Additional data
Additional information on the operation of the Probation Service.
The Probation Service is a statutory criminal justice service that supervises offenders serving community sentences or released into the community from prison. There are 12 probation regions across England and Wales. In England, the Probation Service is divided into 11 regions, with a separate, single region for Wales.
Visit prisons and probation statistics for data sources and more details.
Staff in post (Probation Service)
Full time equivalent staff in post for the Probation Service (PS) at the end of each financial year. (Workforce data for private sector Community Rehabilitation Companies is not published).
During November and December 2019, over 1,200 PS staff moved to the Community and Interventions directorate, part of HMPPS HQ and areas services. In the same quarter, over 300 staff in Wales were transferred from privately run CRCs to HMPPS, into the new "PS Wales UM transition".
In late June 2021, more than 7,000 staff from private sector Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) came together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service.
March 2025
21,022
Update 31 Dec 2025
At 31 Dec 2025 there were 21,007 FTE staff in post.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the HM Prison & Probation Service workforce quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 19 February 2026.
Staff sickness (Probation Service)
Sickness absence (average working days lost per FTE staff) for all Probation Service staff. (Workforce data for private sector Community Rehabilitation Companies is not published).
| Period | Staff sickness (Probation Service) |
|---|---|
| Apr 2014 to Mar 2015 | 11.9 days |
| Apr 2015 to Mar 2016 | 11.7 days |
| Apr 2016 to Mar 2017 | 11.5 days |
| Apr 2017 to Mar 2018 | 10.1 days |
| Apr 2018 to Mar 2019 | 10.5 days |
| Apr 2019 to Mar 2020 | 11.1 days |
| Apr 2020 to Mar 2021 | 9.0 days |
| Apr 2021 to Mar 2022 | 13.0 days |
| Apr 2022 to Mar 2023 | 12.8 days |
| Apr 2023 to Mar 2024 | 12.5 days |
| Apr 2024 to Mar 2025 | 13.2 days |
Apr 2024 to Mar 2025
13.2 days
Update 31 Dec 2025
For the 12 months to 31 Dec 2025 there were an average of 13.8 working days lost to sickness for PS staff.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the HM Prison & Probation Service workforce quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 19 February 2026.