Subject: IPP and Probation Officers, 31 May 2017

By Shivvy

 

Hi

 

I have just read the latest updates on your  IPP website dated Friday 26th May and first of all my I share my heartfelt relief to those who have finally got released under this IPP law.  

 

However your battle will now continue due to your licence conditions and having to be under the control of Probation Services.  I can firmly believe the person who withheld his name regards his complaints of the Probation Services and he said that Probation Services had given serious factual errors in his pre-sentencing report and that he has not received any response from the manager of probation services following his complaint. 

 

This will now also be the problem for every IPP prisoner now released who will have the very fixed mindset of probation officers to contend with who can recall you for simple acts of not making an appointment on time, enforce restrictions on you which will prohibit you from ever integrating properly back into society and one slip up or allegation made against you and you are at their mercy and you are up against such a closed powerful authority that you virtually don't get a say or if you were to speak out this will be held against you because you are still in a virtual powerless position and we all know what could happen if you were to be recalled, you are back in the position of being held indeterminately again in prison never knowing your release.
 

This has also got to change and that the Probation Services do not hold this authoritarian power.  The current situation of my friend is that he was recalled back into prison because of the IPP licence conditions by probation following false accusations made by his ex partner (hence being treated as guilty and then having to prove his innocence which is against the total premise of the fundamentals of our law which is innocent unless proven guitly) of which 3 months later he was found not guilty by the courts, still  held in prison awaiting a civil case in connection with his ex partner which got delayed by 5 months due to the simple fact he couldn't get his legal aid sorted because of the pure fact he was in prison, they could not find culpability of him in the civil court case and then he had to wait a further 5 months for a parole hearing.  He has now spent 17 months in prison only because of an initial false accusation made against him in the first place of which both court reports demonstrated that his ex partner was an unreliable witness and was lying. 

 

He used his time effectively in prison, undertook courses, employment and has very positive prison reports and his OMU officer recommended his release yet his external probation officer didn't suggesting further stay in prison to complete a behavioural / psychotherapy intense programme within another prison of minimum of 6 months. 

 

 This probation officer had virtually not seen him through out all of his time in prison, had not even seen the court reports which were in his favour, totally dismissed all his courses undertaken in  prison and positive prison reports with even the employer of the prison job that he has been "employed" in within the prison actively offering him employment upon his release and because he said to the probation officer due to her intimidating attitude to him upon her meeting with him one week before the parole hearing date that he could not work with her of which she had left until just 1 week before his parole hearing date to submit her recommendation but at this point she verbally had said she would recommend release then 2 days before the parole hearing she now did not recommend release. 

 

The OMU officer who had recommended his release then had to say that if he said he could not work with the probation officer it had a knock on effect on the OMU's decision about recommending release. 

 

The fact is this probation officer which I believe came from the influence of her supervisory probation officer who always had a biased attitude to him of which was obvious from comments made to him and about me and from what conversations I had with the probation officer can be classed as bullies but the probation officer had also failed to do her job properly and not assimilating all the evidence of  not guilty and favorable court and prison reports in front of her and ongoing review of his time in prison and that after 17 months in prison of which 10 months of that was due to delays in court and parole hearings that it is appalling that she could even suggest further time in prison and then suggesting some type of programme within another prison which is just another waste of tax payers money keeping people imprisoned unnecessarily let alone the real mental anguish caused to the prisoner .  Consequently his parole hearing  has not resulted in his release.

The Probation Officers and Services need to be held account and I will ensure that this will be done and I urge for anybody who now finds problems with their Probation Officers to do the same as follows:

 

• A formal complaint will go to the Probation  Services.  I emailed this probation officer to express my concern over her decision making put very constructively and asked for the names of her who her supervisor was and line managers.  An email was purposely sent so that there is transparency and a record of any communication which can then not be twisted by the probation service.  I was advised the following:

Should you wish to submit a written complaint, copies of the National
Probation Service complaints procedure can be obtained by written request
to:

Complaints Department,
National Probation Service,
5th Floor Oakland House,
Talbot Road,
Old Trafford,
M16 0PQ.

Information in regard to the National Probation Service complaints
procedure can also be viewed at:
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-offender-management-service/about/complaints-procedure

Alternatively, copies of the National Probation Service complaints
procedure can be sent by mail upon reciept of a suitable address.

