ABOUT US

The Merseyside Probation Trust is part of the National Offender Management Service, which in turn is part of the Ministry of Justice. Merseyside is the largest of six probation areas nationally that comprise the first wave of areas to become a Trust from April 2008. It employs around 780 staff in over 30 locations across the county. Its head is Chief Executive Officer John Stafford.

Each Probation Trust is run by a local Trust Board, selected to reflect the diversity and concerns of the community it serves. The chair of the Merseyside Probation Trust is Linda Bloomfield.

The Service has teams operating in each of the area's six Magistrates Courts and Liverpool Crown Court, and also has a probation team in the country's first Community Justice Centre in Kirkdale, Liverpool. Its annual budget is around £30 million. The area also runs three probation/bail hostels for those who require 24 hour intensive supervision, and manages an all-female hostel, owned by the Church of England Council for Voluntary Aid. Staff also operate in Merseyside's three prisons - HMP Liverpool, HMP Altcourse and HMP Kennett. The Service works closely with the Police, and operates in partnership with over 40 other statutory and voluntary organisations. The Probation Service also plays an important role in local area Criminal Justice Boards, each of which comprises the heads of Probation, Police, CPS, Courts and Prisons.

In June 2004 the Government announced the introduction of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), which incorporates both the Prison and Probation Services. In the past, responsibility for a case would transfer between probation and prison staff, depending on whether the offender was serving their sentence in custody or out in the community. Under NOMS the responsibility for a case rests with just one person (the case manager) throughout the duration of a sentence, be it in custody or out in the community.

Offenders continue to be monitored and supported through the punishment, reparation and rehabilitation processes. The police, NOMS and other organisations, such as health and housing services, may continue to have a role, even after an offender’s sentence has been completed.

The Ministry of Justice now oversees NOMS operations.

For a copy of Merseyside Probation Area's 2006/07 Annual Report, click here.