IPP Update
The Green Paper has finally been published and we now have three months to submit our responses. Emmersons Solicitors, as most of you will already know, have been campaigning for the abolition of the IPP sentence for a while now. Although the proposals don’t go that far, the Government is seeking to reserve the IPP sentence for the most serious crimes (which warrant a 5 or more year tariff). The Tory’s pre-election idea of the ‘mini-max’ sentence has not made it into the Green Paper. That is not to say that the Government has totally scrapped the idea, but that it hasn’t formed part of the immediate ideas for reform.
The proposed changes to the IPP sentence, if they become law, will not be retrospective. This means that, in the same way that the pre-2008 IPPs were not affected by the changes to the law, those currently serving IPP will not be affected. Although this is obviously very disappointing to those with loved ones currently serving short-tariff IPP sentences, their predicament is not forgotten by the Green Paper. Significantly, there is a proposal to change the way that the Parole Board decides whether or not to release current IPP prisoners back into the community.
At the moment, the Parole Board is extremely risk-averse. This has been widely recognised by the Prison Governors’ Association, the Prison Reform Trust, and others and now – at last – the Government. Currently, if the Parole Board are worried that there is a risk that the offender might pose anything more than a minimal ‘risk’ in the community, they will not direct the prisoner’s release. The proposals in the Green Paper seek to address this, and if they become law, will mean that IPPs stand a much better chance of being released. The Green Paper says that the Government is ‘exploring’ whether a new test for post-tariff IPPs so that more of them are released by the Parole Board. All that has been said at the moment is very generally phrased that a new test could be applied that focuses on keeping those who ‘clearly pose a very serious risk of future harm’ in prison and releasing those who do not.
It appears, from the Green Paper, that the Government has no plans currently to speed up risk assessments by, for example, getting rid of the requirement for an oral hearing in front of the Parole Board. This still means that there are likely to be delays, which we will specifically seek to address in our written submissions to the Government. At the moment, the Parole Board lists oral hearings according to priority, but there is still often a substantial amount of waiting time before the prisoner actually gets their oral hearing. A case in the Administrative Court last year confirmed that the Secretary of State has the power to direct a prisoner’s move to open conditions without an oral hearing in only ‘exceptional circumstances’, but we think the Government should at least give consideration to using this more widely.
If you have had a chance to read through the Green Paper, you’ll see that there are questions that the Government asks at the end of each section. The one question that relates specifically to the IPP sentence does not really have very much to do with whether the IPP sentence works or not, whether it’s fair on offenders and their families and avoids the obvious issue – its overwhelming uncertainty and injustice.
The one specific IPP question asked of the public relates to the fact that the IPP sentence can be very confusing for prisoners, the public and for victims. This includes the way that IPP sentences are announced by the judge in court (e.g. a notional determinate term of six years imprisonment warrants a minimum term of three years minus time spent on remand); the uncertainty as to how long a prisoner will spend in prison, and the lack of availability of courses for offenders to demonstrate their reduction in risk.
The Government appears at last to acknowledge the effect that the IPP sentence has had on those sentenced to IPP as well as their families. They state, at paragraph 187, that “the widespread use of IPPs…can undermine public confidence since the court, the victim and the public have little or no means of knowing how long an individual spell in custody is likely to last or whether it will ever end.” At the very least the Government seems to have taken some notice of the utter injustice of this inhumane sentence.
The one question that the Government asks of us is this: “How best can we increase understanding of prison sentences?” While we would suggest that the most obvious answer to this is the abolishment of the IPP sentence in favour of ‘mini-max’ sentences, this is clearly not on the Government’s most immediate agenda. So, in order to help us to compile our contribution to the public consultation we ask prisoners, and their loved ones, for their views on the following questions:
Do you think that the way the IPP sentence is announced in court, i.e. the length of the tariff, is confusing?
Was the effect of the ‘dangerousness’ label and the requirement to ‘reduce your risk’ explained to you at the start of the IPP sentence?
