Introduction

Strong community partnerships are essential to an effective probation system. As set out in Clinks' Voluntary Sector Manifesto 2026, voluntary organisations play a vital role in supporting rehabilitation, reducing reoffending, and helping people navigate complex challenges in the community. However, these contributions can only be fully realised when probation services are designed and delivered in genuine partnership with the voluntary sector, backed by sustainable funding, meaningful engagement, and a shared commitment to long-term outcomes.

Drawing on themes highlighted throughout our manifesto, this guest blog by Kelly Grehan, Policy Manager at Revolving Doors, explores the importance of collaboration between probation and voluntary sector organisations, reflecting the expertise and experience of organisations working directly with people on probation, their families, and communities across England and Wales.

Why community partnerships matter for probation

Probation began at the start of the last century as a service run by court missionaries, guided by the simple motto of "advise, assist and befriend" those leaving prison.

At Revolving Doors, we work alongside people who have experienced repeated contact with the criminal justice system, often alongside homelessness, poor mental health, substance use and poverty. From that perspective, the original probation principle of "advise, assist and befriend" feels as relevant today as ever.

The prison capacity crisis is often viewed simply in terms of the challenges it poses for government, but not enough about its impact on probation. The service is increasingly responsible for supporting people leaving prison after sentences during which little meaningful support may have been available, while also managing growing numbers caught in cycles of recall.

More people were recalled to prison in the last quarter than were released. Strikingly, fewer than a quarter of those recalled returned to custody because of a new offence. For many, a combination of insecure housing, substance use, or non-compliance with licence conditions lies behind their recall. These issues can present risks, but they are often symptoms of lives marked by instability and crisis rather than deliberate defiance.

So, we must ask: isn't advice, assistance, and support exactly what many people in the criminal justice system need to leave it behind?

At Revolving Doors, we have consistently argued that reducing unnecessary recall and investing in community support are critical to breaking cycles of crisis and crime. When instability drives non-compliance, the solution is often support rather than further punishment.

Our members frequently describe having to navigate housing, treatment, healthcare and welfare systems simultaneously, often with little coordination between services.

At the same time, a highly skilled voluntary sector is well placed to help, but too often lacks the resources to do so effectively.

That is why we welcome the publication of the Clinks voluntary sector-led manifesto for reforming the criminal justice system. It recognises something that those of us working with people caught in the revolving door of crisis and crime have long understood: the state cannot prevent further offending on its own.

The manifesto calls for greater investment in community justice, stronger local partnerships, action to reduce the use of remand and recall, improved resettlement support, and a Whole Systems Approach for women.

This closely reflects what our members at Revolving Doors tell us. Rehabilitation depends on safe housing, healthcare, positive relationships and practical community support, much of which sits beyond probation's remit.

This is where the voluntary sector can play such a vital role.

Community organisations provide the practical and relational support that helps people rebuild their lives: finding and maintaining accommodation, accessing treatment, navigating the benefits system, reconnecting with family, finding meaningful activity, and maintaining hope through difficult periods. Often, these organisations bring lived experience into their workforce, strengthening that support and demonstrating that change is possible.

At Revolving Doors, we see the value of this every day. Someone facing homelessness may struggle to comply with licence conditions or maintain engagement with services. With timely support from a community organisation, that person may be able to secure accommodation, access advice and stabilise their circumstances before a manageable problem becomes a crisis that leads to recall.

With its well-documented pressures, including unsustainable workloads and persistent staff retention challenges, the Probation Service often struggles to provide this level of practical support on its own. The recall figures reflect that reality.

Voluntary sector organisations can offer continuity, advocacy and trusted relationships that continue long after formal supervision has ended.

That matters because people's lives do not fit neatly into sentence plans or supervision periods.

The Clinks manifesto rightly recognises that successful resettlement depends on strong communities and community infrastructure, not on criminal justice agencies attempting to do everything themselves.

For Revolving Doors, the manifesto points towards a different vision of probation: one rooted in partnership rather than isolation

"Advise, assist and befriend" may sound like language from another era, but the principle behind it feels as relevant today as ever.

If we want probation to reduce reoffending and support rehabilitation, we must stop expecting it to solve deeply rooted social problems in isolation. Instead, we need to invest in the relationships, community partnerships and voluntary sector infrastructure that make lasting change possible.

At Revolving Doors, we believe people are far more likely to build stable, fulfilling lives when services work together to address the root causes of crisis and crime. Probation has an important role to play, but it cannot do this alone. Achieving lasting change requires strong community partnerships, lived experience leadership, and investment in the voluntary sector organisations that help people move beyond crisis. In many ways, that is the modern expression of probation's founding principle: to advise, assist and befriend.