Indefinite prison sentences should be considered as a potential risk factor for suicide, the prisons and probation ombudsman has said.
It follows the highest number of self-inflicted deaths by prisoners on indefinite sentences since they were introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2005. In 2022, there were nine self-inflicted deaths of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences.
The sentence, known as Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), was introduced in 2005 by the Labour government for offenders who were considered a risk to the public, but whose offences did not merit a life sentence. IPP was so controversial that it was abolished in 2012, though not for people already serving a sentence.
As of 30 June 2023, there are still 2,909 IPP prisoners in England and Wales, more than half of whom (1,597) have been recalled to custody.
IPP prisoners are reportedly two-and-a-half times more likely to self-harm than the general prison population. As of December 2022, there have been 78 self-inflicted deaths since the sentences were introduced in April 2005.
In a Learning Lesson Bulletin published on Friday, the prisons and probation ombudsman, Adrian Usher, said: “A prisoner’s IPP status should be considered as a potential risk factor for suicide and self-harm.
“It is clear there are several risk factors and triggers associated with IPP sentences. HMPPS should use these findings to more clearly inform the risk profile of any individual, and therefore be able to better keep them from harm. It is imperative that HMPPS ensures these high levels of self-inflicted deaths do not continue.”
Usher revealed that of the 19 self-inflicted IPP deaths reviewed for the bulletin, only five of the individuals had been placed on an ACCT (Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork), the support plan set up for prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm. The bulletin said: “The outcome of a parole hearing and the provision of a release date should be considered a significant risk factor for self-harm.”
Last week the UN torture expert Alice Jill Edwards called on the UK government to urgently review all sentences imposed on prisoners held under IPP. “I’m particularly concerned about the higher rates of self-harm, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and actual suicide among the IPP prisoner population,” she said.
In 2021 David Blunkett, the Labour home secretary who introduced IPP, admitted: “I got it wrong”, while in 2020 the late supreme court justice Lord Brown called IPP sentences “the greatest single stain on the justice system”.
Donna Mooney’s brother, Tommy Nicol, took his own life at the age of 37 while serving an IPP sentence. “It’s been almost eight years since Tommy’s suicide due to the IPP sentence. The PPO report is great, but without firm release dates the deaths will continue,” said Mooney, who works with Ungripp, a group campaigning for reform of IPP.
“More lives lost, more lives ruined for a sentence that was abolished 11 years ago.”
Andrea Coomber KC, the chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This report from the PPO should be a wake-up call for the government. Almost 3,000 people are still stuck inside, with no sense of if or when they will be released, and too many are paying the ultimate price. The fact that nearly 11 years after its abolition people continue to be detained on IPP sentences fundamentally threatens the credibility of our system of justice.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of all those who have lost their lives. We have reduced the number of IPP prisoners by three-quarters since we scrapped this sentence in 2012 and, on top of the suicide and self-harm prevention training all prison officers receive, we’re improving guaranteed support for IPP prisoners in particular. We are carefully considering what additional measures might need to be put in place.”
