Skip to content

News

Inspectorate research demonstrates clear link between high-quality supervision and reduced reoffending for people on probation

New research by HM Inspectorate of Probation, analysing thousands of probation cases, has found that higher-quality probation supervision leads to significantly better sentence completion rates and reduced reoffending.

For cases getting high-quality probation supervision, the sentence completion rate was 24 percentage points higher, and the reoffending rate was 14 percentage points lower than for cases where supervision was judged to be inadequate by our inspectors.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell explains why this research is important:
“This vital research demonstrates the difference that high-quality probation supervision can make to reoffending rates… we’ve shown that where probation staff engage well with people on probation and ensure that the factors driving their offending are identified and dealt with, people are more likely to successfully complete their sentence and less likely to commit further crimes.”

For more information go the to the HM Inspectorate of Probation website where you can find more information in the press release and you can read the reports in full here.

Related News

Keep up to date with the latest developments, stories, and updates on probation from across Europe and beyond. Find relevant news and insights shaping the field today.

Recap

CEP

CEP at Kick-off Meeting for the 2026 Operating and Action Grants

22/09/2026

On 16 and 17 October, the Project and Policy Officers of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST) organised the Kick-off Meeting for the 2026 Operating and Action Grants. Opened with a video message from Commissioner McGrath, the meeting covered a range of topics related to project management, including reporting requirements and horizontal priorities such as gender mainstreaming, EU values, and the EU survey. Last but not least, participants were presented with the future developments of AgoraEU and the Justice Programmes under the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) starting in 2028. 

New

Others

Applications for the Cambridge MSt in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management are now open

16/09/2026

The Institute of Criminology, Cambridge, have opened up applications for the MSt in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management in the next academic year.

Recap

Probation in Europe

CEP at the Leadership Conference 2026

14/09/2026

CEP Secretary General Jana Špero Kamenjarin was delighted to participate in the Leadership Conference 2026 of the Norwegian Correctional Service, held on 9–10 September in Oslo.

Recap

Foreign Nationals in Prison and Probation

Recap: Expert Group of CEP and EuroPris, on Foreign Nationals in Prison and Probation (FNPP)

14/09/2026

On 7 and 8 September 2026 the joint Expert Group of CEP and EuroPris, on Foreign Nationals in Prison and Probation (FNPP), came together in The Hague for a valuable exchange of ideas, experiences, and expertise on one of the most important challenges facing prison and probation services across Europe.

New

CEP

Newsletter August 2026 out now

27/08/2026

CEP’s latest newsletter is out now! It includes:

. >> Read here

>>Read previous newsletters

New

Caseload and workload

Do you work in probation? We need your voice!

24/08/2026

As part of its long-standing cooperation with research, CEP invites its members to contribute to a special edition of the European Probation Journal on the topic of Workload in Probation.

Subscribe to our bi-monthly email newsletter!