What is your experience of the availability of offending behavior courses? We would particularly like to hear from people who had to wait a very long time for courses, or were told that they had to undertake more (and sometimes lengthy) courses at a late stage of their tariff, or post-tariff.
Do you feel that the structure of the IPP sentence is adequately explained to offenders, their families, victims and the public in general?
For those who maintain their innocence, has the effect of this on your ‘risk’ been explained to you? If so, what have you been told and who by?
We can’t promise that we will be able to use all of your responses, but we will publish our consultation response on our Facebook page and will also send it to Inside Time for publication. We look forward to hearing from you. Please ensure that we receive your views by Monday 21st February so as to ensure that we are able to include them in our response.
Of course you can also respond personally to the Green Paper, and sending us your views does not prevent you from doing so in your own right. This equally applies to prisoners, who can also write directly to the Ministry of Justice at: Breaking the Cycle, Ministry of Justice, 10.08, 10th Floor, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ. The deadline for replies is 4th March 2011.
Lorna Elliott LLB (Hons) Barrister
Emmersons Solicitors
ACER House
52 John Street
Sunderland
SR1 1QN
T: 01915676667
F: 01915670808
www.emmersons-solicitors.co.uk
– I have my partner serving 81/2 years IPP sentence, he is due to have his paperwork started january 1st 2013, for his mid year review. what I would like to know what is happening to these people who haven\’t got a release date, how are they expected to remain positive? My partner has done everything he can to remain in a positive frame of mind, completed courses,(he completed all his sentence plan targets early on in his sentence, only to be told he will have to do them all again) how unfair is that? Its no wonder IPP\’s struggle with mental health issues.
Can anyone please tell me what is happening regarding release or even cat D for these IPP prisoners.
In reply to Stephens comments
The rights of the victim are taken into account when the sentence is passed,there are guidelines on sentences a judge passes for a reason and that is because they are justified in the eyes of the law for the crime committed. Why are these sentences not enough? Why does it have to be taken to the next level of life imprisonment,because dress it up in tariffs,fancy words and whatever you like but that is what an ipp is and no doubt 99.9% of ipp sentences passed do not warrant a life sentence as it so states in the guidelines given or there would never have been a need for guidelines and maximum sentences in the first place.
As for the lady who posted about her partner being refused by the parole board yet again and it being unfair. How many knockbacks can one persons mental health and sanity take?? Can you even imagine the feeling of utter despair and hopelessness that a person that has done everything they have been asked of them and then to still see no end in sight. The punishment for prisoners is loosing there freedom,prison should be about rehabilitation. How can someone that has done all the courses they have been asked to do and lowered their risk level prove that they have been rehabilitated by the system if they are knocked back time and time again and kept locked up? It just doesn\’t make sense at all. Just remember that just because they have the label \’prisoner\’ it does not mean they don\’t have the same emotions as the average person on the street.There is only so much disappointment,discouragement and feeling of uselessness that anyone can take,prisoner or not,before your mental health cant take anymore.
The rights of a prisoner should be subservient to society as a whole?? It says somewhere that you cannot be punished for a crime twice. Like I said previously,the punishment is having your freedom taken away,not their civil rights especially when they have already served way over the full length of what should have been a determinate sentence.
Bottom line is,probation do not want to let the ipps out \’just in case\’ Thats like me saying I\’m not going to drive my car tomorrow \’just in case\’ I have a crash! So as long as probation are happy sat at their desks pen and buck pushing,there are thousands of prisoners that are ready and should by most peoples reasonable standards been released and reunited with their families a long time ago.
– Many valid points have been made and in context of other sentences, it is clear that IPP can seem unfair. I do not buy into the unfairness of the changes. I cannot imagine for one moment someone who did something that later became an offence being happy about retrospective convictions, so there is no reason to claim relief the other way round.
