14 May 2024
As the Victims and Prisoners Bill progresses through Parliament in the coming weeks, reforms to the process of terminating IPP sentences for good come closer to fruition.
The ability to terminate an IPP licence is its distinguishing feature from other indeterminate sentences. Of course, the conviction does not disappear and will never become spent, but the liability to recall disappears completely.
I recently asked for the latest number of terminations so far, broken down by those who were convicted as children and those sentenced as adults. I received a response on 13 May 2024, which you can view here.
As of 31 December 2023, just 281 indeterminate sentences of imprisonment or detention for public protection had been terminated – 8,711 people were given an IPP sentence between 2005 and 2013.
Of the 281 licences that were terminated, 271 were convicted as adults and ten as children.
The response also confirms that as of March 2024, there are still 1180 people serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment or detention who have NEVER been released.
The proposed reforms to the termination process may help but there is still much work to do to eradicate the stain of the IPP sentence, especially for those who are stuck in the system and do not have access to the support they need in the community.