Jailhouselawyer's Blog

The Parole Board annual report 2005-06 appears at first glance to be a public relations exercise. In its statement of purpose the Parole Board claims that it is an independent body, and claims that it protects the public. In my view, neither of these claims are true. The Parole Board has a duty to protect the public, and a duty to release prisoners eligible for parole. It is a balancing exercise, the scales of justice. The problem is that when there is an imbalance on one side or another, either the public or the prisoner suffers an injustice. In my view, this is unacceptable. The problem is that the Parole Board makes a risk assessment. In my view, the risk assessment procedure is flawed. This means that the Parole Board may release a prisoner who poses an unacceptable risk to the public, or it may mean that the Parole Board does not direct the release of a prisoner who poses an acceptable risk to the public, or it may mean that the Parole Board recommends the recall of a released prisoner unjustifiably, or fails to recommend recall of a prisoner when it should.

I call for the resignation of the author of the following letter, aswell as the resignation of the person to whom it is addressed:





I burst out laughing when I read the words at the foot of the letter, "Protecting the public and contributing to the rehabilitation of prisoners", particularly at the claim to be contributing to the rehabilitation of prisoners. Twice recently on 18doughtystreet.com the question was raised what happened to the idea of rehabilitation of prisoners. The view expressed on the programme was that it had been forgotten about. In my view, it does appear to have been shoved into the bottom drawer of prison politics. The letter is evidence of the Parole Board's lack of independence. John Reid knee-jerks to the Sun headlines and editorials, and pulls the strings of the Parole Board so that it toes the Home Office line. In my view, the Parole Board needs to be the subject of close public scrutiny. Only then will it improve public protection of those serving sentences and the public at large. It is often forgotten that prisoners are a section of the public. I doubt that the public inside has confidence in the system. Prisoners rightly expect justice and are denied it by the Parole Board. The system is not only in need of top down reform but also reform from the bottom up. In my view, as it presently stands, the Parole Board is an unnacceptable risk to the public. Crystal ball gazing is no way to assess whether a prisoner is a risk to the public. This is nothing less than thought crime. The George Orwell 1984 template is not fit for purpose in 2006 going on 2007. Wisen up!