Victims to attend parole hearings in rollout of ‘vital’ scheme

Victims will be able to attend parole hearings of criminals as part of national rollout to boost confidence in the justice system.

The reform coming into force in England and Wales on Tuesday will allow victims to apply to attend private hearings held to decide whether a prisoner can be released from jail

It follows a pilot scheme in the South West and Greater Manchester which found victims were “reassured” to see the process of offenders being held to account before the Parole Board made a decision whether to release them under licence conditions.

Pilot

A victim known as Anna, who attended a parole hearing during the pilot initiative, said witnessing the care taken by the panel gave her “genuine confidence” in how the perpetrator would be managed once released from custody.

She added it “helped us draw a line under the whole chapter and move on”.

Victims will not be able to observe the entire hearing as certain evidence such as on risk management must be heard in private.

The process also hears evidence on the offender’s behaviour in prison and work they are doing to stop committing further crimes.

Victims’ commissioner Baroness Newlove said: “This is a vital step towards lifting the lid on a system that has long felt closed off to victims, helping them feel more meaningfully involved rather than bystanders to proceedings.”

Measures

New measures are expected to be introduced later this year for ministers to be given more power over the release of the most serious criminals, by being able to refer certain cases to the High Court for a second check.

Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones said: “For too long, victims have been locked out of the parole system.

“As part of our Plan for Change, we are now giving victims the right to see how offenders are challenged when up for parole.

“This Government is improving our justice system to ensure it serves victims better.”

The Parole Board is an independent body that assesses whether prisoners can be safely released from jail into the community, and on what licence conditions such as curfews, as well as recommending whether inmates can be moved to an open prison.

Chief executive officer Cecilia French said: “I understand just how important access to information is to victims and survivors.

“This is a crucial step towards achieving this and will play a part in our wider objective of achieving greater transparency of parole, while ensuring the process remains fair and effective.”