Garside, and Helen Mills at The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, King's College, London
The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, London
The union of Probation Officers [Napo].
We have submitted our views to the Howard League for Penal Reform's own prestigious "Prisons Commission", whose report is expected in July 2009.
We submitted our views to Mr Straw in connection with the review of the proposed "Titan" prisons.
Her Majesty the Queen has taken careful note of our comments:
Prince Charles has reminded us that he is focussing his Prince's trust on helping offenders get jobs.
We have read the summary of "Locked up Potential", the paper about prisons, by the Chairman of it, Mr Jonathan Aitken for the Conservative party "think-tank" The Centre for Social Justice. He advocates,as we do, the abolition of "NOMS".
We are grateful to the Prison Reform Trust, and their excellent statistical booklet "Bromley Briefings".
We have had a meeting at Parliament with Mr David Howarth M.P., the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for justice.
We are currently studying the Conservative Party policy paper : this also advocates the abolition of NOMS.
We hope to meet with Mr Edward Garnier MP soon.