Parole, BBC 2, BBC iPlayer, Editor Simon Mason, Series Editor Chris Taylor.

Posted by celticman on Tue, 07 Jan 2025

Jimmy Boyle claimed he’d no special skills other than ‘being good at violence’. I’m friendly enough with Jaz, who is out on license after killing two men. He got recalled after a fight in my local about two years ago but is back out (I think). A mate’s son has been inside for over twenty years for a murder he said he didn’t commit. That’s a different issue.

The question here isn’t guilt. Those featured in the programme (and those like Jaz) admit to their crimes.

Nor is it cost. Keeping a man or women in prison is the equivalent of keeping a patient in hospital. Just over £1000 a week would get you a bed, but not in a special unit, which is much more. Labour tended to spend more on prisons than the Tories. Spending on prison dropped off a cliff during Austerity. It recently been on the rise again. Recognition that more money needs to be invested in the criminal-justice system.

Duty of Care is banded about. Flown under the banner of public safety.

Each episode begins with a reminder: ‘Last year in England and Wales over 16 000 potentially dangerous prisoners were considered for parole. 4360 were released.’

That suggests that each prisoner that comes before the parole board has around a one-in-four chance of success.

Each episode follows the prisoner through the process and ends with success or failure.

Worth noting, those featured behind bars are of different genders and ethnic backgrounds, but all are working class and lived in poverty. The parole services are a class or two above them. Compelling television drama.

Mad, bad or sad? Or a combination of all three? You decide. (I went with the sad prognosis).

Notes.

THE GUARDIAN

Probation Service Challenges: The part-privatisation of probation services faced significant criticism. The National Audit Office described it as "disastrous," costing taxpayers £467 million. Additionally, data indicated that during the years of privatisation, one person was killed every three days by someone under probation supervision.

Martin murdered his friend 18 years ago. Will the parole board move him to an open prison, where he will come into contact with the public, or does a serious incident whilst in custody prove he's still a risk?

Meanwhile, 50-year-old Kevin needs to persuade the panel he is no longer a threat to the authorities following an attack on two police officers. He points towards his past as the root cause of his anti-authority attitude, but can he convince the panel, despite previous assault convictions, that he is able to avoid violent altercations?

The parole board need to decide if serial burglar and jewellery store thief Jason should be given a third chance. Jason is questioned about the motivation for his crimes, including using an axe to intimidate a woman in one robbery and falsely imprisoning a victim in another.

Professional witnesses support Jason, stating that he’s made progress in prison. But Jason had been given a chance before, when the parole board recommended he be moved to an open prison - and where he absconded.

Meanwhile, Jeanette was 24 years old when, along with her co-defendant, she punched, kicked and stamped a man to death. The panel question whether she now has the skills to recognise when her risk is escalating.

Twenty years after a gangland shoot-out and an attempted murder conviction, can 45-year-old Adrian convince the panel his gang affiliations are behind him?

Meanwhile, Daniel received a sentence of imprisonment for public protection following a violent pub attack that left the victim fighting for their life. Does long-term intensive therapy, completed behind bars, mean this serial violent offender is no longer a risk to the public?

Natasha was 16 years old when she stabbed a man to death, and 13 years after receiving a life sentence, she now has the chance to be moved to an open prison where she will come into contact with the public.

In 2007, Carl was considered dangerous enough to be given a sentence of imprisonment for public protection after committing two crimes while under the influence of drugs. Only the parole board can release Carl, and they have done so five times in total. But on each occasion, Carl has been recalled to prison for poor behaviour or drug use. Can Carl convince the parole board he is now clean, and has the recent death of his father changed his attitude towards crime?

Teen jailed for 18 months over McDonald’s fight still in prison 18 years later

Luke Ings was just 17 when he was sentenced to 18 months prison after a fight at McDonald’s. Nearly 20 years later, he’s still behind bars.

British man Luke Ings was just 17 when he was sentenced to 18 months prison after a fight at McDonald’s.

Charged with two robberies and two common assaults over of the 2006 incident at the fast food restaurant in Bracknell, England, Ings was handed an imprisonment for public protection (IPP).

The controversial jail terms were previously issued to offenders who posed significant risk of serious harm to the public. Amid human rights concerns, they were scrapped in 2012, but not for the almost 3000 inmates who had been given one in the years prior.

As a result, the now 36-year-old remains behind bars 18 years later at HMP Wakefield – a maximum-security prison that’s been dubbed “Monster Mansion” for how many murderers and high-risk sex offenders there are inside.

Speaking to The Independent this week, Ings’ mother, Samantha, said she feared her son would not survive unless the government takes action, amid soaring rates of suicide and self-harm among IPP prisoners.

At least 90 prisoners have taken their own lives as a result of their indefinite imprisonment; a further 30 suicides are reported to have occurred upon IPP prisoners’ release.

UN special rapporteur on torture, Dr Alice Jill Edwards, also called for urgent action to help those serving the “inhumane” sentences in an appeal to the government earlier this year.

In an op-ed for The Guardian in May, Dr Edwards described IPPs as “a stain on British justice” that “also amounts to torture”.

“IPP prisoners are experiencing a form of psychological torment, which is something that many survivors of torture tell me is worse than any physical violence,” Dr Edwards wrote.

“They often wait years, decades even … languishing in prison, not knowing when they will be released.”

The UK's experiment with privatising prisons began in 1992 with the opening of HMP Wolds, the first privately managed prison. As of recent years, 14 out of 141 prisons in England and Wales are privately operated.

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