IMPRISONMENT FOR PUBLIC PROTECTION - IPP

CONTENT WARNING: some of the stories we highlight make reference to self-harm and suicide

WHAT IS AN IPP SENTENCE?

Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPPs) were introduced in 2005 to be given to individuals who were considered dangerous to the public but whose crime did not merit a life sentence.

The structure of an IPP sentence involves (i) a ‘tariff’ period in prison, a length of time considered proportionate to the offence, (ii) an unlimited time post-tariff in prison while the individual waits to appear before a Parole Board to prove they are no longer a threat to the public, (iii) release with an indefinite period of supervision, meaning individuals can be recalled to prison at any point for the rest of their life for breaking arbitrary and non-criminal licence conditions.

Rising concerns and challenges to IPPs, such as the European Court ruling that they breached human rights, led to IPP sentences being banned in 2012. However despite its being banned, those who had already been given an IPP sentence still have to serve it.

A FORGOTTEN POPULATION

The use of IPPs was meant to be limited and reserved for serious cases; the Home Office initially estimated that it would result in 900 people going to prison. However, over 8,000 IPP sentences were imposed, most for less serious offences.

Although IPP sentences were abolished almost a decade ago, the abolition did not apply to those serving them at the time of the ban. This means that there are many people still in prison serving IPP sentences. The latest Ministry of Justice statistics from 30 June 2020 show the figure currently stands at 1,969 IPP people in prison with no set release date.

The Prison Reform Trust found that more than nine in 10 of this group had already served their tariff period. They also found recall rates back to prison for those on their licence period are incredibly high; “In the year from 1 July 2018 – 30 June 2019, there were 433 releases of IPP prisoners, but 636 IPP prisoners were returned to custody after licence recall.”

THE CONSEQUENCES

The sheer hopelessness of staying in prison without a set release date, often for double or triple the original tariff period, has incredibly damaging consequences on the mental health and wellbeing of those serving IPPs. 

Statistics from the Prison Reform Trust found in March 2020 that “people serving IPP sentences have a higher rate of self-harm than people serving other types of sentence”. 

Another problem caused by the inconsistency and injustice of IPP sentencing is that its use has worsened the problem of overcrowding and overstretched resources in the UK’s Criminal Justice System.

Research has also highlighted the harm to family members of those serving IPPs, detailing the stress, anxiety and pervasive sense of injustice at not knowing when, if at all, their loved one will come home.

“IT’S THE NOT KNOWING”

One of the many tragic stories highlighting the failings of IPP sentencing is that of Charlotte Nokes. She was sentenced to 15 months tariff, with no maximum term, but had served more than eight years when she died in her cell in July 2016. Speaking to The Guardian, Charlotte’s father Steven said “I feel as hopeless as she did. They might as well have thrown the key away”.

Another case is that of Tommy Nicol who took his own life while serving an IPP sentence. His sister, Donna Mooney described the mental anguish and toll the indeterminate nature of his sentence had on him: “It was 100% the main factor in what led him to have such a deterioration in his mental health and led him to take his life [...] If he had an end in sight, even if it felt unfair, at least he would know it was happening. If it was a life sentence, he would know. It’s the not knowing. It’s torture.”

IN OUR WORK

It is hard to effectively convey just how destructive these sentences are. The women we have supported who are serving these sentences are crippled by it. They have described their sentence to us as a “psychological torture” that they are powerless to do anything about.

Every woman we have supported on IPP has done more than double their tariff (the initial part of an IPP sentence deemed proportionate to the offence). This is often the case for women serving IPP sentences; a research paper from 2018 into IPPs found that “all of the women interviewed are found to be significantly over tariff and have served between twice and thirteen times their original tariff”.

We have seen that it takes incomprehensible and incalculable amounts of strength and resilience for a person on an IPP sentence to keep going and to hold on to hope. IPP is a shameful injustice in the UK's criminal justice system and something needs to change.

WHAT NEXT?

We would recommend the following websites and articles to find out more about the IPP sentence.