New data from the UK Ministry of Justice has revealed that thousands of prisoners given Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences (IPPs) remain behind bars, 12 years after the sentences were ‘abolished’ in 2012, marking a continuation of a 21-year nationwide miscarriage of justice.
The new data, released recently by the Ministry of Justice’s Offender Management Statistics Quarterly bulletin, shows that 2,852 people given IPPs remain in prison today, 1,227 of whom have never been released, and 699 more than 10 years beyond their original sentence. All of these prisoners, alongside the thousands currently on licence in the community, are victims of what has been called “the single greatest stain on the UK justice system”, which persists despite a consensus opinion among both experts and politicians that action needs to be taken to halt the disastrous consequences of this failed sentencing policy.
Lord David Blunkett himself, responsible for implementing the policy in 2003, has called for a review of IPP sentences. He is joined by various international experts, among them Dr Alice Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, in calling for decisive action. Pressure is growing on Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk KC, to review IPPs, as UK prisons struggle with capacity issues and these 2,852 people remain in prison, long beyond the expiry of their original sentences.
The Communication Group plc is supporting human rights organisation The Institute of Now to spotlight the injustices faced by IPPs. In a recent announcement, coinciding specifically with the release of the new data by the Ministry of Justice, coverage was secured for the issue in Sky News, BBC News, The Times, and Byline Times, among other online outlets. The new data was also discussed on broadcast channels, including dedicated segments on BBC Radio and LBC Today.
