Ministers must "get a grip" and deal with the problem of prisoners being held indefinitely after completing their minimum term, the Parole Board chairman has said.
Nick
Hardwick said around 3,300 prisoners are still serving indeterminate
sentences for public protection (IPP), with hundreds of them "years over
tariff".
He
added levels of suicide, assault and self-harm in prisons are also
"unacceptably high", with a need to reduce the number of people in
jail.
Mr
Hardwick's warnings came amid concerns for James Ward, who was given a 10-month
IPP sentence for arson 11 years behind
bars.
April
Ward told the BBC her brother is constantly watched due to his self-harm,
adding: "He's literally sat behind a cage like an animal where (other
prisoners) walk past and point and laugh at him.
"How
is that humane?"
The
controversial IPP sentences were introduced in 2005 but scrapped in
2012 by then justice secretary Ken Clarke, who has described them as a
"stain" on the justice system.
Mr
Hardwick praised the bravery of the Ward family for raising their concerns,
telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There are about 3,300 IPP
prisoners still in prison and 550 of them had an initial tariff of less than
two years. Hundreds are years over tariff.
"We
know IPP prisoners are three times more likely to self-harm as other prisoners.
"I
think the Ward family was very brave in coming forward like they did, the
description they gave of that young man in a cell which will have iron bars
outside it, with an officer sitting outside the cell so s/he can constantly
watch the prisoner inside, that's happening to hundreds and hundreds of
prisoners and we know from the reports that are practically weekly on your
programme that the prisons system is simply unable to care for prisoners with
that level of need."
Mr
Hardwick said problems were caused by administrative delays, including from the
Parole Board, and the legal test which requires IPP offenders to show they do
not pose a danger to the public before they are let out.
He
said: "We need to get a grip on this problem."
Mr
Hardwick reiterated his proposal that the onus should be on the state to prove
IPP offenders with a prison sentence of fewer than two years are likely to
commit a further offence.
He
also said Michael Gove agreed to a series of changes but was sacked as Justice
Secretary last year before he could implement them.
Mr
Hardwick went on: "Every prison officer you've got on constant watch of
looking at a prisoner in this situation is not somebody who is walking the
wings, doing the rehabilitative work with other prisoners so those other
prisoners are less likely to offend when they come out.
"The
one thing we would all agree on, surely, is that we want prisoners to leave
prison less likely to offend than when they went in.
"If
we allow resources to be drained away in this way, to this extent, then it
threatens the security of us all.
"We
can do something about the IPP problem without compromising the safety of the
public - which is our first priority."
Mr
Hardwick said the state of prisons in the UK is "extremely worrying"
due to staff shortages and an "unexpected spike" in the prison
population which means the system is operating at "more than 99% of its
maximum capacity".
The
former chief inspector of prisons suggested there is a crisis in the
prisons system, adding: "I'm not saying that I think there's going to be
massive riots or that - I don't think that's possible to predict.
"What
I am saying is simply the levels of suicide, assault and self-harm is unacceptably
high.
"That's
not the fault of the people who work in the system, it's the fault of political
and policy decisions that should have been put right two years ago."
Mr
Hardwick said ministers "now need to take action", with a need to
reduce the prison population.
SHY NEWS
James Ward, who was jailed for 10 months and 11 years is to be released.
The family of a man who
spent 11 years in prison even though he was jailed for 10 months have vowed to
carry on fighting the rules that kept him inside.
James Ward was given an
indeterminate Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which meant he would
only be released when officials deemed it safe.
The 32-year-old received
the sentence because he had set fire to his bed while serving a one-year jail
term for another offence.
April
Ward told Sky News she couldn't stop crying after she heard her brother James
was to be released
His family had made
repeated pleas to the Parole Board to release him on the grounds of his
repeated self-harm and mental health, but all of their requests were refused.
Ward was finally told he
would be freed on Thursday morning, bringing an end to years of battling by his
sister April.
IPPs were introduced in
2005 but scrapped in 2012 after then justice secretary Ken Clarke called them a
"stain" on the judicial system.
© Sky News Screen Grab James
Ward, who was jailed for 10 months and is still in jail after 11 years
Ms Ward told Sky News she
was thrilled when she got the call confirming her brother was coming home.
"I just couldn't stop
crying. I was just so overwhelmed with emotion," she said. "It's
taken 12 years of hard fighting, for us as a family and for James. It was all
emotions today."
Ms Ward said her brother
is not planning anything beyond just being able to experience life outside
prison - but they are determined to prevent others having to go through what
they say they have suffered.
She added: "It ruins
the good times, because even when you are trying to celebrate something, it was
in the back of my mind that James was sat in a cell, or even in segregation or
alone. That... has been absolutely heartbreaking.
"James dreams of
walking down the street - the novelty of going to a park. His dreams are very
small, as they would be if you had been in prison for 12 years. Together we'll
make sure those dreams get bigger."
Ms Ward said she is going
to "fight IPP to the very end" with her brother to help other
families affected by these sentences.
In a letter sent to his
family last year, James said he was losing hope of ever being released.
He had written: "I'm
banged up in my cell, all that's in here is a bed, a cupboard, a toilet and a
sink.
"I'm going crazy,
mum, and I've had enough of this place."
The controversial orders
were supposed to be for prisoners whose crimes were not deemed serious enough
for conventional life sentences, but who were thought to pose a significant
risk to the public nonetheless.
In August, the chairman of
the Parole Board called for the Government to "get a grip" on the
issue of indeterminate sentences - and criticised the "unacceptably
high" rate of suicides, assaults and self-harm within prisons.
At the time it was thought
that around 3,300 prisoners were still being held under IPPs, with hundreds of
them "years over tariff".
Source:
https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2017/08/14/government-urged-to-tackle-problem-of-indeterminate-jail-sente/
Source:
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/arsonist-on-10-month-jail-term-freed-after-11-years/ar-AArW8lK