 

• Before I proceed with the complaint which will be taken to the Prison and Probation Ombudsmen upon a unsatisfactory response his prison lawyer is currently reviewing the case to see if there are grounds for judicial review due to failure of processes of how the Parole Board came to their decision which I believe can be directly related to the recommendations of Probation Services  and as far as I am concerned and I am hoping this can go and will go to the High Court
• Every IPP prisoner should make sure that they have legal representation upon a Parole Hearing of which they are entitled to and that if they are unsatisfied with their Parole Hearing decision and if there has been flaws in the recommendations by Probation Officers that this should be legally challenged when suitable.
• That upon the results of the above I will be going to the newspapers for the newspapers to investigate and expose the unscrupulous practice of which is so regularly heard about by the recipients of probation services such as the person who wanted to withhold his name and that I urge every person under the probation services to request that any interviews with them are recorded so that there is total transparency of any meetings that have taken place and this will indeed be a campaign that I want the newspapers to carry out that it will in the future be a requisite of probation services for all meetings to be recorded just as it is now normal practice for police interviews to be interviewed in order to certify that the information is an accurate summary of the available evidence and that any meetings were conducted professionally.  If the probation services have nothing to hide this should not be any problem to them what so ever.  Please keep your own record of any meetings with probation officers.

I would strongly recommend for all the IPP prisoners now released and who are adjusting back to life on civilian street and with my very best wishes to them but to continue to fight on and further protect themselves from this horrendous IPP law which also means have to take every protective measures against probation officers who have the very fixed mindset of that you are labelled as a violent person because of this IPP law and that they have to protect society and no matter what good positive behaviour you show they are only interested in protecting themselves and will be so over cautious in their practice and to take you of their books and accountability that it might not take much to recall you or put you under such restrictive measures rather than rehabilitating you back into society that their practice can be seen as unfair and unjust and that you are virtually powerless to do anything about it. Please keep your own record of any of your concerns of which when the time comes collectively as a society probation services can be nationally challenged with the help of media coverage or that you take your own personal grievance to the probation services complaints department although like me you may feel that even when doing this that nothing will change but it remains so important to stand up for your rights and that the more that any problem is raised then eventually things could change. 

Kind regards

 

Shivvy.

 

 

Jez 

I thought this data would be interesting, Link below to the document concerned. There were 3,528 IPP prisoners as at 31 March 2017 which represents a decrease of 15%
in the last 12 months. This figure has fallen by 42% since the June 2012 peak of 6,080,
HOWEVER, the number of IPP prisoners who have been recalled to custody continues to...
increase; in the past year the recalled IPP population has increased by 26% (to 711)

The trouble is if they send them back for trivial things we just end up with more guys giving up and refusing parole. The probation service need to be more tolerant with prisoners on license, especially those on IPP and DPP. DPP by the way is the same as ipp but it was a sentence given to children.

 

Published  27April www.gov.uk

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/610969/offender-management-statistics-bulletin-oct-dec-2016.pdf

Horton

Comparing that number with the number in custody in September 2016 (so eight months ago), the rate of release does not seem to have gone up very much - about 600 a year compared to 500 or so previously. It will still take 5-6 years to get round to releasing them all - and that's without any more being recalled.

 

Amerson

 

You know, my overall concern that I see is not being address for those of us that have come to understand that we are not going to ever master standardized academic standard in our life time and that doesn't need to simply be viewed as we have giving up on learning. Perhaps for many, they have, just giving up on the Education systems that rejected and thrown them away because that may be the best way that Educational System knows how to deal with those few of us, that can't seem to meet the standardized academic standard mandate set forth in our societies.

 

Mullis #standardizedstress ....

 

Howard Yes, I think it is such a waste of time & money, locking people up & not spending that money on actively helping them deal with their issues & turning their lives around so that they can be part of productive society & valued.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to post to the website  Email katherinegleeson@aol.com

Richard Huxley was given an indeterminate who was ordered to do 2 years 11 years. The IPP Prisoner set fire to his cell in suicide bid, he said he was sorry but at the time just simply did not care.”

 
A prisoner frustrated at still being behind bars years after his tariff sentence was over started a fire in his cell in a suicide bid.

