Safeguarding adults at risk of harm supervised by the Probation Service in England
This very important report from HMIP was published in November 2025. We are posting this rather late but prompted by the recent news about increased deaths of adults in prison turning our attention also to safeguarding in the community.
The report recognises important initiatives in practice in seeking to protect vulnerable adults under supervision in the community.
Conclusions include:
The current assessment frameworks, including OASys, do not fully capture the nuanced vulnerabilities of individuals on probation, particularly men. ...... A review of assessment practices and terminology – especially the continued use of ‘vulnerability’ – is warranted.
The implementation of Probation Reset has implications for the safeguarding of people on probation. Proactively managing the workload is a positive step for the Probation Service but it is important that the ending of contact during the final third of supervision does not leave people on probation without adequate support. Safeguarding risks must be identified and planned for before contact is terminated.
A multi-agency approach ..... is often necessary, but PPs were frequently left managing cases on their own, despite having made referrals to other agencies.
Image by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash