Nearly 3,000 prisoners in England and Wales remain incarcerated under the 'imprisonment for public protection' (IPP) scheme, a decade after it was abolished, according to a report by the justice select committee. The cross-party group of MPs and peers has called for these inmates to be re-sentenced, describing the scheme as 'irredeemably flawed'.
The IPP scheme, introduced in 2005, allowed judges to impose indefinite sentences on offenders deemed a risk to the public. Although scrapped in 2012, 2,926 prisoners are still serving such sentences, including 608 who are at least 10 years over their original minimum tariff. Of these, 188 had a minimum sentence of less than two years.
The committee's report highlights that the indefinite nature of IPP terms has led to 'feelings of hopelessness and despair', resulting in high levels of self-harm and suicides. It also notes a 'recall merry-go-round', with 1,434 current IPP prisoners having been recalled to custody after release. Offenders remain on indefinite licence, meaning they can be returned to prison at any time.
Sir Bob Neill, Conservative chair of the justice committee, said: 'They are currently being failed in a prison system that has left them behind. Successive secretaries of state have accepted that change needs to happen but little has been done.' The report recommends appointing an independent panel to oversee re-sentencing and halving the licence review period from 10 to five years.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson responded: 'The number of IPP prisoners has fallen by two-thirds since 2012. We will carefully consider the report's recommendations and respond in due course.'