Richard Huxley was given an indeterminate sentence  - which are now outlawed - in February 2006 for attempted robbery and assault and ordered to serve a minimum of two years.

But he is still behind bars more than 11 years later - having now spent more than a third of his life in jail and his lawyer told Liverpool Crown Court that he was trapped in a vicious cycle - “On one hand he is unsuitable to be released because he is unstable and the longer he is in custody the more unstable he seems to become.”

The court heard that Huxley set fire to his cell at Risley Prison near Warrington on May 10 last year just before 6.45pm and staff rushed there when the fire alarm sounded.

The blaze involved plastic items creating “toxicity and smoke” and officers had to don protective smoke hoods.

Chris Taylor, prosecuting. “The smoke was so bad they had to crawl on the floor and use sweeping motions to find him and pull him from the cell.

“The north side the E-wing, involving about 75 prisoners, had to be evacuated and re-located and two fire tenders were automatically sent to the prison.

“The cell had to be cleaned by specialists, repainted and re-furnished and the total bill for the incident was £4,729. When interviewed Huxley said he had wanted to kill himself because of a combination of frustration and his medication.

“In hindsight he said he was sorry but at the time just simply did not care.”

 

Comments

 

Jez   I couldn't disagree more with the judges comments. If someone's hope is removed from ever being released then sooner or later the overwhelming urge to end your life is a real possibility especially if conditions inside are so laborious and degrading. I would even make the point that a sentence with no end date could cause more trauma than capital punishment. At least with that there is an end to the suffering. Clearly he has not received the help and support he needed, to deprive someone of their mental health needs regardless as to whether they are in prison or not is a breach of the trust us citizens place in our governments obligations to provide for those that are unwell.

 

 

 

 

Prison Law – May 2017

 

 

Name withheld

Q I have recently been sentenced and was shocked to find serious factual errors in my pre-sentencing report. I have written two letters of complaint to the manager of the probation service but have received no response whatsoever. Do I have any options to have the errors amended or are probation officers able to write whatever they want with impunity? I have now been told the same probation officer will be supervising me on release. Considering the way she handled my PSR I would rather have someone else. Can I request a different probation officer? Who should I complain to about the conduct of this probation officer?

 

A Unfortunately, there is little we can do to assist as this needs to be addressed with Probation. I would advise you to make a formal complaint to the Probation Service and ask that your case is looked into to allow any factual errors to be amended. Should you receive no response or an unsatisfactory response from the Probation Service

you can escalate your complaint to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

 

As you will be aware, your pre-sentence report will form part of your Dossier which will be considered at each review you have. Any incorrect information, particularly where it relates to your offence should be rectified to allow for informed decisions to be made on your risk and manageability in the community upon release.

 

In terms of requesting a new Offender Manager you should be aware that there is no guarantee that you will remain with the same Offender Manager throughout your sentence. It is very important that you have a good relationship with your Offender Manager as they will effectively manage you upon release and therefore you should do your best to engage with them and build a relationship. If you feel that this is not possible you could always request a new Offender Manager although there is no guarantee of this. To do so you would need to make a request to the Probation Service.

Response provided by Hine Solicitors

 

SD-

 

Q I was transferred to another prison following the riots. I was told my property would be transferred, this has not happened. I have written to the Ombudsman and exhausted every possible route and I am still getting nowhere. I am due to be released and need my stuff, what else can I do?

 

A If you have not already received a response from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and/or the Independent Monitoring Board then I recommend that you await the outcome of these requests. Once received, your best option may be to then consult a firm of solicitors who specialise in assisting with civil matters, as proceedings can potentially be taken against the prison service for the recovery/loss of your items.

 

Unfortunately, issues of lost property within the prison are not covered by legal aid. You may however be able to obtain legal advice from a solicitor specialising in these issues on a private paying basis. You may also wish to explore the possibility of approaching a solicitor who specialises in either medical negligence or actions against the prison, if you feel this is necessary in your case.

Response provided by Hine Solicitors

 

RD –

 

Q I am an IPP inmate with a tariff of 2 years 80 days which was up in December 2010. I waited almost 5 years to complete a course, which I have now done (end of 2016) so I am hoping for open conditions later this year. Some time ago I read that IPPs could claim compensation for these kinds of delays. Firstly, is this still the case? Secondly, can you advise on a solicitor that will take this kind of case?

