Another fine mess which will hit us in the pocket; DAILY POST YOUR VOICE IN WALES.

SMALL wonder our tax bills are so high and small wonder too, that no matter how much we pay, public services just don't seem to improve.

That could well be because, for those holding the purse strings, the taxpayer provides an inexhaustible supply of funds which can be squandered at will.

We highlighted yesterday, the craziness of keeping offenders locked up in hugely-expensive police cells because there just aren't enough prison places for them - a particular problem in prisonless North Wales.

Today we reveal another horror story which, in many respects, is even worse. Millions of pounds have been squandered training probation officers for whom there are no jobs.

A whopping pounds 4 million has been spent training 44 recruits in Wales but there are vacancies for only three when they qualify in October.

That's because budgets across England and Wales have been slashed - but it appears no-one told those in charge of the training department.

You couldn't wish for a more ludicrous example of disjointed government, of muddled thinking, of the left hand not having a clue what the right was doing.

But this is doubly disgraceful because of the enormous human cost. Forty-one out of these 44 young men and women have, it would appear, had their career ambitions dashed.

As a consequence, they may now have to spend more precious years outside the job market retraining, forfeiting pay and possible promotion opportunities along the way.

It would not be surprising if they instructed lawyers to take legal action for losses suffered, costing the taxpayer even more.

There's another factor to consider in all this, too. Is it really a good idea to be chopping back on probation officers at a time when our prisons are so overcrowded that we're forced to house offenders in police stations? Many criminals as a direct result, are walking free whether they deserve to or not. At least if they're properly monitored by probation officers there's some chance proper community sentences can be handed out and given an opportunity to work.

Instead we face the nightmare scenario of offenders effectively being let off scot-free while unemployed probation officers - and the rest of us - can only look on in despair.

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