A leading union representing probation staff, has passed a no-confidence motion in HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) leadership as ministers readied the largest expansion of electronic tagging in England and Wales.
Electronic tagging uses devices, usually worn around the ankle, to monitor whether people under probation supervision comply with conditions.
Napo, the trade union representing probation workers, warned in the motion that excessive workloads, understaffing, and burnout in the probation system posed a ‘direct risk to the public’ because staff were unable to manage clients’ risk effectively in the community.
According to Napo, these conditions were leaving officers unable to manage the risk posed by people under supervision, while a shortage of accommodation could leave more people homeless and more likely to reoffend.
‘[T]he current position is untenable and cannot continue’, Napo warned in the motion.
The dispute comes as the government prepares to expand electronic monitoring from September, with up to 40,000 people expected to be monitored by tags — a 40% rise from the current figure of around 28,000.
Prisons minister Lord Timpson has called the policy the ‘biggest expansion of tagging in British history’, saying it would place the most dangerous offenders under ‘constant scrutiny’.
The Ministry of Justice likewise stated that the expansion will help probation staff identify escalating risk earlier, improve victim protection, and allow officers to focus more closely on those assessed as posing the greatest danger to the public.
However, the expansion has drawn warnings that electronic monitoring may deepen pressure on an already overstretched probation service.
The Justice Gap has previously raised concerns that the expansion could increase reliance on surveillance technology without sufficient reintegration support. Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, warned in March that electronic monitoring was ‘not a panacea for reducing reoffending’ and was most effective only when combined with proper supervision and support.
‘[T]he danger of a presumption towards electronic monitoring is that it could undermine these efforts by increasing the burden of monitoring and supervision on frontline probation officers. It could also lead to an increase in breach of licence conditions and a rise in recalls to custody, placing more, not less, pressure on prisons’, she continued.
Such concerns come against a wider backdrop of strain across the probation service. The National Audit Office found last year that HMPPS met only 26% of its performance targets in 2024-25, while the Public Accounts Committee later warned that probation officers had been working at 118% capacity on average, rising to 126% in some regions.
Prisons minister James Timpson told MPs last week that the probation service was ‘running too hot’, while Napo warned in the motion that the expansion of electronic tagging could add further pressure to already excessive workloads.
In the motion, Napo also raised alarm over HMPPS plans to remove practitioner access to the Workload Management Tool, which staff use to evidence excessive workloads.
Napo said HMPPS announced on June 17th that practitioner access to the Workload Measurement Tool would continue until September, a move the union described as a direct result of its pressure. That same day, Napo welcomed the move but said it was only ‘one of several’ changes needed to tackle what it described as ‘crippling workloads’.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘We remain committed to working closely with trade unions to ensure our staff continue to get the support they need to cut crime and protect the public. We have full confidence in Probation Service leadership to deliver the necessary changes and improvements’.