 

A There has been some confusion in the media regarding compensation that can be paid to prisoners. There have been several cases before the courts in recent years and it is important to distinguish between two different types of cases.

 

The first kind of case that attracts compensation is when the Parole Board has delayed listing for a period in excess of three months from the date of directing an oral hearing. If it is simply a question of delay in listing then there is a set formula for compensation that will follow as a matter of course.

However, it is worth noting that the Parole Board do not pay costs and so a solicitor taking the case might want his costs deducted from the figure offered. Unless the prisoner is released the compensation is likely to be in the hundreds of pounds’ region and so it might be worth asking the lawyer dealing with your parole review if he would take the compensation case pro bono.

 

The other and more difficult set of cases relate to delays in accessing programmes. The best answer I can give is that there are situations where compensation has been awarded but every case will depend upon its own facts. The courts have unsurprisingly been slow to countenance claims for compensation. You ask about lawyers who might take this sort of case. I would suggest that the lawyer who has been dealing with your IPP reviews is best placed to advise as to whether the delay is actionable. Going to another lawyer might involve preliminary cost as Legal Aid may not be readily available.Response provided by Stevens Solicitors

 

 Event 8th June 2017 Algorithmic Criminal Justice: Using Big Data to Inform Sentencing and Policinghttps://www.law.ox.ac.uk/events/algorithmic-criminal-justice-using-big-data-inform-sentencing-and-policing

 

PETITION https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/free-the-remaining-ipp-prisoners?source=facebook-share-button&time=1457618246



 http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/prisoner-set-fire-cell-suicide-13075361
http://www.insidetime.org/prison-law-may-2017/

Releases reaction . We thought he would never get out but now look at him... plus his adapted so well with the support from us.

Steph This is a pic party for my other half john (white top and grey hat) with all his family... last week he was released from doing a 10year stretch and due to the IPP he was 3 years over tariff! I just wanted to post this pic to show you guys that there is hope for your loved ones... we thought he would never get out but now look at him... plus his adapted so well with the support from us... so guys never give up hope, stay strong and keep fighting because this pic WILL be you and your loved one soon 💜 xxWhite Good luck 💜

 Released

 

 

 Hutson lovely xxxx cant wait till my sons home from his ipp sentence xx

 Lauder Has he had parole yet x

  Hutson any day now xx

 Staunton So happy for you all ❤

 Griffin congratualtions

Clare Louisa Piercy So nice sweetie that made me smile so happy for u all keep him home I hate ipp sentence but their is hope just got to keep fighting xxx

Julie  I'm sure this photo will give lots of people hope! Congratulations! Xx

Ward So happy for u al my son james ward had is prol last week he as to Waite a nuther 12th weeks to see if he is coming home to us all

Piercy Why does he have to wait so long?

 Cooke Congratulations xx

 Broxup Aww what a lovely family photo. I can't wait for this day x

Corrigan Lovely pic

 Kramin Congrats! There can be a silver lining and the support of family and friends for sure. God Bless you all!

Katherine Gleeson fantatic new, hugs all round xx

Mcluckie Brilliant news thank u for sharing ur pic it does in deed give us hope an shows us our loved ones do have a lite at the end of their tunnel an a very BIG WELCOME HOME to ur man hun enjoy every moment u have wit him best of luck for the future xxxxx

 Rumble Sending you positive vibes and hope you get the good news you both deserve x

 Rakeeb Good luck

 Chambers Goodluck

 Piercy I really hope he gets released and be home where he belongs and I will pray for him and all the IPP they done to much time but many are getting out now so let's hope for the best... Xxx

Wiles Good luck love

 

Released

Smith. Well I never thought I'd be ever be saying this but my partner finally sat his parole board on Tuesday, it has be deferred many times over the past 18 months for new reports, offender supervisor not being able to make it etc etc. He has done 10yrs in June for a 2 1/2 yr tariff, its been a rocky road but I'm happy to say he will be released to a hostel for 3 months then home after that, so long as he sticks to the rules. I really can't believe it, didn't think the day would ever come. Our daughter who was 10 this year was only 2 months old when he went in so it's been a lifetime for her, she's so excited to be getting her dad home. Just gotta wait for a space in the hostel and all the paperwork to be done then he'll be in the move. There's hope for everyone as he's got this from a c cat prison. Good luck everyone.

