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Crime Solicitors

Inmates kept in jail beyond their sentence (23 November 2016)

Date: 23/11/2016
Duncan Lewis, Crime Solicitors,  Inmates kept in jail beyond their sentence

The media has been inundated with news that the Prison Service is facing ‘meltdown’ as many convicts are being held months longer than their recommended release date.

It found that a lack of resources at the Ministry of Justice and the Parole Board leads to virtually all offenders who are recalled to jail after breaching their licence serving longer than expected. Perhaps it should bear light that some licence conditions imposed on release particularly the catch all licence condition for offenders to behave well in the community is too high a threshold for these offenders who have been systemized for many years; breach of this condition leads to many unnecessary recalls where offender supervisors fail to break the mould by being reasonable on what is deemed best behaviour.

Chief inspector of prisons Peter Clarke has said that it was completely unjust that offenders serving imprisonment for Public Protection terms were languishing in Jail. It is evident from the practice of prison law that this is a validated statement, as these offenders usually become lost in the system. Usually, there seems to be high obligations placed on these offenders to complete courses to reduce their risk of re-offending but the reality is that some of the prisons simply do not have the necessary resources to provide the courses and the dedicated requirements to help reduce the risk these offenders place to the public.

The depressing reality for these IPP (Imprisonment for Public Protection) prisoners is that they lose hope as they can get held indefinitely in custody, the IPP sentence should have a maximum period within which the prison should achieve a certain level of duty of care towards the prisoners to reduce their risk and if that is not met then whose liability will it be, no doubt that of the prison system. Many IPP prisoners are affected by their indefinite future affecting their mental health. The reality for some of these offenders is that they serve their determinate sentence for the crime committed and then start another subsequent indefinite sentence. The reality is action should be implemented to allow expeditious reform. The deficiency and injustice of the IPP sentence should be addressed with urgency. A prisoner being trapped in Jail and at the mercy of the efficiency of the prison system, which continues to trap them, is not retribution; it is a system with no mercy.

Author, Maeve Thornton is a Solicitor Advocate with Duncan Lewis. Maeve has dealt with many Public Law Claims arising out of Prison and Criminal Justice Cases. She has represented Prisoners at every level including licence recall hearings, parole board and adjudication matters. She has experience of representing defendants charged with the most serious offences of violence, public order, murder, armed robbery, burglary, fraud, white collar crime, extradition and drugs trafficking and supply.

Duncan Lewis’ Prison Law department provides a unique service to clients as it ensures that the care they have received throughout their criminal matters does not simply end when a person is at their most vulnerable, when they are taken into custody. The client care and focus upon their case continues at this stage by addressing issues such as appeals against conviction and/or sentence, Proceeds of Crime, advice regarding categorisation etc. Duncan Lewis are one of the largest legal aid franchise firms in the UK, with expertise in various areas of prison law; for advice on any issues Law contact our specialist team on 0333 772 0409.


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