Richard Branson's wants the release of IPP prisoners.
AS I
pointed out a few weeks ago, there are two ways to reduce overcrowding and
violence in prisons. You can either employ more prison staff or release more
prisoners. For a few days it looked as though Whitehall was going to rely on
the recruitment option. Now, the chief inspector of prisons, Peter Clarke says
it's time to “get a grip” on the issue of prisoners serving IPP . Under
present arrangements, these 3,800 offenders are held until it can be
shown they are no risk to the public. Yeah, let's start letting 'em out.
Sky News, Shaun Attwood IPP sentence is a psychological Terror.
Video https://youtu.be/tHzcwYOBUT0?list=PLPT_cCpNMvT6D6vx07RW6mprEmAJrcaWH
No One
Knows
IPP
Prisoners and those with leaning differences and those given no end date.
There
does not seem to be any procedure to ensure the particular support needs
of individual in prison are recognised.
I express
concern that adults with learning disabilities and other impairments may not be
receiving the right,s to a fair trial, enshrined in Article 6 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, as a result of their difficulties in understanding
prison the legal and judicial process.
There
needs to be routine screening and assessment to identify adults support needs.
Nothing
is fair about a system where things are not explained or understood and where
people are not properly represented or protected, and the adolescent mental
health services, are limited. Staff seem to have no training to help identify
when adults might have particular impairments and difficulties.
Adults
with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
The
impairments and difficulties are · Learning disabilities · Specific learning
difficulties, dyspraxia ,dyslexia · Communication difficulties · Mental health problems
· Low literacy levels/difficulties with literacy · Attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) · Autistic spectrum disorder Can affect an adult
or young person’s ability to learn. They can affect their: a snap shot being
behaviour or ability to socialise, eg they struggle to make friends
reading and writing, eg because they
have dyslexia
ability to understand things
concentration levels, eg because they
have ADHD
physical ability
A request can also be made by
anyone else who thinks an assessment may be necessary, including doctors,
health visitors, prison parents and family friends. Commenting on the Criminal
Justice Joint Inspectorate report,
Juliet
Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “This report reveals that at
every turn people with learning disabilities caught up in the justice system
are being let down by a failure to recognise and meet their needs. Often
vulnerable and isolated, people with learning disabilities are getting little
or no help to understand and navigate a scary and incomprehensible world of
police stations ,courts and prison . “In light of this report, the government
must honour its Care not Custody promise.
While the
two million-strong coalition, led by the WI and the Prison Reform Trust,
welcomes the recent commitment to fund an extension of liaison and diversion
trial sites in police stations and courts, it notes that resources have been
reduced and the timescale for delivery for a full national service delayed from
2014 to 2017. “For too long people with a learning disability, many of whom
should be diverted from police stations and courts into social care, have ended
up in prison as a default option, while others are left without the support
they need as they continue through the justice process.” Number serving are
serving IPP sentences for relatively minor crimes such as burglary ABH with no
release date. Numbers not been given courses to prove to the petrol board they
are no longer a risk they have to prove they want reoffend , because there not
allowed on the courses they have sentences with no release date.
The prison reform trust
09/09 2015 The study heard from family members, including parents,
grand-parents, siblings and partners of young people and adults with particular
needs such as mental health problems, learning disabilities or autism in
contact with criminal justice services. 20-30% of people in prison are
estimated to have a learning disability or difficulty that interferes with
their ability to cope with the criminal justice system. 26% of women and 16% of
men said they had received treatment for a mental health problem in the year
before custody.
Mental health and learning
disability care25/11/2015 Sir, Far too often people with mental
health needs or a learning disability become caught up in the criminal justice
system.
http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/PressPolicy/News/vw/1/ItemID/277
Dyslexia is a hidden disability thought to affect around 10% of the population,
4% severely. It is the most common of the Specific Learning Difficulties, a
family of related conditions with considerable overlap or co-occurrence.
Together these are believed to affect around 15% of people to a lesser or
greater extent. Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) affect the way
information is learned and processed. They are neurological (rather than
psychological), usually hereditary and occur independently of
intelligence.
Dyslexia.
Contrary to popular misconception, Dyslexia is not only about literacy,
although weaknesses in literacy are often the most visible sign. Dyslexia
affects the way information is processed, stored and retrieved, with problems
of memory, speed of processing, time perception, organisation and sequencing.