Interestingly, not one of the people posting has considered the rights of the victim. Leaving aside individual cases of dubious conviction, an IPP is used where there has been evidence of someone being harmed. Is it not better for a perpetrator of violence to be held longer than strictly necessary, than for an early release attracting further crime and fear of crime?
One poster suggested the parole board looking at how a prisoner reacts to disappointment as being unfair. Given the vast array of reasons given in mitigation, it hardly seems unreasonable at all. After all, many people posting agree that many prisoners do not get rehabilitated at all, rather they just play the system.
The prisoner has already stepped far beyond what is reasonable and fair and surely their own rights should be subservient to society\’s as a whole?
All ipps past their tarrif should be released. And the life licence abolished. If the life licence is not abolished they will never be free. And could be recalled over the least little thing
my son was given an IPP sentence told he had 2 serve 6yrs was alledgable 4 parole after 3….he had his 1st parole hearing after serving 4yrs has just been sent 2 open after 6 1/2 and has now been told wen he is able 2 have home leave he has 2 spend it @ a hostel miles away from where we live & if he gets released he will have 2 b in a hostel 4 @ least 12mths which means he will have served 8yrs & then isnt allowed any alcohol as while he is in the hostel he will have daily testing then if he manages 2 get away from that he will have random testing & if any alcohol or drugs r found in his system he will b taken straight back 2 prison & never let out….my son got his ipp 4 an accident ok someone lost their life but it was an accident. he like alot of other prisoners will never b free even wen they r released, but ppl who need 2 b locked away 4ever r being released its just not fair
IPP is mental torture for all of those involved and nobody is released at there first parole even if they have done everything asked of them. There is no end to this and the people making decisions doon\’t seem to want to get any of these prisoners back into the community.
The Offender Managers responsibilty is to make sure the courses necessary are availabe to be taken but this is not happening and the first one my son had was nothing short of an animal in the way he treated prisoners. Even after a meeting his notes were not a reflection of the things that had taken place but it was not possible to get them corrected afterwards. These lies are so detrimental and all the prisoners under his care were never allowed to take the learning courses in the prison as he always put a stop to them. My son asked to be moved from him and was told that he would have to learn to work with him but you can\’t work with somebody who makes up the lies and stops you moving forward. Luckily his Offender Mnager has now changed and his repots are good but it still doesn\’t mean there is any chance of release because of his IPP but at least he is able to go to courses to pass a bit of time.
Nobody in Government has the guts or bottle to get stuck in a try to undo the damage that has been done by IPP sentences. The life sentence and mental torture is for the whole family NOT just the prisoner. SOMEBODY LISTEN PLEASE!!!
I have just been reading everyone comments about ipp and yes I think they are a load of rubbish, but after seeing my partner today and him telling me that he is doing everything he can to come home and being good.
It now makes me think he will never come home so we can have a life together, this government should look at how this ipp affects the families and loved ones and the parole Board need to be looked into and sorted and grow some balls and make decisions.
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who in authority reads this, who is listening, who can help. Can anyone tell me what i say to keep my partner going if he doesnt get his parole. 7 years of a two year sentence is torture.
Let them go, somebody listen to us. My partner has a job, and new grandson to come home to, he is tired and just wants a normal life again, he is unwell, underfed because he just cant eat through wanting to come home so badly. Its time someone somewhere listened.
