lecture 15 - release and resettlement (getting to the gate) Flashcards
when a prisoner is released depends on what 3 things?
- the length of their sentence
- their behaviour in prison
- any time spent on remand (waiting for their trial)
what 3 main length of sentences
-fixed term or determinate sentence
- extended sentence
- indeterminate sentence
what is a fixed term or determinate prison sentence
where the court sets a fixed length for the prison sentence
what is the most common type of prison sentence
fixed term or determinate prison sentences
when is automatic release for most common type of custody for determinate sentences
standard determinate sentences with automatic release at the halfway point
anyone sentenced to over 7 years and to certain sexual/ dangerous offence has automatic release when
automatic release at two thirds of the sentence
2/3
anyone that serves over how many years is on a long prison sentence
10+ years
long determinate sentences of 20 years are released when in the sentence
halfway point
what are release conditions for determinate prison sentences
- many will be on licence for remainder of their sentence
- licence period can be recalled to prison
if determinate prison sentence is less than 12 months what happens
when does it finish
- a period on post-sentence supervision
- this finishes 12 months after being release from custody
offenders serving between 3 months adn 4 years may be eligible for release on what?
home detention curfew
home detention curfew allows an offender to be released how many days before their automatic release date
180 days
(used to be 135)
3 positive outcomes of home detention curfews
- eases overcrowding
- aid resettlement
- eligibility exceptions
what are extended sentences used for
for offenders who are assessed as dangerous but for whom a sentence of life is not justified
2 parts of extended sentences
- custodial period
- an extended period of licence
when are you released from custodial period of extended sentences
- automatically after serving 2/3rds of sentence
- or not released automatically but eligible for parole
- if dont get parole - released automatically at end of custodial period
how is the licence period decided by the judge for extended sentences
- length of time considered necessary for protecting the public from serious harm
when did the law remove automatic release for extended sentences
13 april 2015
what is an indeterminate prison sentence
- does not have a fixed length of time
- offenders must spend a minimum amount of time in prison (tariff) before being considered for release
example of indeterminate sentence
2 types
life sentences
- mandatory
- discretionary
what does a whole life order mean
only a whole life order will mean that the offender must spend the rest of their life in prison
for all other offenders (not life sentencers) what happens for indeterminate prison sentences
- judge sets minimum term offender must serve before they can be considered for release by the parole board
- when released they remain on licence for rest of their life
- can be recalled to prison if considered a risk
does an offender on licence for indeterminate prison sentence have to have committed another offence to be recalled to prison
no
just considered a risk
what is the parole board
- independent body that carries out risk assessments on prisoners to determine whether they can be safely released into the community
what act introduced the parole board
criminal justice act 1968
who did the parole reform
padfield 2019
most recent parole reform
- cases of parole failure (colin pitchfork)
- controversial decisions (john worboys)
in 2018-19 what was reformed in the parole board? why? what was introduced?
rule 25 of parole board rules
- to allow summaries of parole board decisions to be provided to victims and other interested parties
- intro of a reconsideration mechanism
the parole board today is responsible for the release of all those sentenced to? LIE
Life sentence
indeterminate sentence
extended sentence
what jobs does the parole board today do
- transfer decisions to open prisons
- change to licence conditions
- recall decisions
what are parole board members
how are they recruited?
- public appointees recruited by the secretary of state for justice
- variety of backgrounds
- includes specialist members
the parole board is not representative of what
not at all representative of the wider community
in parole hearings how many members
1 to 3 members
and specialist members allocated based on facts of case
what is a new requirement of the parole board
- must include members with law enforcement background
what is a new power for the parole board
- new power to allow the secretary of state to direct the composition of panels
parole process
- prisoner gets application form prior to parole eligibility date
- prison puts together file on prisoner
- prisoner can add evidence to this to show why they should be released
- public hearing - prisoner can have legal aid/ solicitor
- up to 3 members of panel decide on whether prisoner should be released/ moved to open conditions based on info
what does the parole board panel consider for prisoners being released/ moved to open conditons
- behaviour
- release plans
- RISK
- why they are in prison
- previous offences
- judge comments at sentencing
- medical, psychiatric and psychological evidence
-victim personal statements
what is no longer included in the parole panel when deciding on release/ move to open conditions
-the prisoners offender managers (prison/ probation officer) opinion and decision on suitability
if the parole hearing is unsuccessful how long is it before a case can be reviewed again?
