'Long-awaited' day arrives with reform of controversial IPP sentences

4WardEverUK • 18 January 2025

source: The Justice Gap

published: 23 November 2024

Image Credit: Unsplash at www.FreeRangeStock.com


New provisions have come into force to end Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, described as the ‘single greatest stain on the criminal justice system’.


Almost 2,000 people serving controversial lifetime licenses will have their sentence terminated immediately. The measure applies to those who have been released for at least five years and who have been out on licence for two years. 


The reforms were announced by the previous justice secretary, Alex Chalk, in an attempt to address the scandal of people languishing in jail indefinitely, despite in many cases not having committed serious offences.

IPP sentences were introduced in 2005 to keep offenders who were deemed dangerous detained beyond the end of their tariff (the minimum period they have to serve in prison). The sentence was abolished in 2012, but the abolition did not apply to those already serving it. As of July this year, 2,700 prisoners, 99% of whom are serving time beyond their initial tarriff, remain on IPP sentences.

These new provisions were introduced by the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 and have come into force on 1st November, described as ‘a long-awaited day’ by the Howard League for Penal Reform


Children serving the parallel Detention for Public Protection (DPP) sentences will also benefit from the new provisions. Children who have been released for four years and have been on licence for two years will have their sentences terminated immediately.


Read full article >

share this article on social media

Mumia Abu-Jamal
by 4WardEverUK 26 April 2025
On March 26, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal permission to appeal a September 2024 denial of his latest petition to reverse his conviction.
John Charles de Menezes
by 4WardEverUK 26 April 2025
The mother of a man shot dead by police in a London Underground station after being mistaken for a terrorist has said “everyone should watch” a new dramatisation of her son’s killing.
Armed police officer
by 4WardEverUK 26 April 2025
New rules giving anonymity to firearms officers accused of murder put police above the scrutiny faced by the rest of the public, the head of the charity Inquest has warned.
Evidence police line
by 4WardEverUK 20 April 2025
A significant step by SA's legal system in confronting the atrocities of its past. A judge approved the trial of police officers for their involvement in the 1982 assassination of three activists.
Police gun in holster
by 4WardEverUK 20 April 2025
South Carolina executed Mikal Mahdi by firing squad on 11 April. Mahdi had been convicted and sentenced for the 2004 killing of an off-duty law enforcement officer, and others followed.
Palestine protesters
by 4WardEverUK 19 April 2025
Protests in West Yorkshire and elsewhere have mobilised against the Teledyne arms factory. Palestine solidarity rallies and marches took place across Britain in a national day of action.
More Articles