Jim Brown
@jimbrownblogger.bsky.social
Jim Brown is a former grumpy probation officer from a small northern town and he's been writing a blog since 2010. https://probationmatters.blogspot.com/
"The fact the blog is still going, that contributions keep flowing & that there are impassioned posts means that the Probation ethos of "everyone has the capacity for change" will not rest, that making the effort to advise, assist & befriend is not a lost art."
September 24, 2025 at 7:31 AM
"The fact the blog is still going, that contributions keep flowing & that there are impassioned posts means that the Probation ethos of "everyone has the capacity for change" will not rest, that making the effort to advise, assist & befriend is not a lost art."
"Reading the Rademaker report alongside recent HMIP findings is sobering. If probation cannot get a grip on racism, bullying, and harassment, and continues to be rated universally inadequate (while probation senior managers and leaders remain silent)..." 1/5
September 7, 2025 at 6:21 PM
"Reading the Rademaker report alongside recent HMIP findings is sobering. If probation cannot get a grip on racism, bullying, and harassment, and continues to be rated universally inadequate (while probation senior managers and leaders remain silent)..." 1/5
"The PI was regarded with great suspicion at its inception. Now might be a good time for probation staff to reconsider that."
September 6, 2025 at 8:56 AM
"The PI was regarded with great suspicion at its inception. Now might be a good time for probation staff to reconsider that."
Reposted by Jim Brown
Can we take a minute to recognise Angela Rayner has taken accountability by owning up to her mistake, correcting it, referring herself to ministerial standards & now resigning.
Not one single Tory MP did this & was always backed by the prime minister especially Boris Johnson.
#UkPolitics
Not one single Tory MP did this & was always backed by the prime minister especially Boris Johnson.
#UkPolitics
September 5, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Can we take a minute to recognise Angela Rayner has taken accountability by owning up to her mistake, correcting it, referring herself to ministerial standards & now resigning.
Not one single Tory MP did this & was always backed by the prime minister especially Boris Johnson.
#UkPolitics
Not one single Tory MP did this & was always backed by the prime minister especially Boris Johnson.
#UkPolitics
"The Probation Service has more than a century of working with people with criminal convictions to enable them to reform, and to reintegrate into their communities." 1/3
September 5, 2025 at 10:11 AM
"The Probation Service has more than a century of working with people with criminal convictions to enable them to reform, and to reintegrate into their communities." 1/3
"Any probation practitioner will be acutely aware that many of the people they are supervising have been victims of crime themselves, with consequences of trauma and diminution in opportunities to achieve, notably in education and work." 1/2
September 5, 2025 at 10:08 AM
"Any probation practitioner will be acutely aware that many of the people they are supervising have been victims of crime themselves, with consequences of trauma and diminution in opportunities to achieve, notably in education and work." 1/2
'Punitive, stigmatising and discriminatory' #probation #prison
probationmatters.blogspot.com/2025/09/puni...
probationmatters.blogspot.com/2025/09/puni...
'Punitive, stigmatising and discriminatory'
I notice the Probation Institute, quietly, politely but thoroughly, pours copious quantities of cold water over the Sentencing Bill proposa...
probationmatters.blogspot.com
September 5, 2025 at 9:57 AM
'Punitive, stigmatising and discriminatory' #probation #prison
probationmatters.blogspot.com/2025/09/puni...
probationmatters.blogspot.com/2025/09/puni...
Reposted by Jim Brown
I share your despair. It is almost as though there is a determination to prove all the evidence about effectiveness wrong with recent policy announcements.
September 3, 2025 at 1:20 PM
I share your despair. It is almost as though there is a determination to prove all the evidence about effectiveness wrong with recent policy announcements.
"I once saw a District Judge quietly pass a bank note on to a homeless man who appeared before him in custody. This was in a court that prided itself on humiliating Defendants and staff alike through its abuse of position." 1/2
August 23, 2025 at 5:11 AM
"I once saw a District Judge quietly pass a bank note on to a homeless man who appeared before him in custody. This was in a court that prided itself on humiliating Defendants and staff alike through its abuse of position." 1/2
