THE purpose of the Board is:

To collectively direct and support the West Midlands Area in the delivery of services to meet the legitimate existing and emerging needs of stakeholders.

The West Midlands Probation Board provides a voice for the local community in the running of the National Probation Service in the West Midlands.

The Board, which replaced the former West Midlands Probation Committee in April 2001, employs 1,200 staff who work for the National Probation Service in the West Midlands. The chairman and members of the board are drawn from a wide cross section of the community.

Its main role is to ensure that performance targets and ethical standards are met, and resources are being efficiently used and managed. Board members also contribute to decision-making about how the West Midlands Probation Area is managed and take close involvement in the strategic planning of the organisation.

Board members work with Inspectors from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP), receiving their final reports and ensuring recommendations are acted upon. They also ensure the organisation is assessed according to the demands of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model.

Probation Boards have a maximum of 15 members, including the Chief Officer and a Lord Chancellor’s nominee. The rest are recruited, selected and appointed by the Home Secretary.

Members include sentencers (judges and magistrates), two local authority members and six local community representatives. The chairman is a part-time paid appointment of the Home Secretary.

Board meetings are open to the public. Most of them are currently held at the Probation West Midlands HQ at Victoria Square in Birmingham, but up to three meetings per year will be held at alternatives venues in Coventry and the Black Country (Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Sandwell).

The first of these meetings was held at the University of Coventry’s Technocentre in February 2002, as part of the Board’s commitment to engage with the wider community. Board members are also building close links with ethnic minority communities throughout the West Midlands, as well as voluntary partners and community projects.