– Its wrong that people doing well over there time not just for the prisoner and there familes as well they should be given something to work towards and given them something postive to look towards instead of negative they do not see the impact this has on them they need to be givenn hope and treated like humans no judge or probation officer or parole pannel can judge prison they went to college and uni to study law they didnt go to study tarrot cards or to be pychics so how do they no if they are going to commit futher crime .My husband is in walton prison and feels let down by all the offical people that should be helping and ther not his bigest let was his probation officer at the time of his parole hearing given hope that he was going for cat d then on the changed his mind and said he wasnt then said he wouldnt go against him being in a cat d i think it disgusting that he is still in prison for what he did scratching someone face and a little cut on there hand ive got bigger cuts and scratchs doing gardening so the person didnt even need hospital treatment so how could he be charge with attemped muder when he should have got section 18 at the most i think this is totaly wrong and some off these case need looking at again because some of these people should be given a chance so please take the time to look at all these comments and take into account that all of these prisoners are just sat in prisons when some of them could be in cat d and working there way back into the comunity and give them jobs when they come out so that when they come home they have jobs and that they are treated like normal people instead of feeling like outcast help them instead of letting them down all the time
– if this sentence does not achieve anything when this green paper goes in, it seriously needs to be taken to ECHR. When these judges hand out these ipps in court, they mislead everybody, they add when sentencing these prisoners that if they behave in prison that they will be released when they have served their min term – that is a complete lie. these prisoners serve the time for the crime they committed, yet are kept in for a crime they COULD commit in the future. Since when did these judges get to predict what someone might do later on in life. Ipps were never intended to be life sentences, the prisoners that received an ipp did not warrant life so it says in the sentencing rules…the judges should be challenged about misleading the people they are sentencing. Solicitors over not mentioning that they could get an ipp, because l was never informed that my son could get one at all. We need to make a stand and have our voices heard or if not it will be a never ending situation that will be just be brushed under the carpet.
my partner is on an ipp sentence,he got a 27 month tarrff and has now done 4 years i think its bloody discusting the parole board need to fix up and look at the affect its having on ipps and there families,what they dont understand is the fact that alot of ipps are suffering and it will just them worse in the end
If there is anyof release at all. These probationary officers do not help but hinder the convicted and it is totally unhumane to keep both the prisoner and their relations in this limbo state. Obviously Probationary Services need to keep as many prisoners as possible inside so that it protects their jobs.
Please someone with the knowledge on how we can bring all of this to the attendion of the attention of the Court of European Rights help us we need to do this for all the prisoners as wellas all the prisoners who do not have anyone to fight for them on the outside…. They also are the forgotten ones PLEASE HELP US.
Well done for all your comments, i would certainly like to be there if we could get sometihing done. This is madness. My partner will get his PB in March, and i know he will crack up if he doesnt get his release, not to mention what it will do to me. I cry my self to sleep every night just waiting for him to come home. Like most with IPP, the crime commited was not life threatening to anyone.
As i have said before, where do these people get off playing not only with our loved ones lives but our lives and the people around us.
Trying to keep my partner up beat and positive about his PB is hard when he is on the end of the phone, both of us know there is a chance he could not come home this time, but neither of us mention it. We have already put back two wedding dates, who knows perhaps third time lucky.
I cant go on living without him its torture.
Get our men home.
– – face bookwell said rosie i would be right behide you if you have the luck of getting any thing going,i would love to no how to get something to the European court or humam rights some thing need\’s to be dun about this ipp but what u have said above is so true, keep the ipp for child molesters…. not prisoners with leser crimes