 

Brackenbury Wow thats brilliant then! So happy for you all, were they all recommending

 Broxup Aww that's fab news hun xx

Picton So pleased for you a long wait happy days ahead xxx

 Abbott What wonderful news Lyndsey you must be over the moon. 😘😘

 Abbott Aww bless you. xx

 Graves Great news for you all, hope they find his place soon.

 Ross You must be over the moon & in shock at the same time. Enjoy your lives together. Xx

 Ross One day you'll be walking down the street & the numbness will lift & you'll burst with happiness. X

 Corrigan So happy for you good luck to you all for the future

 Rakeeb So happy for you all

 Latham Hope all goes well Lyndsey!

 Mccourt Amazing news so happy for you both xx sounds so similar to my sons situation his daughter was born 2 days before he was sentenced she will be 10 next month xx hopefull

Myson will get the same result on 7th june your outcome gives me a bit of hope xx good luck to you both xx

 Wilsdon Omg!!! So freakin happy for you babe!!! What a long old road it's been hey!? But now is your time to be the family you deserve to be 😀❤

 Seymour Great news really hope all goes well for the future ☺

 Horton Fantastic news! xx

 Gerrard Well in to him we all should be out by now horrible sentence 👍

 Stocker Good luck

 Mcluckie Wonderful news hun this gives us all hope to hear another ipp is on his way home hostel or not he is coming out of there then b 4 u know it the 3 months will pass an ur man will b home where he belongs xxxx

Jez  Fantastic news, I am extremely encouraged to hear he will be coming out straight from a cat C,it saves so much time having to wait for a place at a catD to progress. I so hope everything goes well from this point one 😊

 Weeden Fantastic news. So pleased for you both x

Wiles So happy for you and ur family 😍

Toner Fantastic news. There's hope for us all. Thankyou for sharing your news. Enjoy life now as a complete family.

 Gerrard All the ipp prisoners need to get together out side parliament An go for compensation the sentence has destroyed r families and r life's wot a joke 😡😡😡😡

 Piercy Omg am sooooo happy to hear this wow really so good to hear this am glad your solicitor put up a fight that's made my day 💜💜💜...I bet he and u are over the moon like their is hope and I bet r daughter is so happy awwww.... This is great news xxx big huggss

 Underwood Absolutely brilliant news .

Davis Fab news, congratulations xx

Katherine Gleeson BRILLENT NEW LYNDSEY X

 

 

 

Parole Hearing Today ,

 

Weeden Going for son's Parole Hearing today feeling anxious.. After almost 11 years IPP on a 4 year tariff. He has the best legal representation he could possibly have so lets hope for a good result. Xxx

 Rawnsley Send him my love and good luck Norah please let me know how you felt it went.xx

I will Julie. I'm praying this time it's a positive result xxx

Weeden 11 years, that's devastating. Best of luck, and do let us know the outcome.

Katherine Gleeson Fantastic news, my fingers are crossed x

 Broxup Good luck hun and I'll be thinking of you all xx

Good luck x

Staunton Good Luck. I will be thinking about you all x

 Mayes gud luck thinkin of u x Messages of support still coming in………..

 Louise Penny Harrison Good luck xx

Grant Good luck x

White Sending all the luck in the world 💜🍀

 

 

IPP Hearing 7^th June

Mccourt

My son has a parole date 7th June (his birthday of all days) hopefully thats a good omen . keep your fingers crossed for him everyone , hes done almost 11 years of a 2 and a half tarrif and plz god thats long enough for them . I 
dont think i could cope with another dissapointment . trying to feel positive .

 Wiles Good luck love 😘

 Toner Fingers crossed for you all. Our IPPS have done their sentences & some. They all need to be released back to their loved ones.