Dyspraxia
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), also known as Dyspraxia in the UK, is
a common disorder affecting fine and/or gross motor coordination in children
and adults. This condition is formally recognised by international
organisations including the World Health Organisation. DCD is distinct from
other motor disorders such as cerebral palsy and stroke. The range of
intellectual ability is in line with the general population. Individuals may
vary in how their difficulties present; these may change over time depending on
environmental demands and life experience, and will persist into adulthood. An
individual’s coordination difficulties may affect participation and functioning
of everyday life skills in education, work and employment. Children may present
with difficulties with self-care, writing, typing, riding a bike, play as well
as other educational and recreational activities. In adulthood many of these
difficulties will continue, as well as learning new skills at home, in
education and work, such as driving a car and DIY. There may be a range of
co-occurring difficulties which can also have serious negative impacts on daily
life. These include social emotional difficulties as well as problems with time
management, planning and organisation and these may impact an adult’s education
or employment experiences.
Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is characterised by an inability to understand simple number
concepts and to master basic numeracy skills. There are likely to be
difficulties dealing with numbers at very elementary levels; this includes
learning number facts and procedures, telling the time, time keeping,
understanding quantity, prices and money. Difficulties with numeracy and maths
are also common with dyslexia.
ADHD/ADD.
Signs of Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder include inattention,
restlessness, impulsive, erratic, unpredictable and inappropriate behaviour,
blurting out inappropriate comments or interrupting excessively. Some people
come across unintentionally as aggressive. Most fail to make effective use of
feedback. If no hyperactivity is present, the term Attention Deficit Disorder
should be used: these individuals have particular problems remaining focused so
may appear 'dreamy' and not to be paying attention. People with this condition
are very easily distracted, lose track of what they are doing and have poor
listening skills. By failing to pay attention to details, they may miss key
points. Autistic characteristics can co-exist with the conditions described
above. Those affected often demonstrate unusual behaviours due to inflexible
thinking, over-reliance on routines, a lack of social and communication skills.
People with Asperger Syndrome may have learned to largely conceal their
problems but still find any social interaction very challenging and panic
easily when they cannot cope. Since Specific Learning Difficulties are still
not adequately understood in all schools many children and young people slip
through education unidentified and unsupported.
Terminology.
Be aware
that similar terminology can lead to confusion. For example, the term 'Learning
Difficulties' is generally applied to people with generalised (as opposed to
specific) difficulties who are of low intelligence and often lack mental
capacity. Many people with Specific Learning Difficulties tend to refer to
themselves as having a Specific Learning Difference (both generally abbreviated
to SpLDs), while others regard a label containing the word 'Learning' as
inappropriate when they are no longer in education.
Areas of
typical difficulty for all Specific Learning Difficulties. Information Processing.
Difficulties with taking in information
efficiently (this could be written or auditory).
Slow speed of information processing,
such as a 'penny dropping' delay between hearing something and
understanding and responding to it.
Memory.
Poor short term memory for facts,
events, times, dates.
Poor working memory; i.e. difficulty
holding on to several pieces of information while undertaking a task e.g.
taking notes as you listen, coping with compound questions.
Mistakes with routine information e.g.
giving your age or the ages of your children.
Inability to hold on to information
without referring to notes.
Communication skills.
Lack of verbal fluency and lack of
precision in speech.
Word-finding problems.
Inability to work out what to say
quickly enough.
Misunderstandings or misinterpretations
during oral exchanges.
Over-loud speech (which may come across
as aggressive) or murmuring that cannot be clearly heard.
Sometimes mispronunciations or a speech
impediment may be evident.
Literacy.
Lateness or difficulty in acquiring
reading and writing skills. Some dyslexic adults have severe literacy
problems and may be functionally illiterate.
Where literacy has been mastered,
residual problems generally remain such as erratic spelling, difficulty
extracting the sense from written material, difficulty with unfamiliar
words, an inability to scan or skim text.
Particular difficulty with unfamiliar
types of language such as technical terminology, acronyms.
Sequencing, Organisation
and Time Management.
Difficulty presenting a sequence of
events in a logical, structured way.
Incorrect sequencing of number and
letter strings.
Tendency to misplace items; chronic
disorganisation.
Poor time management: particular
difficulties in estimating the passage of time.
Direction and Navigation.
