The Probation Service is a non-statutory executive agency of the Department of Justice and plays an essential role within the criminal justice system to reduce reoffending and to increase public safety.
The Service is responsible for the management and delivery of robust community sanctions, working with offenders to change their behaviour and make good on the harm caused.
The Probation Service Annual Report published details the substantial work undertaken by the Probation Service over the period 2022, during which the Probation Service worked with 16,347 people within the community, 2,880 people in custody and completed more than 11,800 assessment reports.
During 2022 the Probation Service made progress on its strategic commitments across many aspects of the organisation. Some key highlights include:
- The advancement of its new Irish Probation Framework (IPF) a bespoke model of probation practice that is evidence informed, underpinned by research and aims to deliver the best possible outcomes for clients, stakeholders and the wider community;
- Its commitment to the implementation of the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (2022 – 2026) via the development of a 1–1 rehabilitation programme for men convicted of intimate partner violence;
- The implementation of a new senior management structure aimed at building capacity in areas such as social inclusion, data analytics and community sanctions & service; and
- The provision of €17.532 million of funding, via the Department of Justice, to community based organisations across the country to develop and deliver services in communities – which undertake the work of the Probation Service in changing offending behaviour.
In August 2022, the Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee, published the Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform 2022-2024. The Review seeks to find the balance between ensuring that people who commit serious crimes receive a punishment and a period of incarceration proportionate to that crime, while at the same time acknowledging that sometimes community-based sanctions are more appropriate in diverting offenders away from future criminal activity and that they have a role to play in addressing criminality, reducing reoffending and providing protection to the public, while holding the individual accountable.
In response to this in December 2022, the Probation Service published a detailed Evidence Review of Community Service which makes a series of important recommendations aimed at maximising the potential of community Service within the Irish criminal justice system. This directly responds to objectives set out on the Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform.
The Probation Service Annual Report 2022 is available on the Gov.ie website HERE.
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