A new face at the top
Phil Wheatley, director general of the national offender management service (NOMS), has announced he is to retire later this year. I wish him well in his retirement.
This offers a tremendous opportunity for change in the criminal justice system. A new person at the top could inject some energy into a programme of reform based on the ideas enshrined in last week’s justice select committee report on justice reinvestment and the Howard League’s own report drawn up by the Commission on English Prisons Today last year.  The overarching conclusion of these recent inquiries, and several others, is that the current trajectory of ever-increasing prison numbers is simply unsustainable.
Prison numbers have almost doubled since the mid-1990s. The overall costs of the criminal justice system has risen from 2% of GDP to 2.5% over the last 10 years. That is a higher per capita level than the US or any EU country. At the same time, the justice select committee has calculated that the probation budget has declined in real terms by 14.8% between 2002 and 2008.
Prison numbers are projected to continue rising, while at the same time the economic crisis means that the Ministry of Justice is expected to make £1.3 billion in savings by 2012. New prisons are being built using the private finance initiative, which effectively racks up further public sector debt over the years to come – hardly prudent given the debt we have already amassed in bailing out the banks. Whether it is in these fantasy figures or down on the ground, in tension-ridden and overcrowded prisons, something is surely going to give.
What do we require then from Phil Wheatley’s successor? We have argued that the probation service needs a public champion. Someone who will fight for the historic values of a service that has a track record of success at working with people with multiple challenges.
We also need someone who will take part in public debate about the role of the criminal justice and penal systems, a champion for reform, and someone who will stand up to ministers. Obviously they have to be a competent manager, but the most important element of the job is the ability to guide a shared vision for the future – this is not just an operational post. I hope the new director general of NOMS has a strong commitment to the contribution that community sentences can play and is someone keen to work with local government and the health sector.
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January 18, 2010
Tags: Justice reinvestment, Ministry of Justice, NOMS, Prisons, Public Services Posted in: Government policy, Prisons, Public Services
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2 Responses
As I understand it, had it been down to Phil Wheatley he would have stayed on at the job for another 3-5 years.
Phil’s choice of successor is Michael Spurr.
Michael Spurr was selected to replace Phil Wheatley as DG of NOMS.
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