PROBATION officers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of potential strike action in protest against the early release of prisoners. Napo national chair Ben Cockburn said: “Probation staff make decisions every day with life-changing consequences for the people we work with, victims and the public. Mr Cockburn said the government “cannot keep treating probation as the place where the consequences of failures elsewhere in the criminal justice system are dumped.” Prime Minister Andy Burnham paused the early release scheme last month in the face of a public outcry over the potential early release of the killers of Pc Andrew Harper. He has now ordered Justice Secretary Alex Norris to find a way to prevent the early release of Pc Harper’s killers.