Part of Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:45 pm on 16 October 2007.
Christine Lawrie: As you are probably aware, there has been a marked trend towards large numbers of indeterminate sentences, much more than anyone could have expected. That has had an impact that we did not expect in respect of “silting up” the prisons and creating a demand on both the prison and probation services. We are particularly concerned not so much at the sentencing point, because we accept what we are given by the courts, but on the recall and release from prison after recall. As well as the opportunity to appeal, at the moment there is the gate through which all recalls go, which is the assessment by the Parole Board.
I want to make two points: one is an issue of principle, while the other is a practical issue of demand and resources. The proposals will hinge heavily on the risk assessment that is made by the probation staff member at the point of recall. I understand that that will be the only risk assessment and it will determine whether people fall into the automatic release category, or whether they have to take the additional assessment route. Presumably, most prisoners who feel that they have been unfairly categorised at that point will choose to go through the appeal process. That will put an increasing demand on probation staff to do the paperwork and attend oral hearings when such matters will be contested. That is my understanding of how the system will work.
It will be a particular training and development issue for us to make sure that we get those risk assessments right. It is a skill, but it will also require an element of judgment. We are worried about the demand that it will place on our staff to attend oral hearings and deal with the appeal processes. That demand and resource issue worries us because of sheer demand and making sure that people are absolutely well trained to undertake the right assessments and make the right decisions.
I come now to the wider issue of principle. A few years ago, there was a drive to make sure that the probation service recalled everyone who ought to be recalled. There was a feeling that we did not recall sufficient people swiftly enough. That was a fair criticism; we were a bit too relaxed about matters. Over the past few years, one of the success stories of the probation service has been getting our recall practice right. When I was a chief officer two years ago, we were recalling maybe 20 per cent. of prisoners who were eligible, and I think the number has risen since then.
Since then, I think in order to try to control the prison population, we have moved gradually towards more of a revolving door approach, where prisoners are recalled but come out again to continue to serve their licence period in the community. This is a further move in that direction, as the recall becomes automatic except for the most dangerous prisoners.
The probation service originally would have been quite uncomfortable about the idea of recall being such a central part of our professional work, but it changed its views over time. It gave a real credibility and impetus to that supervision in the community on licence. There was a real threat—if people did not comply, they knew that they were going back—and that helped the work of probation officers in making their relationship with that prisoner stick. Our concern is that although I would not go so far as to say that it will become a game, prisoners will now know that it almost does not matter—that you can behave badly or reoffend when you are on licence and have a 28-day window of opportunity when you can maybe persuade the parole board to let you out, and you will certainly be out within 28 days. That makes it more difficult for probation staff to have an authoritative relationship with those offenders.
I feel uncomfortable about a situation where, apparently to control the prison population, we are doing something that will—perhaps not immediately, but over time—erode the authority that probation staff have over the people who they supervise on licence. Our ability to protect the public hinges on that authority, and it worries me that we are making that a weaker authoritative relationship for another reason.