Letter to the Lord Chancellor on the fixed-term recall announcement

Baroness Newlove, the Victims’ Commissioner, has written to the Lord Chancellor expressing concern over government plans to reduce time served in prison by certain recalled offenders, warning that such a decision risks compromising victim safety and eroding confidence in the justice system.

In her letter, the Victims’ Commissioner recognises that there are no easy answers to current prison population pressures and Minister have had to make difficult decision.

However, she is deeply concerned that a group of offenders assessed as high risk and with a track record of poor compliance are being re-released into the community and the implications this will have on victims and public safety.

Letter to the Lord Chancellor

Dear Lord Chancellor

FIXED TERM RECALL ANNOUNCEMENT

I am writing to you to express my concern over the announcement yesterday
to restrict recalls for offenders serving up to 48 months to a fixed term of 28
days.

I understand the current prison population crisis has necessitated the
government having to implement a number of early release measures to
ensure the prison estate operates within capacity. This has required difficult
decisions that no Minister would ever choose to make. For this reason, over
the past 12 months, I have restricted my public responses to focusing on the
need to protect victims and the wider public.

I realise there are no easy options. That said, given my concerns about victim
safety, I am genuinely struggling to understand why this specific group of
offenders has been targeted for early release:

• All of those serving a sentence of 4 years will have committed serious
  offences, including sexual and violent offences. Many will be repeat
  offenders.
• By virtue of being recalled, they will have demonstrated poor levels of
  compliance with community supervision. Government guidance to
  offender managers states that other options should always be
  considered, such as additional licence conditions before seeking recall.
  In other words, recall is normally a last resort.
• These offenders will have been (or would be under the existing regime)
  deemed unsuitable, by both the Probation Service and the Secretary of
  State, for a fixed term recall, on the grounds they present an
  unacceptable risk to the public.
• Many of the offenders whose recalls will now be converted to fixed-term will already have had their cases considered by the Parole Board
  – and not been directed for release. In each case, the Board will have
  applied the public protection test and concluded that it remained
  necessary to keep the individual in custody to protect the public.

In short, we are re-releasing a group of offenders assessed as high risk and
with a track record of poor compliance. These high maintenance offenders are all being re-released at a time when the Probation Service is already struggling to cope with the huge demands being placed upon it.

For these reasons, I am very concerned about the implications for both victim
and wider public safety. Can you tell me what safeguards will be put in place
to protect victims and uphold public trust.

I am also worried about the cumulative impact of these short-term, stop-gap
measures on victim confidence in our justice system. With each announcement, there is always a perception that this will be the last, only to be disappointed.

I am conscious it will be another 12 months before the “Gauke reforms” can
be implemented. It is reasonable to assume further measures will be required
to get us through this crisis. It is so important we offer victims a clear narrative on how we plan to get sentencing onto a sustainable footing, whilst offering them the protection they rightly deserve.

In my statement issued yesterday, I stated I would be writing to you to set out my concerns. Therefore, I will be placing a copy of this letter on my website.

Your sincerely,

Baroness Newlove LLD (hc) DCL
Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales