Napo (formerly the National Association of Probation Officers) is the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

and

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...

that represents

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

staff including

probation officer A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probati ...

s and other operational and administrative staff and

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) is a non-departmental public body in England set up to promote the welfare of children and families involved in family court. It was formed in April 2001 under the provisions ...

staff in England. Napo was formed on 22 May 1912. It was a member of the

Standing Conference of Organisations of Social Workers Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...

from 1962, but decided not to join the new British Association of Social Workers in 1970. In 2001, it opted to change its title to "Napo–the trade union and professional association for family court and probation staff". It holds an annual general meeting which is open to all members of the union. It retains a campaigning remit on both criminal justice and family court matters and is recognised as an influential and respectable source of information by both the media and politicians of all parties. General Secretary Ian Lawrence was re-elected in June 2018 for another five-year term. He is among the few senior British/Asian trade union leaders to emerge from the community for some time and currently serves on the TUC General Council as the member representing black workers from unions with less than 200,000 members. Ian has made a substantial number of contributions in the media on the situation pertaining to the state of the probation service in England and Wales following the part privatisation of services in 2014. He has also contributed to a number of keynote seminars examining issues within the wider UK criminal justice system and has also provided oral evidence to the Parliamentary Justice Select Committee inquiry into the impact of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme. On 13 June 2020 Napo celebrated a major victory following the announcement by the Lord Chancellor that probation services would return to public ownership and control in June 2021. This news followed a long and sometimes attritional campaign which commanded widespread support from many politicians and groups who had also predicted major problems following the ill-fated reforms that were implemented by the then Secretary of State for Justice Chris Grayling. Napo is an independent trade union but has good relations with the Labour Party front bench and a number of cross-party MP's and Peers in terms of assisting the development of its future policies on the probation and prison service and family justice issues. It is also a founding member of the Justice Unions Parliamentary Group. The '' Probation Journal'', established in 1929, is published by SAGE Publications in association with Napo.Probation Journal

Social Care Online

General Secretaries

:1930: H. E. Norman :1943: E. M. Hughes (acting until 1946) :1948: Frank Dawtry :1967: David Haxby :c.1970: Donald Bell :c.1980: Bill Beaumont :1993: Judy McKnight :2008: Jonathan Ledger :2013 to present: Ian Lawrence

References

External links

Napo website
Trade unions in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1912 Social work organisations in the United Kingdom 1912 establishments in England Public sector trade unions Probation Trade unions based in London Trade unions affiliated with the Trades Union Congress {{UK-trade-union-stub