STUNELL: NUMBER OF IPP PRISONERS SERVING BEYOND THEIR TARIFF CONTINUES TO RISE

12.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 17th Sep 2009

More than 1,700 IPP prisoners are serving beyond the minimum tariff imposed at the start of their sentence, and only 60 prisoners have been released, according to research from the Liberal Democrats.

Many of the 1,700 prisoners have been unable to gain access to the behavioural courses needed to prove their fitness to return to society. The failed sentencing system was the subject of a High Court Ruling that forced the Government to change their policy last year, but many prisoners convicted under the original rules are still clogging up prisons where no courses are available.

Figures released in a series of parliamentary answers from the Ministry of Justice show that:

• 5,246 offenders are serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection as of 24 April 2009, the latest figures available

• Of these, 1,711 are serving longer than the minimum tariff imposed by the judge.

• Since the IPP sentence first came into use in May 2005, only 60 prisoners have been released.

• A third of IPP prisoners [2,057] have yet to gain access to a single accredited offending behaviour or drug treatment programme in custody.

• The government has admitted that it has no idea how many prisoners are now serving beyond their tariff because they have not received access to the required behavioural courses they must complete before they can be considered for parole.

• On average, since the change in how IPP sentences were administered in July 2008, an average of 78 IPPs have been issued each month. This is almost twice the government's predicted rate of 45.

Commenting, Andrew Stunell MP said:

"These prisoners are clogging up prisons at great public cost simply because the Government brought in completely unworkable sentencing rules. IPP prisoners sentenced under the original rules are stuck inside with no prospect of getting the treatment they must have before release.

"It is a disaster for the overcrowded prison service, it is a disaster for the families of those prisoners, and it is shameful for the Government.

"Our prisons are simply unable to cope with the high number of people, and don't have the resources to provide the courses that IPP prisoners must complete before they can be considered for release.

"The IPP rules required huge resources that were never going to be available. Now one in every three IPP inmates has served beyond their tariff - including two of my own constituents - stuck in limbo and denied justice. And with only 60 prisoners released since the sentence was introduced, IPPs are still contributing heavily to the overcrowding we are seeing in our jails.

"The government must tackle the scandal of IPP sentences and get those prisoners in front of the Parole Board without any more delay."

ENDS

A Full Breakdown of the Figures is Available on Request. Please contact Jamie Saddler on 020 7219 5136 for more information.