Probation officers across England and Wales are to be equipped with body-worn cameras, self-defence training, and knife-detection arches in a major security overhaul following two serious stabbings in their workplaces.
Security Measures Approved After Attacks
The Guardian can reveal that ministerial approval has been granted for a series of pilot schemes designed to protect frontline staff. This comes days after a staff member was stabbed in a probation office in Oxford, and separately, after a man admitted the attempted murder of a female officer in her 30s at a centre in Preston, Lancashire, in July.
The probation officers' union believes these are the first knife attacks to occur inside probation offices and says there is now a "palpable fear" among members about going to work. In response, an internal safety review has prompted the new measures.
New Equipment and Training for Frontline Staff
The approved security package includes several key elements. Knife arches (metal detection arches) are due to be installed at the entrances of selected probation offices within weeks, alongside handheld metal-detecting wands for searching individuals.
For the first time, probation officers will also be issued with body-worn cameras to record community work sessions, similar to those used by police. Furthermore, a pilot of Spear training – a close-quarter protection system used to repel sudden attacks – will be launched for frontline staff. This system is already used to train police and prison officers.
Bleed kits, containing vital items like tourniquets and trauma bandages, are already being distributed to offices.
Mounting Pressure on a Service in Crisis
These security interventions arrive amid intense pressure on the probation service. Approximately 6,000 probation officers are currently supervising more than 240,000 people in the community. This caseload has been exacerbated by the government's early release scheme to ease prison overcrowding.
Nearly 40,000 people were released early from prison under the SDS40 scheme in the nine months to June 2025, all requiring probation supervision. This cohort includes some violent offenders, those convicted of sexual offences, and domestic abusers released after serving a third of their sentences.
Ian Lawrence, general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, stated: "It has been clear for some time that the probation service is in crisis with workload pressures... and now a palpable fear among staff about their safety at their workplace." Industrial relations are also strained due to an unresolved pay claim.
In the Oxford case, Nelson Williams, 27, has been remanded in custody charged with attempted murder, affray, and possession of a knife. In Preston, Ryan Gee, 35, has admitted the attempted murder of the probation officer, along with other serious charges including false imprisonment.
The Ministry of Justice has been approached for comment on the new security measures.
