Call for review of indeterminate sentences for children
Neil Puffett
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
A call has been made for indeterminate sentences to be reviewed on the back of a report highlighting concerns about the impact on offenders and their families.
Statistics released by the Prison Reform Trust show that the number of 10- to 17-year-olds detained indefinitely for public protection under Section 226 of the Criminal Justice Act has increased by 170 per cent in three years from 26 in 2005 to 70 in 2008.
The report, published by the Prison Reform Trust, alongside the Institute for Criminal Policy Research at King’s College London, states that indeterminate sentences leave offenders in a "bureaucratic limbo" where they have no means of working towards their release.
It calls on the government to look into abolishing the sentence as part of the forthcoming sentencing policy review.
Other options mooted include narrowing the criteria for an indeterminate sentence to ensure it is used less often or providing sufficient resources to improve the process of releasing offenders from the sentence in a fair way.
Penelope Gibbs, director of the Prison Reform Trust’s campaign to reduce child imprisonment, said: "These are ridiculous sentences for children. They condemn them to a sentence without a particular end.
"That is an absolutely shocking abuse of the rights of the child. For them to be locked up and not understand when they will be released must be absolute torture for them."
