Britain’s probation service is in deep trouble
A crucial part of the criminal-justice system is failing to do its job
After he was convicted of arson Damien Bendall should have been sent to prison. But the probation officer who wrote a pre-sentence report on him failed to consider police evidence showing that Mr Bendall was a violent criminal who posed a threat to young girls. He was given a suspended sentence and allowed to live with his pregnant girlfriend. Months later, in September 2021, he murdered her and three children, one of whom he raped.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “On probation”
Britain October 7th 2023
- A glimpse of the Conservative Party after Rishi Sunak
- Impressions of a first-time visitor to the Tory conference
- Rishi Sunak’s misguided attempt to woo irritated British drivers
- How Britain lives with covid-19 today
- Britain’s labour-market figures are less reliable than they were
- Britain’s probation service is in deep trouble
- Is Britain’s Labour Party a bunch of Tories, naifs or liars?
From the October 7th 2023 edition
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