Abolished IPP jail term is an embarrassment' to Britain, union chief says

"Prison officers have been left in an intolerable position of dealing with frustrated and hopeless prisoners trapped on abolished indefinite jail terms which are an embarrassment to Britain, a union chief has warned. Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers' Association, hit out at the government for leaving almost 2,500 prisoners languishing on grossly unjust Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) jail terms, despite scrapping them 13 years ago."

"There are some people who are well over their tariffs who shouldn't be in prison, quite frankly, because they are there for the most trivial crimes with no sign of release, he told The Independent. That just can't be fair in a civilised society. His comments come as Napo, a union representing probation workers, called for the government to finish the job and address the injustice of those still serving the jail terms."

"Victims of the scandal, whose tragic cases have been highlighted by The Independent, include: Leroy Douglas, who has served almost 20 years for robbing a mobile phone; Thomas White, 42, who set himself alight in his cell and has served 13 years for stealing a phone; and Abdullahi Suleman, 41, who is still inside 19 years after he was jailed for a laptop robbery."

Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences were abolished in 2012 but not applied retrospectively, leaving about 2,500 people still detained without fixed release dates. Prison officers face an intolerable task managing frustrated and hopeless prisoners who must convince the Parole Board they are safe to be released. At least 94 people given IPP sentences have taken their own lives after losing hope of release. Unions including the Prison Officers' Association and Napo warn of gross injustice and call for the government to resentence or otherwise resolve the situation for those serving trivial-crime tariffs.

Read at www.independent.co.uk