If the changes to the IPP sentences will not be retrospective, then do the 6000+ prisoner currently caught in this indeterminate sentencing know when they will get released?. I don\’t think so!!! because then there would not be so many Probationary Officers or Parole Officers required. The Government is cutting jobs in all areas and yes, 3 prisons have closed but in the main all the prison staff are going to keep their jobs on the back of these poor souls who in many ways are forgotten and can easily disappear in the system if they have no one on the outside to care about them or fight their corner. Shame on all of the Government bodies who support the IPP system I hope one day one of your members of the family are caught up in this neverending nightmare that not only sentences the convicted but also the family to include children. You would not keep animals caged up for years and years on end. It would appear that human life is worthless. The other problem and missuse of IPP (with the exception of peadophiles who fully deserve the IPP\’s) they are not supposed to be dealt out for a 1st conviction but you will find on many occasions the judges just hand them out like smarties. If the system is to be used then use it as it was intended and not just give by the judges just because they can!! and because it gives them a feeling of power. The lord is slow but these judges who deal these sentences out have to face their keeper!! What a burden to bear!. How many lifes of people\’s families have these IPPs effected who serve a life sentence with their loved ones.. Go back to the old way of sentencing by giving definite termed sentences to fit the crime. Some prisoners are being given the same sentance as murderers for a much less crime. This is an ABHORENT and INHUMANE way of dealing with human beings. If animals were treated like this and caged up indefinitely there would be an public outcry. What has happend to our judicial law. English Law used to be considered fair not like that now. You are considered GUILTY UNTIL YOU PROVE YOURSELF INNOCENT in this country. Shame on you all. I would like to lock you all up in a room together for life and see how you would feel about that. The changes should be retrospective and if the law was to be fair then this would happen
I would also like to add that if all these IPP sentenced prisoners are so bad and so dangerous, then why do they keep ALL THESE SUPPOSEDLY VERY DANGEROUS inmates together in such confined spaces. Surely if they are so dangerous they would need to be segregated at all times. There are some really dangerous people on the outside who get medical help and attend courses whereby most of these inmates are in very close contact with each other and get on well with their inmates but GET NO HELP and HAVE TO FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL to get on courses to assist in their release, which as many of the statements above prove never happens. These prisoners are kept in situ to keep jobs going, bums on seats for the people in power and the pen pushing and arrogant Probationary Officers who DO NOT help the inmates but HINDER their release ensuring that they have a job for life looking after these poor souls who may have made a mistake in life. Show me any of the judges or prabationary services staff who themselves have never made a mistake in their lives. What about these social workers who turn a blind eye to child abuse and neglect do they have
have a jail sentence or an IPP served on them for causing the death of a child etc. NO they don\’t… It is still a crime and should be punishable in the same way as some of the prisoners who are sentanced for much lesser crimes. WE ALL NEED TO GET TOGETHER NOW and get something in motion to send to the European Court of Human Rights. I don\’t know how to start this up on the web and would welcome some advice. STOP THIS BARBARIC USE OF POWER NOW.
That sounds like a plan…something needs to be done. They dont care about our loved ones already serving. My o/h told me yesterday one of the guards made a comment infront of many prisoners saying \’you lot would steal off your own grandma,i don\’t trust any of you\’ which just shows exactly what faith the screws have in those serving the IPP.
I agree with the above, how about a member of the parole board gets locked up with no hope of a release date & see how they cope mentally?
IPP\’s are having the adverse effect on the majority of prisoners who have had these inhumane sentences awarded to them. The only criminals who should be given IPP\’s should be pedophiles. They are the real danger to society people that these kind of sentences are aimed at. IPP\’s do not only leave the prisoners in a state of limbo as to when and indeed IF they get released it also effects the whole of the family and relatives who love them dearly. Do the judges who hand these IPP\’s out like smarties realise that they are ruining peoples lives. I would love just one of them to have the same sentences given to them for a crime that is not necessarily a danger to society. It may be that something has gone wrong in a relationship, and who are these judges who believe one person against the other when there is no real evidence to support the one who stands to be convicted. It is just a matter of one word against the other. In some instances of rape in a relationship where there is no clear evidence and a doctors report which would supports both the prosecution and defence story… NOBODY should be given an IPP without definite and confirmed evidence. The person David Plunket who passed the IPP rule was no paragon of virtue to society himself. Maybe he should have looked at his own lifestyle before passing this inhumane sentancing with the exception of peado\’s. If all of us took this IPP situation to the
European Court of Human Right\’s I am sure we could have this disgusting law abolished. Why don\’t we try this.