 Abbott The very best of luck. 🍀🍀

t-Adams Best of luck Mari...they are being released now which is great news and about time too

 Weeden Wishing you and your son every success on his parole. He's more than served his time. My son is in his 11th year on a 4 year tariff and his parole hearing is tomorrow. So anxious for him and just praying for a positive outcome xx

 White Good luck 💜

-Adams Good luck Norah for your son tomorrow..xx

Horton Best wishes for tomorrow. xx

 Mccourt Hope it goes well for you both xxx

Howard Fingers Crossed, Norah x

Abbott Good luck Norah for your son tomorrow pray there is a positive outcome. 🍀🍀

Have people got out on a paper hearing?

Adams Yes.my son got out on paper hearing...he's ipp

Zar

went in for probation yesterday and she said what r you doing tonight?
i said i may go to the green party meeting, she said i have to tell her every street i was on especially if i was doing any leafleting.
just got off the phone and said i didn't go (i didn't go because i'm not logging every street i go on and who was there) now i said well is that a control on anything political for i.p.p's to which she said no, now funnily enough i do many things that are not logged and i walk, sometimes run without recording every street i was on.
i said do i also have to tell you when i go vote or who i vote for? she said no, despite that blatant sarcastic tone of you're taking the piss she didn't notice, she has already said i'm not going to any protests
what can i do i have to not mention anything political from now on and do it anyway?

 Delaney They can my son got parole and as there was no space in a hostel they kept him in prison for another 7 weeks went through to head of the parole board local mp and it seems that they can

LikeShow more reactions

 Murphy Aww thanks well give it a try anywasy thank u !!

 Piercy Haven't u try get it lifted off as u been out nearly finished r license off

This ipp sentence is torture.......

Robinson I myself experienced this inhumane sentence and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, however every nightmare ends which brings a beautiful future with fresh beginnings. Just hang on in there it will sure be worth i

 Pullman Ahh no what's up huni xx

Clare Louisa Piercy Just how they make lies up to justify that he is a risk which in fact he isn't.. ...the shit that they have come out with made, me so mad upset and drained all in one...... How can theses ppl sleep at night .

Ginge To prove your not a risk in a system that is full of high risks, staffing issues,cutbacks,being locked in a cell for countless hours.... who decides how long a risk lasts for anyway? I find the whole thing a twisted horror tale almost like the brother grim them selfs wrote out laws. Yea there is hope tho, as a survivor of the IPP nightmare myself. Spent meany yrs giving up, but just gotta not let the systems beat you

 Piercy 100% right it's all twisted the whole system is a joke x feeling disappointed.   It's so hard some days I am fine so days m broken... But am strong he is strong I am proud of him to be honest cos if he was upset about it I would of been broken more but we both have learnt to deal with it

 

 Mcluckie I to knows how u feel hun 11 yrs next month into it an it's only now things have started to look up for my son they have finally started to help him an get things moving like placing him on courses an giving him work but it has taken 10 yrs

 Piercy Babes it's so draining all this like it's make me mad how they treat our ipps.... It's very unfair.... But we will see what parole say I doubt he will get paper review now... 💔💔💔..but got to wait September for his oral hearing.... So far away I just don't think he will be home this year I just lost hope in this system...

Tar Zing agree definately torture

This ipp is the worst sentence ever am sick of them telling the public one thing An doing the total opposite thousands of life's ruining for wot don't know how these people draw there wages every month an thing there doing a good thing it's sick

 

Arthur
Hi all
I work for National Prison Radio. We're a radio station that goes out to over 100 prisons across England and Wales, supporting prisoners and their families.
Normally people outside of prison don't get to listen to NPR, but we've just set up a new show that everyone can tune into....
On the Straightline Request Show, prisoners can request tracks for their loved ones on the out and people on the out can send songs and messages in.

You can request tracks for your loved ones at - nationalprisonradio.com
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We've also got a facebook group where we post all of our shows, as well as video/photo content for former prisoners and their families - www.facebook.com/wearestraightline
Here's this week's edition of the show!

 StraightlineThe Straightline Request Show keeps prisoners in touch with their families on the outside - because those support networks help former prisoners to avoid going ...back to prison.

This weeks edition features birthday messages, music from Starley, Keane, Neiked ft Dyo, Ed Sheeran, Bob Marley, The Clash, Tory Lanez and requests for people on both sides of the wall.
Enjoy!
Link https://www.mixcloud.com/straightline/straightline-request-show-18-may-2017/