Appointment of the new Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation
The Secretary of State has announced the appointment of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation.
The Secretary of State has announced the appointment of Justin Russell as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation for a tenure of 3 years. His appointment will commence on 1 June 2019 and run until 31 May 2022.
The appointment follows a report from the Justice Select, Committee into Justin’s suitability for the role, published on 8 March, and a public hearing with the committee held on 5 March.
Appointments and re-appointments are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, and have been made in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
HM Chief Inspectorate of Probation
The Chief Inspector of Probation reports directly to Ministers, but operates independently of government and the services under its scrutiny. The Chief Inspector has a duty to ensure the inspection of probation and youth offending services in England and Wales and to provide independent scrutiny of the quality of work undertaken with individual offenders.
Justin Russell Biography
Mr Russell has spent over thirty years working on a wide range of criminal justice issues as a researcher, policy maker and major programme leader and has a long-standing interest and involvement in probation and youth justice policy. Mr Russell has also worked for the Audit Commission and Mental Health Foundation and was a non-executive Director of Turning Point from 2005 to 2011. Until recently, he was Director General for Justice Analysis and Offender Policy at the Ministry of Justice and is currently the Director General for No Deal EU Exit Planning at the Ministry of Justice.