Posts Tagged ‘Parole Board’
Reforming the Parole Board: first steps
In October 2020 a ‘root and branch review’ of the Parole Board was announced.
One part of this review was a public consultation on the question of whether hearings of the Parole Board should be held in public. The outcome of this consultation has now been published (8 February 2021).
At present, the Parole Board Rules forbid Parole Board hearings from taking place in public. In responses to the Consultation, a minority of respondents argued that all hearings should be open. However, a majority thought this would be impracticable. Too many hearings involved the consideration of matters that it would not be in the public interest to disclose.
The Government has now concluded that there might be limited circumstances in which an open hearing might be appropriate. It has therefore decided that the Parole Board Rules should be amended to at least make it possible for a hearing to take place in public.
It is likely that the relevant rule amendment will be made in the coming months. Meanwhile, work continues on the other that formed part of the root and branch review. Further announcements are anticipated later in 2021.
I wrote a blog item on the review and its scope when it was announced in October 2020. See https://martinpartington.com/2020/10/31/root-and-branch-review-of-the-system-of-parole-and-the-work-of-the-parole-board/
The Report on the outcome of the Consultation on making hearings open to the public is at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/root-and-branch-review-of-the-parole-system
Root and branch review of the system of parole and the work of the Parole Board
The work of the Parole Board has changed significantly over the last 10 years. New rules and new procedures have been introduced. It now holds more than 30 times the number of hearings it held in 2010. In its 2019 General Election Manifesto, the Government stated that it would undertake a fundamental review of the current system. The details of what is planned have now (October 2020) been published. The announcement states:
The Root and Branch review will focus on the following 4 areas:
1.An evaluation of the parole reforms to date:
- considering the overall performance of the parole process and identifying whether any further measures would help to improve the timeliness and efficiency of the process
- the response to Covid-19 (in particular with use of online hearings) and its implications on the way parole reviews may be conducted in the future
- examining the effectiveness of the reconsideration mechanism (introduced to enable prisoners and others ask for a reconsideration of a decision without the expense of taking judicial review proceedings) and whether there is a case for further reform of that process
- identifying any additional legislative or Rule changes that would further improve the parole process including whether the current release test continues to be appropriate
2.The constitution and status of the Parole Board:
- examining whether the Parole Board should remain a non-departmental public body or should be made more visibly independent from the Ministry of Justice
- whether possible alternatives, such as creating a new type of public protection tribunal, could deliver the parole function in a more efficient and cost-effective way
- considering the need for any additional measures to strengthen the Parole Board’s powers to reinforce its status as a court-like body
3.Improving public understanding and confidence:
- exploring whether further steps could be taken by the Board and other parts of the system to help explain and publicise what parole decision making is, how it works and what the assessment entails
- ways to better communicate that parole decisions are not about ongoing punishment for the offences committed and that release is not a reward for good behaviour in prison
- improving messaging that the parole system protects the public by authorising the continued detention of dangerous offenders and that only a minority of prisoners considered for parole are released
4.Openness and transparency:
- developing a way for victims to observe oral hearings in a safe and secure way without compromising the Board’s ability to perform its function and obtain the best possible evidence from the prisoner and professional witnesses
- considering the case for public hearings and whether this would be possible and appropriate in certain limited cases
- looking at ways to build on the work already done to improve openness and transparency.
The Government observes that:
“the underlying aim of this review is to determine whether the Parole Board in its current form and constitution remains the most effective model for what the future of the parole system may look like; to command public confidence in the decisions it makes; and to deliver its functions in the most effective and transparent way possible, whilst ensuring that there is an effective independent judicial mechanism for keeping under review the continued lawfulness of custody.”
At the same time as these terms of reference were published, the Government also published what is called a “Tailored-Review of the Parole Board“. This was undertaken in accordance with the Cabinet Office requirement that all public bodies are reviewed at least once per parliament.
This review of the Parole Board focused predominantly on operational changes that could be made within the current legislative framework, making recommendations which further improve collaboration within the parole system and highlighting existing legal powers that the Parole Board can use to compel the production of evidence and the attendance of witnesses, with the intention of ensuring that all cases progress in a timely manner.
On the same day as these two documents were published, the Government also published its first consultation paper which explores options for increasing the transparency of the parole system. The consultation seeks views on the possibility of allowing victims to observe parole hearings and on whether the media and wider public should also be given greater access to hearings where it is appropriate to do so. The Consultation runs until 1 December 2020. The Government hopes to respond to it by the end of 2020
Changes recommended in the tailored review will no doubt be brought into effect pretty quickly. The consequences of the root and branch review will take longer. But a period of considerable change at the Board can be anticipated.
The Terms of Reference are at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parole-system-reform/terms-of-reference
The Tailored Review is at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parole-system-reform and follow the link
The Consultation Paper is at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/root-and-branch-review-of-the-parole-system
Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill 2020
So far as the legal system is concerned (and in many other contexts as well) the headlines have all been about dealing with Covid-19. But this does not mean we should not keep an eye on other developments which will have an impact on aspects of the legal system.
