Prisoners who have committed the most serious crimes such as murder and rape will find it harder to move to open prisons from Monday. They will have to prove they have turned their back on crimes for good and are not going to abscond.
The stringent new rules will mean the Deputy Prime Minister can block any such prisoner moving to an open prison unless they can demonstrably pass a tough three-step test. These include: proving they are highly unlikely to abscond; that the move is essential for them to work towards future release; and the move would not undermine public confidence in the wider criminal justice system.
Earlier this year, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a package of landmark reforms designed to restore public confidence in the parole system. These included proposed changes to the Parole Board release test to ensure public protection is the overriding consideration and a new power for Ministers to block the release of the most dangerous offenders in the interests of public safety.
