Probation in peril

The Probation Service is meant to protect the public by monitoring released prisoners and offenders on community sentences - helping them to stay out of trouble and rebuild their lives. But a series of catastrophic failures have led to the murders of two women who were killed by men who should have been monitored more closely. File on 4 analyses the case of Damien Bendall who killed his pregnant partner Terri Harris and three children in 2021 while on probation. The Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell has said Bendall’s supervision “fell far below the quality that the public has a right to expect”. The programme hears from the families of Bendall's victims and from those probation officers on the front line who say the service is at breaking point.

Reporter: Danny Shaw Producer: Fergus Hewison Assistant Producer: Patrick Kiteley Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Editor: Carl Johnston