Difficulty with finding the way to
places or navigating the way round an unfamiliar building.
Concentration.
Weak listening skills, a limited
attention span, problems maintaining focus.
A tendency to be easily distracted,
inability to remain focused.
Sensory Sensitivity.
A heightened sensitivity to
noise and visual stimuli.
Impaired ability to screen
out background noise or movement.
Sensations of mental
overload / switching off.
Lack of awareness.
Failure to realise the consequences of
their speech or actions.
Failure to take account of body
language.
Missing the implications of what they
are told or interpreting it over-literally.
Visual
Stress. Some people with dyslexic difficulties may experience visual stress
when reading. Text can appear distorted and words or letters appear to move or
become blurred. White paper or backgrounds can appear too dazzling and make
print hard to decipher. Example of Visual Stress: Coping Strategies. It must be
emphasised that individuals vary greatly in their Specific Learning
Difficulties profile. Key variables are the severity of the difficulties and
the ability of the individual to identify and understand their difficulties and
successfully develop and implement coping strategies. By adulthood, many people
with Specific Learning Difficulties are able to compensate through technology,
reliance on others and an array of self-help mechanisms - the operation of
which require sustained effort and energy. Unfortunately, these strategies are
prone to break down under stressful conditions which impinge on areas of
weakness.
Effects
of stress. Research and self-reporting both concur that people with Specific
Learning Difficulties are particularly susceptible to stress, compared with the
ordinary population, with the result that their impairments become even more
pronounced. As a result of their difficulties, many people with Specific
Learning Difficulties have little confidence and low self-esteem. Areas of
Strength. On the positive side, Specific Learning Difficulties are also linked
to a range of skills. These include 'big picture' thinking, problem-solving and
lateral thinking abilities, an instinctive understanding of how things work,
originality, creativity and exceptional visual-spatial skills. Famous
individuals with Specific Learning Difficulties include Einstein, Churchill,
JFK, Agatha Christie, Richard Branson, James Dyson, Sir Jackie Stewart, leading
artists, architects, engineers, entrepreneurs, sportsmen and many stars of
stage and screen. Not all people with dyslexia and related difficulties will
have outstanding talents, but all will have comparative strengths and often
demonstrate great perseverance and determination. http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexic/dyslexia-and-specific-learning-difficulties-in-adults
IPP
Sentence
Despite
its abolition in 2012, the effects of the disastrous IPP sentence continue to
be felt by the 4,614 people still in prison, three-quarters of whom have
already served their TIME, the minimum time they must spend in prison. A Parole
Board facing significant resource pressures, and an increasing backlog of
cases, means that many continue to be held years beyond what was anticipated,
with little or no prospect of AN END OR release.
Firstly,
many prisoners on IPPs have not committed the kind of crimes for which IPPs
were designed, but less serious ones. Secondly, there was inconsistency in
sentencing even for serious crimes – some prisoners who have committed
identical crimes are IPP prisoners, some are not.
This is
clearly unjust. Thirdly, IPP prisoners have “indeterminate” sentences, which
means that they never know exactly when they will be released, unlike normal
prisoners. The effect of living under this level of stress and uncertainty
means that IPP prisoners are significantly more likely to suffer mental health
issues than other prisoners.
Research
indicates that they may be twice as likely to suffer such issues. Fourthly,
many of the courses which IPP prisoners are required to complete before they
have any chance of being released, are not easily available or not allowed on
them . Not all prisons provide them, and / or there is a long waiting list for
many courses.
Through
no fault of their own, therefore, many IPP prisoners are unable to “prove” that
they are no longer a danger. Fifthly, IPP prisoners, even if released, are on
licence for at least 10 years, and can be recalled to prison at any time for
even minor offences. They are never allowed to put their crime behind them,
because their licence can be extended indefinitely. Their official sentence
length is 99 years.
So is anything being done
about this?
The
government abolished the IPP sentence on December 3rd 2012, so no more could be
imposed after that. However, it did nothing at all about the 5-6000 prisoners
still serving IPP sentences, and has consistently refused to tackle the
problem, saying that more and more IPP prisoners are now being released.