One example is the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill 2019-21, introduced in the House of Commons in May 2020, and which yesterday (21 July 2020) completed the Report Stage and Third Reading. It now proceeds to the House of Lords.
This Bill is a second response to two terror attacks which occurred in London – at Fishmongers Hall on 29 November 2019 and in Streatham on 2 February 2020. Each attack was committed by a known terrorism offender who had been released automatically at the halfway point of their sentence without any input from the Parole Board. There was no provision to allow for an assessment of risk prior to release.
The first response was the enactment of emergency legislation, the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) (TORER) Act 2020. This was designed to ensure that terrorist offenders serving or sentenced to a determinate sentence could not be released before the end of their custodial term without the agreement of the Parole Board.
The Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill 2019-21 develops the law on the handling of those found guilty of terrorist offences further. It has two broad objectives:
- Longer periods in custody
Reflecting the seriousness of the offences they have committed, the Government hopes that the changes will offer better protection for the public and more time in which to support the disengagement and rehabilitation of offenders through the range of tailored interventions available while they are in prison.
Among the measures in the Bill are:
- Serious and dangerous terrorist offenders will spend longer in custody, by introducing the Serious Terrorism Sentence for the most serious and dangerous terrorist offenders. This sentence carries a minimum of 14 years to be spent in custody, with an extended licence period of up to 25 years.
- This legislation removes the possibility of an early release from custody for serious and dangerous terrorist offenders, aged under and over 18, who receive an Extended Determinate Sentence.
- This legislation increases the maximum sentence that the court can impose for three terrorism offences (membership of a proscribed organisation, supporting a proscribed organisation, and attending a place used for terrorist training), from 10 to 14 years.
- The courts will be given power to find any offence with a maximum penalty of more than two years to have a terrorist connection. (This may result in a higher sentence than would otherwise be the case.)
2. Changes to the management and monitoring of terrorist offenders.
The measures in the Bill include:
- extending the scope of the sentence for offenders of particular concern (SOPC) by expanding the list of terrorist and terror-related offences which attract the sentence, and creating an equivalent sentence for offenders aged under 18 in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This will ensure terrorist offenders have a minimum period of supervision on licence of 12 months following release.
- extending the maximum licence periods for serious and dangerous terrorist offenders for offenders aged under and over 18.
- extending the application of mandatory polygraph testing when on licence to terrorist offenders aged over 18.
The Bill’s measures will also
- strengthen Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (used by Counter-terrorism Police and the Security Services),
- support the use of Serious Crime Prevention Orders in terrorism cases, and
- expand the list of offences that trigger the Registered Terrorist Offender notification requirements. These changes strengthen our ability to manage the risk posed by those of terrorism concern.
Details of the Bill and background fact sheets are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counter-terrorism-and-sentencing-bill.
The Bill and the Explanatory Notes are at https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2019-21/counterterrorismandsentencing.html
Reforming the parole board: new announcements
In April 2018 I noted here the fact that the Government was planning to take steps to reform the ways in which the Parole Board goes about its work. In March 2019, the Government has published the conclusions it has reached so far on this work. The principal features of the new approach are:
- The Government will change the Parole Board Rules to create a new reconsideration mechanism so if there is a seriously flawed decision it can be looked at again without the need for judicial review. This is the most important change in the current round of reform proposals.
- The Parole Board will publish new Standard Practice documents which will make more transparent the considerations and approaches to decision making that should normally be followed
- Improved engagement and communication with victims will be delivered through changes to the Victim Contact Scheme, the commitments in the Victims Strategy published on 10 September 2018 (see this blog November 29 2018) and a revised Victims’ Code following consultation in 2019.
- The Government will replace the current Prison Service Instruction on the parole process with a new Policy Framework which will make improvements to timeliness and efficiency as well as ensure the published instructions are up-to-date and support the other reforms.
- A new Operational Protocol between the Parole Board and HM Prisons and Probation Service will be published which will clarify and make more open everyone’s roles and responsibilities; support better joint working; and reduce duplication.
- Provision will be made in the Rules for prisoners with mental health needs and learning difficulties, who lack mental capacity, to ensure a fair hearing, including the appointment of suitable representation if necessary.
- A Rules Committee will be created to oversee future Rule changes, ensuring the rules keep pace with wider developments, with input from key stakeholders including victim representatives.
- A further Review of the Parole Board will examine the future constitution of the Parole Board and whether more fundamental reform requiring primary legislation is needed.
Further information about these proposed reforms can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/775844/review-of-the-pb-rules-and-rm.pdf
A separate paper sets out in more detail how the proposed reconsideration mechanism will work. This is potentially an important change; its operation will need to be kept under review to ensure that it is an effective means of seeking reconsideration without the need for judicial review proceedings.
