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Marianne O'Kane, Senior Assistant Director of the Public Prosecution Service NI (PPSNI) writes to highlight the partnership between Probation and the PPSNI, in particular the importance of Probation's Pre-Sentence Report during sentencing.
I am delighted to be writing to Probation following my attendance at Probation's staff conference on 28 March, when I was part of the panel discussion, together with the Lady Chief Justice and senior colleagues from Probation and other partners. The theme of the day was ‘Supporting our People to be a Trauma Informed Service’. The philosophy of delivering trauma informed services should be at the heart of what all of us in the criminal justice system do; to benefit victims, witnesses, your service users and ourselves. The programme was so impactful, and the learning resonated deeply with me, to the extent that in my role as PPS Victims’ Champion, it brought my knowledge up to date and reinvigorated my aim of embedding trauma informed practice across PPS.
I was particularly struck by your Chief Executive’s opening remarks and her reflection that some staff in Probation can sometimes feel overlooked by the wider justice system and may not always feel that their work is understood or valued. While that was hard to hear, I am keen to play my part in building confidence in the importance of your role and in expressing the esteem in which we hold you and your organisation.
There are some myths about prosecutors; that we represent victims, that our job is to secure convictions come what may, that we do not have regard to defendants’ interests. All of that is wrong.
Our role is to take decisions as to prosecution strictly in line with our Code for Prosecutors (only prosecuting where there is sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction and where a prosecution is in the public interest), to ensure that both victims’ and defendants’ rights are protected during the prosecution process and to present the evidence at its height, ensuring that a fair trial proceeds, meaning fair to all parties.
In my role as Senior Assistant Director, my main interaction with Probation relates to consideration of Pre-Sentence Reports (PSRs), in the context of deciding whether a sentence imposed may be unduly lenient and therefore requires a referral by the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Court of Appeal for reconsideration.
Sentencing is a matter for the judiciary alone, acting independently. The provision of well informed and carefully articulated PSRs is pivotal in ensuring that the sentencing part of a trial is fair for a defendant and ensures a just outcome for victims. When prosecutors and defence counsel are preparing sentencing submissions for the court, when the Judge is deciding the sentence to impose and when the Director reviews the sufficiency of a sentence, the recommendations made by the Probation Officer in the PSR are central to each of those stages.
To ensure the fairness of the proceedings, it is therefore of vital importance that statements and assertions made in that report, particularly regarding personal mitigation are checked, for example about a defendant’s medical circumstances, caring responsibilities or employment status.
We would like the report to expressly confirm that statements made by a defendant have been validated, or where this has not been possible, to make this clear. I know that practice development training has been delivered by Probation on the subject of ‘Professional Curiosity’. This is further reflected in your ‘Reports Standards’ guidance as the need to apply “critical thinking and analytical rigour” when writing reports. The guidance reinforces the importance of not accepting things at face value, re-stating the need to look behind information you receive from your service users and their representatives, and understanding the need to ask probing questions rather than making assumptions.
In doing so, those of us who rely heavily on your recommendations will have added confidence in doing so. It will, as your internal guidance says, lay a solid foundation for “the individual’s motivation and readiness to engage in change”.
Finally, a carefully drafted report is of considerable value when as prosecutors we have to explain sentences to a victim, many of whom see non-custodial and community-based disposals as a ‘soft option’. They are far from it and we know that appropriate non-custodial outcomes have a punitive effect, while ensuring deterrence and mitigating future risk of offending.
I know that the work of Probation extends far beyond my interaction, and I was very pleased to hear more about this during your conference. We know that you work with very vulnerable people who may have complex needs, where supervision, deterrence and rehabilitation, rather than punishment, is the aim. I was moved to hear the personal accounts of service users, and to see how the trust they had built with their Probation Officers allowed them to rebuild their lives after offending and make a positive contribution to society. While in no way diminishing the harm caused to their victims, they showed admirable courage in telling their stories. I was also particularly uplifted by the talents brought to the fore through art therapy intervention and it was remarkable how the pieces, quite literally, painted a very compelling story of recovery.
Even my short conversations with Probation staff in the lunch queue and during the breaks displayed the high level of professionalism, empathy, care and good humour with which you engage with service users, and your understanding of the trauma that victims of their past behaviour have experienced.
You are fortunate in having a strong and visionary leader in Amanda Stewart, who I know cares deeply about each of you and who places a high value on the strength of relationships with partners, as does her leadership team. I mean it when I say it was an honour to spend time with you and humbling for me to hear about the critical work that you undertake every day. We are very grateful for all that you do.
Learn more about the Public Prosecution Service NI on their website.