Don’t believe everything you read…

Emma Davies, Partner at Hine Solicitors, together with Jennifer Lightwing of the departent, look at the parole process and the importance of the parole dossier

Prisoners who have been subject to a parole review will know that the parole dossier plays an important role during the parole review process. The Parole Board will make their decision based upon the informa- tion contained within the dossier. It is therefore important to ensure that the dossier accurately reflects a prisoner’s current position. Sometimes during this assessment the Parole Board will have to consider reports from psy- chologists. Due to the nature of the content of these reports, they will often have a fundamental impact upon the process.

This article looks at when a psychologist report may be relied upon as evidence and what a prisoner should do if they disagree with the content of a report and any conclusions that it draws.

The parole review process

This process differs depending on the type of sentence a prisoner is serving. Determinate sentences are imposed for a fixed term and the date that a prisoner will become eligible for early release or parole will be confirmed a few weeks after their sentence hearing. However, indeterminate sentence prisoners have no release date and will be required to serve a minimum term (or tariff) before they become eligible for release on licence.

For both types of prisoner the Parole Board will initially conduct the review on the papers. What this means is that someone from the Parole Board will be tasked with the job of reading a dossier and making a decision based upon the information within it. For determinate sentence prisoners the Parole Board can make a decision to release on this information alone. However, for the majority of the remaining prisoners who are subject to the parole review process, the Parole Board will make one of the following decisions:-

(i) Decide that the prisoner is not suitable for release or transfer to open conditions and will conclude the process on the papers. A prisoner has 28 days to appeal any such decision;

(ii) Decide to request that the matter proceed to an oral hearing so that evidence can be given in person;
(iii) Request that further information is provided to assist them in making one of the decisions above.

Prisoners will therefore appreciate that the content of a parole dossier plays an important part in their progression to release. Prisoners can make representations about the dossier and are advised that they should consider seeking the assistance of a prison law specialist who can help them with this.

What should the dossier contain?

The dossier is a collection of documents and reports. It will usually start with a copy of the Judge’s remarks from the sentencing hearing. This will be followed by the prisoner’s previous convictions. Some dossiers will include the report written by the Probation Service at the time of sentence (the pre-sentence report) and, where relevant, other potentially historic reports that may have followed the prisoner through his sentence such as progress reports or offender behaviour course reports. Where a prisoner has been subject to a parole review previously, then a copy of the previous decision and follow up letter from the Secretary of State will also be on file.

Probably the most important part of the dossier will be the reports prepared by the prisoner’s Offender Manager (who is from the Probation Service) and Offender Supervisor (who works within the prison). These reports will usually be the most up-to-date reports in the dossier and should include information as to the current assessment of the prisoner’s risk factors, reports on any reduction in risk, performance and behaviour in prison. The Offender Manager and Supervisor will be expected to provide their views on the prisoner’s suitability for transfer to open conditions (if appropriate) or release on licence, as well as compliance with any sentence plan. They will also be responsible for providing an up-to- date OASys assessment, which will also be included in the dossier.

What is the difference between psychological and psychiatric reports?
Some dossiers will include psychological or psychiatric reports. Whether there are any will depend on whether a prisoner has been subject to relevant assessments.

The difference between psychology and psychiatry is often misunderstood. Psychology is the study of people – how they think, how they act, react and interact. It is concerned with all aspects of behaviour and the thoughts, feelings and motivation underlying such behaviour. Psychiatry is the study of mental disorders and their diagnosis, management and prevention. It is more common to see psychological reports rather than psychiatric reports in parole dossiers.

Psychology reports

A psychological report is not mandatory and is usually only required in cases where there has been substantive psychological input, significant personality issues or where there are mental health issues to report. Reports are commonly included after completion of offender behaviour programmes such as the Healthy Relationship Programme (HRP) and the Sex Offenders Treatment Programme (SOTP Core).