Living under the cloud of ex-offender prison recall

From the frontlines: July 2024

On a recent visit to CSJ award finalist Clean Slate Solutions, we heard shocking testimony from a prison leaver struggling to rebuild their life.

He lives in constant fear of recall to prison due to the life license conditions of IPP sentences. This is a story we hear all too often from other frontline charities working in the justice sector, the sad reality is that he is one of many in society.

Over 11,00 people have been released from prison but remain on IPP recall, despite their sentence having long passed. IPP sentences operated for only 7 years, and were abolished in 2012, but many people still have their condition attached due to being sentenced pre-2012. In 2023, the Ministry of Justice, referenced over 1,800 IPP sentences being unjust and reviewed the conditions for those living safely in the community.

Mr A lives in Middlesbrough, has a stable home life, and owns his own decorating business while also doing community work on weekends through his local church. He has served his time but, despite his achievement to lay strong foundations on which to build, has the stress and burden of knowing it can all be taken away in a blink of an eye.  

This stress should not be underestimated, we hear time and again similar stories. Many on IPP sentences are recalled years after their release for minor misdemeanours or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many people spend longer on recall under IPP sentencing than their original sentence tariff, or the sentence guidelines for the original offence. While IPP would have enabled recall for some dangerous individuals, it has also trapped many reformed ex-offenders in limbo with the threat of recall hanging over them.

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