Probation staffing
Key grades within the Probation Service embrace band 3 probation companies officers (PSOs), band 4 probation officers (collectively referred to as probation practitioners), in addition to band 5 senior probation officers. Employees who’re coaching to be a probation officer work as a probation companies officer throughout their coaching, so a proportion of the probation companies officers in submit will probably be working in the direction of the skilled probation officer qualification. Because of this the numbers of PSOs can fluctuate markedly when a complete group of trainees graduate and grow to be totally certified probation officers.
As at 30 September 2025, there have been 5,409 FTE band 3 probation companies officers in submit, a lower of 177 FTE (3.2%) over the previous 12 months however a rise of 196 FTE (3.8%) over the quarter.
For the 2025/26 monetary 12 months, the MoJ has dedicated publicly to onboarding at the least 1,300 Trainee Probation Officers and it’ll verify whether or not it has met that dedication within the April 2026 transparency launch.
On the identical date, there have been 5,576 FTE band 4 probation officers, representing a rise of 140 FTE (2.6%) over the previous 12 months and a slight enhance of 58 FTE (1.0%) in comparison with the earlier quarter. The bulletin admits that this a shortfall of 1,555 full-time equal probation officers towards the goal staffing degree. This goal will enhance over the approaching years when the suggestions of the Impartial Sentencing Assessment come into power which ought to lead to extra individuals being sentenced to neighborhood orders as an alternative of quick phrases of imprisonment.
There have been additionally 1,552 FTE band 5 senior probation officers, displaying a rise of 57 (3.8%) over the earlier 12 months and of 26 (1.7%) for the reason that final quarter.
General within the final 12 months lined by these figures, 2,493 individuals joined the probation service and 1,981 left, a internet achieve of 512 individuals.
You possibly can see from the chart beneath that efforts to extend chronically low probation staffing ranges have primarily stalled over the past eighteen months.
