Self-harm, suicide, desperation, and hopelessness continue with Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences.
The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies renews calls for the urgent abolition of the “toxic” indeterminate sentence, following a recent Justice Committee report that reignited the debate.
While the IPP sentence was abolished in 2012, this did not affect prisoners already serving those sentences. To date, 2,926 IPP prisoners remain in prisons, with 1,429 having never been released. Nearly half of those are at least 10 years over their original tariff (the minimum period required before eligibility for parole). 1,434 have been recalled after release. You can listen to our podcast on the IPP scandal on the Justice Gap here and read a previous story here.
The report gathered evidence from official reports, academic studies, and submissions to the House of Commons Justice Committee. It identified enduring patterns of discouragement and distress at every stage of the sentence, and the subsequent despair and risk of suicide to a significant number of prisoners.
The Centre assessed and criticised IPP sentences’ impact on prisoners. The indeterminate timescale is known to present a challenging psychological burden on prisoners. The prolonged uncertainty is leading to helplessness and loss of hope. Mental health challenges were already frequently seen in IPP prisoners before conviction, yet these difficulties are viewed by officials as ‘disallowing progression towards release.’ Mental health services in prisons are inadequate, and professionals have encountered entrenched difficulties in forming productive relationships with IPP prisoners. The dominant role that risk assessments play in the relationship with prisoners has led to unresolvable tensions.
Official reports have shown a raised risk of self-harm and suicidal behaviour in IPP prisoners, with the data evidencing that prisoners suffer a higher rate of self-harm than others on life sentences. This issue features largely in prisoners serving time beyond their tariff. The impact has been shown to affect prisoners’ families too.
The anxiety amongst prisoners extends even after release, as those on licence can be recalled to prison either for the same offence or for breaching licence conditions. The most common reason for recall has been identified as ‘non-compliance’ with supervision. Released prisoners’ families are also experiencing anxiety due to sharing the burden of compliance with the rigorous licence conditions.
This report provides recommendations on ending the sentence, supporting recovery, addressing risk, and establishing a legislative code for all forms of indefinite detention. The Centre recommended immediate release of prisoners who are past their tariff. These make up the vast majority of IPP prisoners. Others should be given release dates on a case-specific basis. The report made further recommendations for a systematic programme of mental health assessment, programmes of close and immediate support to enable released prisoners to adjust to freedom, and taking reasonable steps to inform victims and determine whether safeguarding arrangements are necessary. Well-funded recovery programmes should be set up with attention to family, employment, and social inclusion. The Centre further calls for ‘adequate and prompt state reparations’ on the basis of failure to meet mental health needs and unjustified time in confinement. Parliament is advised to create a legislative code, in line with the Human Rights Act, to test any new proposals for indefinite detention, and avoid another situation that promotes the toxicity of IPP sentences.
