Cut indeterminate sentences, judges told

Prison overcrowding will rise unless the soaring number of indeterminate sentences being handed out to dangerous offenders by judges is curbed, the head of the Parole Board warns.

Sir Duncan Nichol, the board chairman, says that within four years the number of criminals in jails in England and Wales with such sentences is expected to reach 12,500. If the life-sentence population is added to this then the total number of prisoners in jail for ‘life’ by 2011 could be almost 20,000.
He says: “The global impact of indeterminate sentences for public protection will be that prison overcrowding will increase and places on offending behaviour courses will be scarce.”

The indeterminate sentence was introduced in April 2005 and is aimed at offenders deemed dangerous and who have been convicted of a crime from a list of 153 that includes wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, assault to resist arrest, riot, violent disorder and some sex offences.
Those receiving such a sentence are told they must serve a minimum prison term before being considered for release by the board. Around 1,900 of the sentences have been dished out, but many offenders are being told that they will serve minimum terms of less than two years before being considered for release.

Nichol says that such short minimum terms mean that neither the Prison Service nor the board can carry out proper risk assessments.
Indeed, he says, many offenders have been given an 18-month minimum term meaning they are entitled to be considered for release almost as soon as they are jailed.