For the past 18 months, I have been mentoring Chris** who has been serving an IPP* sentence (Imprisonment for Public Protection) for the past twelve years. These IPP sentences are difficult to understand. In September 2022, the parliamentary committee that scrutinises the work of the Ministry of Justice said that IPP sentences were ‘irredeemably flawed’. They found that, having no end date, IPP sentences cause hopelessness and despair, giving rise to higher levels of self-harm and suicide among the IPP cohort of prisoners. They expressed regret that the government had rejected its recommendation to review all existing IPP sentences.
Once a month Chris and I would meet and chat at the prison. I always felt this person never particularly engaged well but if they saw I had brought playdough or colouring pens, they very quickly became quite vocal; it always made me chuckle. Over time we accepted each other and simply chatted.
Recently, the client applied for parole and the Parole Board finally granted release. However, during the week of release they became very unwell and, following admission to hospital early Monday morning, they received major abdominal surgery. It wasn’t until the Wednesday that I realised something had happened when I noticed a few missed calls, and following a conversation, I managed to visit them in hospital. We agreed that as soon as they were released from hospital, we would meet for a coffee and celebrate! We would celebrate their birthday and celebrate their freedom.
Two weeks later we sat in the supermarket café and we did just that - with our coffee and crumpets in hand we reflected on their future.
So that’s one less person in prison on an IPP sentence. As long as the government continues to reject calls to review all existing IPPs, it will take many years for this flawed sentence legislation to truly become history. But for one more person at least; they can start to hope again for the future.
Avril
*IPP sentences were available to courts to impose between 2005 to 2012 to detain those considered to pose a significant risk to the public until they were considered not to, by the Parole Board. They could be indeterminate with no fixed release date, with a minimum ‘tariff’ or time required to spend in prison. IPP sentences were abolished in 2012 but still apply to those convicted prior to this. Over 2,500 prisoners remain on IPP sentences in the UK.
**Name changed to protect their identity
