Probation Officers not to blame

Probation officers should not be blamed for mistakes in the probation system, PSA national secretary Richard Wagstaff said today.

“Our members in the Probation Service are dedicated and hard-working but have to deal daily with increased demands on their time through lack of resources, excessive workloads, low pay, and trying to deal with a new and complex system of dealing with offenders. This leads to high turnover and recruitment and retention problems.

Richard Wagstaff said South Auckland in particular has been experiencing a turnover amongst Probation Officers that is above the national average which meant a higher number of inexperienced staff.

“They have insufficient resources at their disposal and high caseloads to get through which leads to significant amounts of pressure and stress, which in turn leads to low morale. These problems are not, however, confined to South Auckland. Members in the service across New Zealand have consistently told us of excessive and unmanageable workloads.”

Richard Wagstaff said time pressures meant staff are constantly cutting corners just to get the work done.

“The PSA has been calling attention to these issues for a long time, now we would like to see some positive action.”

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