Rejected petition Stop private companies supervising offenders in the community

I want the government to ensure that the Probation Service continues to supervise offenders in the community as private companies are beholden to shareholders and investors and therefore the system is open to abuse and conflicts of interest. The Payment by Results programme, as adopted by Chris Grayling MP, states that companies will be paid to reduce re-offending rates, but this is based on the premise that the Probation Service is the only organisation responsible for reducing re-offending. This is flawed as there are many reasons why people re-offend such as a lack of employment, drug and alcohol misuse and housing issues. This needs to be addressed by Government ministers. There is also the question of how Payment by Results is measured for re-offending. If a convicted murderer gets arrested for shoplifting surely that is a reduction in the seriousness of his offending yet technically he has committed another offence.