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16 Jun 2009 : Column 256W—continued
Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA), or uncrowded capacity, is the Prison Service’s own measure of accommodation.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Prison Sentences
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection for each type of offence have had their sentences extended; how many sentences were extended in the case of each such prisoner; what the length of the sentence was in each case; and by what period each sentence was extended; [272549]
(2) how many prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection had been released (a) following the completion of a pre-release rehabilitation course and (b) without having had access to a pre-release rehabilitation course on the latest date for which figures are available; and what recent estimate he has made of the number of prisoners who are waiting for access to such a course; [272550]
(3) how many prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection had been recalled following release on the latest date for which figures are available; [272551]
(4) how many prisoners of each (a) age group, (b) sex and (c) ethnicity are serving indeterminate sentences for public protection; [272569]
(5) how many indeterminate sentences for public protection have been handed down for each type of offence in each month since their introduction; [272575]
(6) how many (a) men and (b) women sentenced to indeterminate sentences for public protection have been released in each month since the introduction of such sentences; [272576]
(7) how many indeterminate sentences for public protection have had a minimum term of (a) 12 months or less, (b) two years or less, (c) five years or less, (d) 10 years or less and (e) more than 10 years in each month since their introduction; [272673]
(8) how many prisoners on an indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP) have served longer than their tariff in each month since the introduction of IPPs; and what the average minimum length of a completed IPP has been. [272691]
Mr. Straw:
Indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) are by definition indeterminate and therefore cannot be extended. The trial judge specifies the minimum period to be served for the purpose of
punishment. Whether the prisoner is released at this point or any subsequent point is then a matter for the Parole Board, who will assess whether he can safely be managed in the community. IPP prisoners will be released only when the Parole Board considers that to be safe.
Information is available centrally on the numbers of IPPs who have had access to courses promoting their rehabilitation. Information is also held centrally on the numbers of prisoners who have completed courses promoting their rehabilitation. Similarly, there is centrally held data on the numbers of IPPs who have been released from custody. However, there is no centrally held data set which links all three elements to show the numbers of IPPs who have been released from custody with or without access to a rehabilitation course. There are no centrally available reliable figures on the number of IPPs who are waiting to access such a course. NOMS is currently undertaking a mapping exercise in respect of the balance of resources available for interventions across custody and the community. NOMS is also committed to reviewing IPPs’ interventions needs, on the basis of their sentence plan recommendations.
14 prisoners serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection have been recalled following release, up to 30 April 2009.
The NOMS IPP database is updated every other month, based on data provided by establishments. As with any large scale recording system, the database is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
The NOMS IPP database showed that, of the 5,246 offenders serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection on 24 April 2009:
409 were under 21 years of age
2,975 were between 21 and 35 years of age
1,493 were between 36 and 50 years of age
304 were between 51 and 65 years of age
65 were aged 66 and above
145 were female.
These figures include those subject to imprisonment for public protection (IPP), young prisoners subject to detention for public protection (DPP), and the 104 offenders of this type who are located in a secure psychiatric hospital.
Information on the ethnicity of these prisoners is not available. However, the latest figures to provide a breakdown by ethnicity of those prisoners serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection were given in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2007, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library. The percentage figures, as at 30 June 2007, were:
| Percentage | |
Up to 30 April 2009, 60 offenders serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection had been released from custody. The breakdown of the number of offenders released each calendar month, by gender, is given in the table.
| Male | Female | Total | ||
The following table lists the minimum terms for indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection given in each month since the introduction of that sentence where figures are available. These figures are taken from the Public Protection Unit Database within the National Offender Management Service. As with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing.
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