Review of indefinite jail terms ordered by Andy Burnham
Andy Burnham has ordered a review of indefinite jail terms which have left thousands of inmates languishing in prison decades after their crime without a release date, reports BritPanorama.
The Prime Minister stated that he has requested justice secretary Alex Norris to review Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences as a means of addressing Britain’s prison crisis and freeing up space in overcrowded jails.
The controversial open-ended punishments were abolished in 2012, but not retrospectively, meaning many remain in prison without a release date, including some convicted of minor crimes such as theft. Calls for a review of all IPP prisoners have been echoed by The Independent and affected families.
The review announcement coincides with changes to the early prisoner release scheme, which will exclude rapists and serious child sex offenders from upcoming plans to release certain prisoners early.
In a piece for The Telegraph, Burnham recognized the “anxiety” caused by the scheme but expressed a desire to “go even further,” albeit cautioning that doing so could risk the collapse of the entire prison system.
Burnham assured that his government is committed to fixing the prison crisis and stated, “I will not leave the same problems for my successors,” which includes the review of IPP.
Many former IPP prisoners find themselves trapped in a cycle of indefinite recall for minor breaches of strict licence conditions. To prevent recurrence of this issue, Burnham has directed the justice secretary to identify alternative methods to increase prison capacity that will be more acceptable to the public.
Last week, the United Nations condemned the ‘arbitrary’ detention of UK prisoners under indefinite jail terms as “arbitrary” and accused the British government of presiding over a form of psychological torture.
The damning criticism was outlined in a 16-page document from the Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which described the jail terms as “inhumane treatment” due to the “mental anguish of being subjected to continuous uncertainty of a release date.”
In a strongly worded intervention last July, UN special rapporteurs highlighted that approximately 2,400 individuals remain trapped in a cycle of “excessive punishment, repeated recall, deteriorating mental health, and diminishing hope” due to these sentences.
The experts asserted, “These penalties involve prolonged uncertainty and cause serious psychological deterioration among prisoners, including an increased risk of self-harm and suicide. Such punishments may amount to psychological torture.”
Lord David Blunkett, the architect of the IPP sentence, has since admitted that enacting these severe punishments under Tony Blair’s government is his “biggest regret.”
A cross-party justice committee inquiry in 2022 found these sentences to be “irredeemably flawed” and recommended that all IPP prisoners be resentenced. Despite 96 individuals having taken their own lives in custody after losing hope of release, successive governments have yet to act.
Mr. Norris has also been tasked with exploring solutions to expedite the removal of foreign offenders and reduce space in women’s prisons.
Norris affirmed, “The prime minister and I have reviewed these reforms, listened to the concerns and gone further to protect victims.” He added, “These are decisions no minister would ever want to take, but it is right these sickening crimes are excluded from these reforms.”
Furthermore, the justice secretary stated that victims will have access to improved support and greater assurance that offenders leaving prison will face tougher supervision and consequences.