I have a loved one serving an 5yr IPP sentence, recently sat his 2nd parole hearing and like so many others was knocked back, the paroles reason for this was because they wanted to see how he reacted to rejection, is this a joke or what, they couldn\’t find anything to pick on so they came up with this lame excuse. He\’s appealing it of course but no doubt they\’ll just find something else to say. He\’s completed all his courses, low risk and is well behaved but still they won\’t realese him, this worries me coz I think he\’ll just have a break down, don\’t they know that prison can be detrimental to ones Mental health. The parole board don\’t have the balls to make the decision to realese, can someone tell me exactly what they\’re job is? In fact can someone tell me how many IPP prisoners have been granted realese in the last year. My understanding and correct me if I\’m wrong is when an IPP prisoner has served 3/4 of his sentence he is automatically realesed, I got this info from parole board website! My partner has served 6 + of a 5 yr IPP sentenace. It\’s all well and good abolishing it but what about our loved ones already serving, the parole board procedure needs to be reviewed and they need to grow some balls, they\’re playing with peoples lives.
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The other issue with IPP\’s is that the offender upon release is on license for LIFE!
How does this work for 2 brothers who have serving their sentence side by side in prison since they were 16 on an IPP of 4 years. They are now six years into their sentence and due for their second parole hearing (having been turned down on the first.)
They have been informed by probation that if they are successful at the hearing that they would not be allowed to move back home together.
However this license is for LIFE and the constraints of not being able to be together puts paid to family celebrations, christmas\’s, weddings and funerals….What does the ministry of Justice suggest to these two boys in the event that their mother passes away…
Why should they continue to be penalised beyond conviction and sentence?
Moderator\’s Comment:
They should speak with their legal advisers; licence conditions must be reasonable and proportionate!
After serving 6 years on a 2 year sentence, my o/h is soon up for parole, but has been told that as he is IPP, IF he gets parole he may have to go back to the area he used to live as his probation officer is there. He has been working out in the community for the last year in a totally differant part of the country and has now been offered a job there, but his probation officer says the Ipp means they wont let him/us stay, so there is another twist to IPP. Not only does the govenment mess with peoples lives when the Ipp is carried out but also when families try to get their lives back. This doesnt seem right to me, another blipp in the IPP system.
– I think that IPP,s should be set aside for the popedo,s of this world, they are the one,s that this was aimed at, sarah payne fought for this and won it, but as per usual the sentence was abused…………….. funny the law can abuse it and get away with it…………. its a crime, if the judges did,nt get power happy then this law would cover what it was aimed at, i,d like to see the judges have to answer the injustices that they have handed out.
– Most of the relevant points have been covered in the previous comments but I just want to say that the habit of giving what seems to be a relevantly low sentence to the public ear, but adding the IPP to it can condemn a person to a life in prison. The parole system does not seem to recognise the \”innocence maintained\” and seem to consider those that maintain their innocence as not wanting to reform, but by accepting the system of reform courses they are basically saying they are guilty (or else why would they take the course?), and we all know that the courts can sentence innocents aswell as the guilty, be it because of a previous record or for political reasons. There is an urgent need for the reforms that are proposed, and there are considerations to the change of the system of parole needed too.
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Because that would be too easy for them wouldnt it….They dont care about our guys suffering in there for so long. This whole IPP is crazy & if abolished, i dont see it fair to leave the guys in there who are already serving an IPP & their sentance is up!
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When they changed the ruling in 2008 that those who would get tariffs of less than 2 years wouldn\’t now get an IPP, I don\’t remember there being a huge public outcry. So as they admitted they were putting right what they\’d got wrong up till then, it wouldn\’t have done any damage to release those who\’d already got less than 2 years – instead of making nearly 1,500 prisoners have to pay the price, and are still paying the price,for them getting it wrong, my partner being one of them.
Not having a release date is cruel enough, but knowing he wouldn\’t have got this life sentence if his offence was before 2005 or after Jul.2008 and expecting him to just put up with this injustice is cruel and insulting.
As IPP\’s keep being told the tariffs are irrelevant then what is the point of them? The government have just created a system where someone committing a relatively minor offence that got them a few months IPP tariff, can quite easily be kept in for life (because it\’s made impossible to earn release) the same as someone on a life sentence for murder.