For further detail see https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reconsideration-of-parole-board-decisions-creating-a-new-and-open-system
Reform of the Parole Board
The Warboys affair, in which the Parole Board recommended the release from jail of a London taxi driver who had been convicted of a number of rapes and who was suspected of involvement in other offences, caused public outcry in January 2018. It lead to the resignation of the Chair of the Parole Board, Prof Nick Hardwick. And the Secretary of State for Justice, David Gauke, was clearly anxious that there should be changes to the ways in which the Parole Board worked (somewhat disingenuously, as the Parole Board itself had for sometime been arguing for change).
A review of the Parole Board was announced in January 2018 (see this blog for 24 January 2018). The review was asked to look at the following issues:
- the law, policy, guidance and practice relating to challenges to Parole Board decision-making
- the transparency of Parole Board decision-making
- victim involvement in Parole Board hearings
- arrangements for communicating with victims
The result of this review was published on April 28 2018. It can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/703534/review-of-the-law_policy-and-procedure-relating-to-parole-board-decisions.pdf
The Government has made a number of important announcements which will affect the ways in which the Parole Board undertakes its work going forward.
In particular, Rule 25 of the Parole Board Rules – which currently prohibits publication of details of parole board decisions – will be amended in favour of much greater transparency.
In addition, the Government has announced that it will make immediate changes to how it communicates with victims, as well as looking at how more victims can be offered the Victim Contact Scheme (VCS).
A more fundamental change proposed is that there should be created, within the Parole Board itself, a mechanism for the reconsideration of decisions taken by the Board, that would remove the necessity of parties having to launch expensive proceedings in the Courts for judicial review. The precise ways in which the reconsideration process should work have not yet been finalised, but a Consultation Paper setting out various options and suggestions has been published with views sought by the end of July 2018. It is anticipated that reconsiderations would in general be chaired by judges who are members of the Parole Board.
See https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/reconsideration-of-parole-board-decisions/
There has also been published the terms of reference for a full review of the Parole Board Rules, with the specific object of trying to improve the transparency of the work of the Board.
See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-parole-board-rules
The speed with which these first decisions have been taken is an indication of the political pressure to respond to the outcry created by the Warboys case. Further details, in particular on the proposed reconsideration process, will be considered here in due course. It is worth observing that the Secretary of State’s strategy can be delivered entirely through changes to regulations, which will not require parliamentary time.
Parole Board – review of procedures
The decision by the Parole Board to release the London Cab Driver John Warboys – who had been convicted of raping a number of his customers – has generated a great deal of publicity. Many of the challenges in that case arose from the fact that Warboys had been sentenced to an Indeterminate Sentence, which meant that he could continue to be detained after the period set by the judge as punishment for his crime, where it was anticipated that his release would be a danger to the public. (The law relating to such sentences was changed by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.)
The Government has now announced that there is to be a review of the practices and procedures of the Parole Board. This is to include a review of how the work of the Board impacts on the victims of the crimes committed by those the Board is considering for release.
The terms of the reference are as follows:
This review will consider the case for changes in law, policy and procedure in relation to Parole Board decision-making. It will include an examination of the transparency of the process and reasons for parole decisions, and how victims are appropriately engaged in that process. It will take account of the interests of justice, public confidence in the system and the impact on victims. The review will draw on the views and experience of victims, practitioners and international best practice.The review will focus on the following areas:1. The law, policy, guidance and practice relating to challenges to Parole Board decision making, specifically whether there should be a mechanism to allow parole decisions to be reconsidered.2. The transparency of Parole Board decision making, including:whether the outcomes of Parole Board decisions should be published or otherwisedisclosed;whether the reasons for those decisions should be published, and if so to what extent; andwhether there are any other changes that should be made in order to contribute to greater transparency.3. Victim involvement in Parole Board hearings:to review the relevant entitlements outlined in the Victims’ Code to determine whether improvements should be made to how victims are currently involved in and contribute to Parole Board hearings;what improvements should be made to how their involvement is facilitated.4. Arrangements for communicating with victims:to review whether the current entitlements for victims who qualify under the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 for the Victim Contact Scheme are adequate, including in relation to Victim Personal Statements and licence conditions;to review whether improvements can be made to the way that the scheme operates in practice, in particular the process by which victims are notified of their entitlements and of decisions; whilst respecting the victim’s preference for how they are contacted;to consider the question of ongoing contact with victims who are eligible for the Victim Contact Scheme but have previously opted out; andwhether there need to be new entitlements or procedures for victims not covered by the statutory scheme.
Interview with Chairman of the Parole Board, Sir David Calvert Smith
In the latest podcast, I talk to the Chairman of the Parole Board for England and Wales. (There is a separate Parole Board for Scotland). The Parole Board is an independent body that carries out risk assessments on prisoners to determine whether they can be safely released into the community.
In the interview, we discuss when and why the Board was created, how its functions have developed over the years, and its current work.
You can find out more about the work of the Parole Board by going to https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/parole-board
You can listen to Sir David Calvert Smith by going to http://global.oup.com/uk/orc/law/els/partington14_15/student/podcasts/Calvert-Smith.mp3
Martin Partington: Introduction to the English Legal System 15th ed 2021
Oxford University Press Learning Link Resources
Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System 