Unfortunately, the Parole Board has such a backlog of cases to be heard that
according to the MOJ’s own figures, it will take about 9 years at the present
rate, for all IPP prisoners to be released (currently around 4,700 in all) – by
then all will be over their tariff. In 2012 the European Court of Human Rights
ruled that indeterminate sentences breached prisoners’ human rights, because of
the fact that rehabilitative courses were not being made available even after
the tariff had been served, yet still the situation has not improved.
What are the alternatives?
The Government has the power to change
the release test for IPP prisoners, in accordance with section 128 of
LASPO 2012*
The law already provides for long
licence periods for ordinary prisoners who need close monitoring on
release, by “extended” sentences**. These could be applied to IPP
prisoners.
This would give a definite
release date, to end the injustice
*Legal
Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012**The judge decides how long the offender
should stay in prison and also fixes the extended licence period up to a
maximum of eight years. The offender will either be entitled to automatic
release at the two thirds point of the custodial sentence or be entitled to
apply for parole at that point.If
parole is refused the offender will be released at the expiry of the prison
term. Following release, the offender will be subject to the licence where he
will remain under the supervision of the National Offender Management Service
until the expiry of the extended period.
I further underlined what I
would like to see change
To request the Secretary of State for
Justice to exercise their power to change the release test for the IPP
prisoners under Section 128 of the LASPO Act, for an effective system in
place that works
and the IPP sentences to be converted
into extended sentences, as changing the release test will not necessarily
get rid of the "99-year-licence" problem.
(the Lord Chief Justice agrees that
these are the options available for change)
At the
very least, the Government must increase the number of Parole Board members, so
that hearings can be held more frequently and reduce the current backlog and
delays.
Learning disabilities. Investigate the
failure to provide accommodation and aids for those with learning
disabilities as a result have may serve longer custodial sentences than
others convicted of comparable crimes. Limited supply with long queues for
these and for Parole Board reviews. People who are mentally ill, on
medication or have learning disabilities are effectively barred from these
courses and barred from the only route out of this awful maze, does not
the Disability discrimination Act apply in prison.
I would
like your thoughts on "Lex posterior derogat priori"..... · "Lex
posterior derogat priori"..... more recent law prevails over an
inconsistent earlier law. Can this be applied to this situation, where the IPP
has been abolished, but the earlier law is still in force for those who
received an IPP before it was abolished?
Reasonable adjustments and
adequate alternatives
High
Court of Justice ruled that the Secretary of State had failed in its duty at
providing reasonable adjustments and adequate alternatives for an prisoners
effectively barred from the Thinking Skills Programme because his IQ fell below
the required programme admission criteria.
Pipeline
to Prison:
Special
education too often leads to jail for ... bipolar disorder to learning
disabilities like ... lead to more arrests and jail time, OFTEN SPENDING DOUBLE
THE TIME comparable to others withoutDIFFERENCES?
Comment;
Jez Owen Abit is
concerned about them intergrating people with personality disorders into their
so called Risk Assessments. Their risk assessments are perceived risk
calculations and are fictitious anyway. So then to start intergrating yet more
calculations based on most likely poorly diagnosed assessments of personality
disorders will only create more victims of a system that discriminates,
persecutes and causes undue trauma on both their subject and family. Best to
give everyone an equal chance to get on with their life and stop trying to tell
someone's future. There are millions of people with personality disorders and
alot are successful business men and women. Don't judge a book by its cover.
Thank you Jez you have a valid point .This is the same for those with dyslexia
,dyspraxia and other..... they see these as risk, and if your a risk your
likely not to be released or spend double the time compered to others.
“One
young man in an recent ruling was told by a judge unlikely see a release until
his behavior is consistent.How can you one be consistent with impairments
?
It is all good and well to demonstrating however it
is lobbying that changes laws a majority vote we need and to get that means
we need an army Everyone we can get to post to there MP.
What does
lobbying? https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/lobbying-parliament/
Who is my Mp! Enter your
postcode, on the right side of the linkhttps://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/contact-your-mp/
“You can make a difference
!
what
can i do ?
Template letter for MP
House of Commons London
SW1A 0AA NAME ADDRESS POSTCODE PHONE NUMBER &
Dear
.........................................MP
As one of your constituents
I would like to Lobby the IPP prisoners and those with learning disabilities. I
would like you to table questions to the house regarding the injustice. I would
be happy to talk to you further about my concerns in person.
I really care about this
issue because ADD PERSONAL STORY HERE or add the line this issue has deeply
affected my family.
