The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) develops the National Standards for the Management of Offenders, for approval by the Secretary of State for Justice.

The National Standards apply equally to all providers of offender management services, commissioned by NOMS, including Probation Areas.

National Standards are focused on the front line work done with offenders under supervision, and reflect both the end-to-end management of offenders and the delivery of interventions.

The standards apply to the management of offenders aged 18 years and over, and to those aged 16 and 17 who are the subject of adult orders being managed by the National Probation Service.

NOMS expects that standards will be met in all but exceptional circumstances, and Probation Areas asre subject to inspection, audit and reporting requirements for monitoring purposes.

The standards are intended to:

• Make clear NOMS’ expectations as to how offenders will be managed.
• Ensure that offender management is designed and delivered in an integrated way, incorporating national consistency and predicyability.

National Standards are complemented by Service Level Agreements which set out the targets that providers (including Probation Areas) are expected to meet.

A copy of the National Standards for the Management of Offenders (Standards and Implementation Guidance 2007) can be viewed or downloaded here.