Too many British prisoners are still serving indefinite sentences

IN 2006 LEROY, a 22-year-old, stole a phone from another man in the street. After being caught and convicted, he was given a minimum sentence of 30 months. Yet 16 years later, Leroy is still in prison with no idea when he may be released. He is one of some 3,000 inmates incarcerated in English and Welsh jails under sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), which were handed out only between 2005 and 2012.

Brought in by David Blunkett, then home secretary, IPPs were originally supposed to be used only for serious violent and/or sexual offenders who had been sentenced to a minimum tariff of ten years. The addition of an IPP after the minimum tariff put the onus on prisoners to prove they were safe to be released. But IPPs were enthusiastically embraced by the courts even for more minor crimes. The Labour government at the time estimated that perhaps 900 would be issued in all. Yet over seven years 8,711 were handed down for crimes, some with minimum tariffs as short as 28 days.

IPP prisoners have to convince a parole board that they are no longer a danger, in part by completing rehabilitation courses. When released they must also spend the rest of their lives on licence, meaning they can be returned to prison to continue their indefinite sentence once again, even for quite minor breaches.

The IPP...