I wonder what other countries think of the British Justice system, that can give out what is in effect the same life sentence for a serial killer and someone who sets fire to a wheelie bin (given an IPP).
– rachc337@hotmail.comThanks Steven. my o/h is currently waiting for a date for his parole, hes already served twice as long as he should have, especially for the petty crime he committed.
The justice system these days is just a shambles and yes, very abusive to prisoners and their family members.
It appears somnetimes the first time offenders keep reoffending because thats all they know…there should be proper help for these guys while they are serving their time.
I would like to add that I also met first-time offenders who were so psychologically damaged by their treatment in prison they had become extremely angry and fully intended to reoffend. I think there are more of these than the offender who is determined to go straight.
Dear Rachel
Sorry, of course there are prisoners who change for the better in prison. I met many family men who deeply regret committing an offence and the hurt it has caused their family, and will likely never reoffend again. The point I was making is the psychological and damaging affects imprisonment has on offenders, and in some ways it does cause irreparable psychological harm, that far outweighs the offence they were convicted of. I feel it\’s abusive to imprison offenders in regimes that isolates them in repressive regimes that causes family break down.
Your post was well written and highlighted important points.
– Steven well said, part of it anyway. I do disagree with what you say about prisoners not changing for the better. Each individual prisoner is different & I can guarantee you that my o/h has changed for the better & grown up a hell of a lot! Hes possibly one of very few though.
Although, you are very right, the IPP is a human rights abuse.
\’The proposed changes to the IPP sentence, if they become law, will not be retrospective. This means that, in the same way that the pre-2008 IPPs were not affected by the changes to the law, those currently serving IPP will not be affected. Although this is obviously very disappointing to those with loved ones currently serving short-tariff IPP sentences, their predicament is not forgotten by the Green Paper. Significantly, there is a proposal to change the way that the Parole Board decides whether or not to release current IPP prisoners back into the community\’
The quote above is very disappointing, its the lads that are already on IPPs that are suffering & need this. To say they will basically be left in prison just because they are already serving an IPP is injustice, why should it be one rule for one & one rule for another???
– i wos a ipp prisoner went to london got my release dident no whot a ipp wos i wos suppost to be a danger to public so i got my relese not a danger how his this did no corses stinks
– – face bootwell said steven about time some one said some thing that makes senc,it is so true what u say about school girls being employed by the prison service as psychologists,that all the goverment are good at putting ppl away, thay dont give a sh.t about the poor prisons with this ipp it just keep pen pushers in work it\’s a joke ..
– What is all the sh*t that is happening now with oral hearings by the parole board and umpteen reports written by every prison department and prisoners having to undertake every pathetic Offending Behaviour Course. It\’s all b*llocks, of course the prisoner will say and do anything to get released, it doesn\’t mean he\’s changed one jot. He\’s just playing the game, saying what everyone wants to hear. And the taxpayer is picking up the bill for all this nonsense.
Unfortunately prisoners are playing the game, and still getting nowhere, as nobody in the Prison Service wants to be responsible for making a mistake, as they know it\’s all b*llocks and none of the prisoners have really changed, well maybe they have changed, but it won\’t be for the better. The prisoner is probably ten times worse than he entered prison, yet is pretending to be reformed by all the Mickey Mouse Courses.
School girls are employed by the Prison Service as psychologists, making reports they are in no way qualified to undertake.
It\’s all b*llocks. Take away the IPP sentence and give the offender a proper sentence, with a release date. If the government wants to keep offenders in prison forever, give them a 20,30,40 year sentence, don\’t dress repression up in an IPP sentence. That\’s all the IPP sentence is, repression and a human rights abuse.
after my son was advised to plead guilty the judged indicted he would give my son 5 yrs there was no mention of the ipp, until my son get sentenced to which the judge added on the ipp just because he could !!! the judges , probation or courts havnt a clue what it means, so what hope do we the common ppl of understanding .. sons,husbands,brothers etc might never come home