The Parole Process: Are You Eligible?
Whether you are a Prisoner who has experience of the Parole process or whether you are about to commence your first parole review, it is an extremely stressful time. Therefore, it is helpful to understand the general process of the review and when those reviews may take place.
Over the last few years there have been significant changes to the rules; this now means that the Parole Board have the power to direct release on the papers for all prisoners, regardless of the type of sentence. Previously, the option to release on the papers was not available for IPP and Life sentence prisoners.
When Are You Eligible for Parole?
Becoming eligible for parole depends on the type of sentence you are serving.
Life or Indeterminate Sentence
If you are serving a sentence with a tariff of four years or more, you may be entitled to a Pre Tariff Sift 3 years prior to the end of your tariff. This means that your case will be considered by the Prison as part of the Sentence Planning Review. This is called a Pre Tariff Sift (PTS). It is at this stage that the Prison will look at compliance and progression during the custodial period and they will decide whether or not the matter should be referred to the Public Protection Case work section (PPCS) to start a Pre Tariff Review (PTR)
This means that the PPCS will set the timetable for the review, setting date by which reports should be completed and then when the matter will be referred to the Parole Board to be considered at a Parole review.
If during this process you are deemed ineligible or unready for Pre-Tariff review, you will not be given a further opportunity. Your End of Tariff review process will usually commence around six months prior to your tariff end date.
The Possible Outcomes of a Pre-Tariff Sift
Following a Pre-Tariff Sift, the Governor can either conclude that you are automatically excluded from a Pre-Tariff Review, decide to recommend that an exceptional Pre-Tariff Review take place or recommend that the matter should be consideration by a Parole Board at a Pre-Tariff Review.
Once a prisoner has been recommended for a Pre-Tariff Review and the reports have been compiled, a Solicitor will be able to submit representations to the Parole Board for a Prisoner to be considered as suitable for a move to open conditions prior to their tariff end date.
If the result of the review is a negative one, the matter will usually fall for review at the end of tariff. However, there are certain circumstances that an exceptional review can be undertaken. For example, this could be when further work has been undertaken but this will be subject to the Governor’s approval.
The benefits of the Pre-Tariff Sift being successful and the matter being referred to the Parole Board means that, if successful, the prisoner could move to Open Conditions prior to their Tariff End date. This means that they have more chance of being released at the end of their tariff. For those prisoners who are not successful on the Pre-Tariff Sifts or reviews and then have a review at the end of their tariff, it could mean that the Parole Board make a recommendation for them to transfer to Open Conditions at this point, prior to release and meaning further time in custody.
Extended and Fixed Terms
The Parole process will commence approximately six months before the Parole Eligibility Date. This means that reports from professionals will be requested, and a dossier will be compiled. If you are serving:
- an extended sentence
- a fixed-term sentence of 4 years or more, given before 3 December 2012 for a serious violent or sexual crime committed before 4 April 2005
- a life sentence
- an IPP sentence
The Parole process is seen as a process available to only long-term prisoners and as such, those serving sentences of less than four years are ineligible.
What Happens Next?
Once you are aware of when your review is likely to take place, you will be assisted in knowing the steps that are taken. Whether you are a Life sentence prisoner, IPP or Extended Sentence prisoner, you will be provided with a form by the prison which will ask you to provide details of any legal representation you may wish to have.
A dossier will be compiled by the prison and disclosed to you and your chosen legal representative. You are then invited to submit written representations in relation to the content of the dossier and set out any application you wish to make. These representations should usually be submitted within 28 days of the date the Parole dossier was disclosed.
It is important that you seek the assistance of a Prison Law specialist, as they can advise you of any application that should be made or whether any independent expert’s reports are required, such as psychological or psychiatric reports.
Once representations have been submitted, your matter will be considered by a single member of the Parole Board initially and they can make one of the following decisions:
- Direct your re-release on the papers
This option is now available for all types of sentences; however, the Parole Board are becoming more risk averse which means that they will often Direct the matters to be heard by way of a hearing.
- Direct for you to remain in custody
If the Parole Board feel that there may be further work to undertake, and risks cannot be safely managed in the Community then they will direct that you remain in custody until your next review. The next review will be set by the PPCS with the input of the Probation Officer and will depend on how much work there is to undertake in the interim period. This period can be anything between 12 and 24 months.
- Direct your case to an Oral Hearing.
If the Parole Board decide your matter should be heard at a hearing, it is important to note that this is not a quick process. Hearings are taking around six months to be listed. They will also make further directions for updated reports from Probation. They may also direct other reports from experts such as Psychologists.
- Defer or adjourn your matter for further reports.
If the Parole Board feel that there is information outstanding, they may defer or adjourn the review to gain that information. For example, if a course has just been completed and the post programme report has not yet been prepared, they may defer or adjourn to obtain this report so that they are fully aware of the situation before making a decision.
Once they have all the information that they have requested, they will review the matter on the papers again and can make any of the above decisions.
Seeking expert legal advice could be the difference between remaining in custody or attending an Oral hearing to advance your case.
If you require assistance, please contact the Prison Law Team at Reeds Solicitors on 01865 592670. We have expert advisors all over the Country that are able to assist.