within 2 years
when was the amendments to rule 25 of parole board rule
2018
when was the first public hearing for parole board
12th december 2022
what are the concerns for public involvement for parole board
concerns over confidentiality and safety of those involved
what do parole members think of public involvement
- view the public as ill-informed and overly emotional with increasing public hostility towards them
- easily influenced by high profile cases
- concerned they could be scapegoated
- issues around maintaining prisoners right to privacy
- already public engagement activities
what is the warning for new proposals for public involvement in parole
- current public engagement has limited effect on public opinion, particularly when there are catastrophic failures
what is there greater ministerial scrutiny on
- release of most dangerous offenders, including new power to block their release in interests of public safety
- transfer of life and other indeterminate sentenced prisoners to open conditions
what is the changing in the law for increased political oversight
changing law to increase proportion of parole board members from policing backgrounds, and ensure they sit on hearings for most dangerous offenders
what attracted a lot of criticism and was subject of a MOTION OF REGRET in the lords in october 2022
evidence no longer including recommendations from witnesses (prison and probation staff/ psychologists) on a prisoner suitability for release or transfer to open conditions
consequences of not including witness evidence from prisoner staff/ probation/ psychologist
- undermines professional standing of witnesses for most risk assessment will be a core skill
- represents a major interference with the parole boards ability to operate independently
measuring risk
-what approach are the board required to apply
- what is the new power
- changes to formal test
- board required to apply a PRECAUTIONARY APPROACH to the release of offenders
- new power that allows secretary of state to BLOCK prisoners release/ transfer
transfer to open conditions second test
transfer deemed ESSENTIAL to inform future decisions about release and to prepare for possible release on licence into community
transfer to open conditions third test
transfer does not undermine public confidence
changes to the formal test led to what
led to fewer prisoners being approved to transfer to open conditions
public confidence test was removed and the second test now considers whether
there is a wholly persuasive case for transferring the ISP to open conditions
what balance remains disputed in parole risk assessment
balance between forward-looking and backward looking factors remains disputed
belief that parole board are too lenient may undermine what
may undermine publics confidence that the cjs can impose and enforce appropriate punishments
what does fitzgerald 2022 say
PPU
public opinion, public criticism, unmerited leniency
how many prisoners reviewed meet the test for release on parole
1 in 4
during 2021/22 what percentage of prisoners released by parole board were charged with serious further offence
0.5%
what does the prison reform trust bromley fact file say about the amount of people sentenced to 10 years or more in the 12 months to june 2021 than the same period in 2008
two and a half times as many people
parole decisions impact on
experiences (pains) of imprisonment
prison number/ overcrowding
what are seen as essnetial to prisoners parole dossier and getting to the gate
-open prisons
- release on temporary licence (ROTL)
Open prisons
what type of securty
what does it allow eligible prisoners to do
what do prisoners need to have done to be allowed open conditions
- minimal security
- allow eligible prisoners to spend most day away from prison on licence to carry out work, education or other resettlement purposes
- only house prisoners that have been risk assessed and deemed suitable for open conditions
what category of prisoners do resettlement prisons hold
cat C and D prisoners
How many category d open prisons are there open today
9 for men
2 for women
what was the first category d open prison
new hall camp 1933
what are the 2 category d open prisons for women
- askham grange
- east sutton park
what open establishment offers the lowest level of security in uk prison system and what are they aiming to reverse
category D
aiming to reverse some of the negative impacts of imprisonment through greater freedom and autonomy
clemmer 1940 and open prisons
reduce the effect of prisonisation
goffman 1961 open prisons
open prisons remove characteristics that make it a total institution
how many times are you required to attend roll call in cat d prison core day
3 or 4 times a day
in a typical cat d core day what is required to work through the gate through release on temporary licence
- resettlement day release
- resettlement overnight release
- special purposes licence
- childcare resettlement licence
coping mechanisms in closed establishments
over reliance on rituals and routines
research by shammas 2014 looks at an open prison where
prisoners said to experience…
norway
- prisoners said to experience confusion, anxiety and boundlessness, ambiguity and individual responsibility
what do griffin and healy say about the pains of open conditions
resisting temptation and individual responsibility - more to lose
release seen a concrete and tangible
what coping mechanisms needed for the pains of open conditions
remain productive
what is the key function of ROTL
to help prisoners reintegrate with the outside world again
examples of ROTL helping prisoners reintegrate with outside world
- allowing prisoners to leave prison to attend work and other approved appointments
- make gradual adjustment to independence
ROTL is the most effective way of making sure prisoners are?
- suitably risk assessed before being fully released into community under licence conditions
benefits of open prisons and ROTL
- education
- timpson - ROTL offers important opportunities to support resettlement and desistance
ROTL additional pains and challenges
- new routines, rules and people
- taste of freedom but not real freedom
- bittersweet
- unsatisfied, reminder of what they dont have
- greater self regulation and governance
ROTL challenges
- undermines public confidence - risk adverse
- seen with recent changes to parole and transfer decisions- any failure make obtaining ROTL harder
prisoners serving what sentences are subject to discretionary decision making
- indeterminate
- life
-extended determinate
for all prisoners the process of release involves careful pre-release preparation through what 3 things
- parole board
- behaviour in open/ prison
- behaviour on ROTL
