Probation Officers in England and Wales are set to strike following plans to outsource 70 per cent of probation services.

The outsourcing plan will see probation work involving low-risk and medium-risk offenders transferred to private firms in order to help meet government savings targets.

Officers who are part of The National Association of Probation Officers (Napo) union will strike for 24 hours on March 31st and will mark the second time the Union has taken action, following a strike in November.

Ian Lawrence, Napo general secretary, said: “The coalition's plans to sell off the management of offenders to private providers so that they can make a profit from the justice system is a recklessly dangerous social experiment that presents massive risks to the safety of communities."

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