Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders returned under fixed term recalls have (a) submitted requests to be re-released before the end of the 28 day period and (b) been granted re-release before the end of the 28 day period in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous

Any offender who is believed to have committed further offences whilst on licence is liable to be arrested and charged and, if convicted, given a further sentence. If the offence is serious, they can be remanded into custody until trial. Offenders on licence who are charged with further offences are also liable to be recalled, potentially to serve the rest of their sentence in prison, as they will be in breach of the requirement of their licence to be of good behaviour. If the offender is assessed as not presenting a risk of harm to the public they can be assessed as suitable for a shorter, fixed term recall. Those who have been charged with serious sexual or violent offences will not be considered suitable for a fixed term recall.

Such offenders can apply for re-release before their automatic re-release date. In the last five years two offenders in 2011, one in 2013 and two in 2015 applied for release. Three of these offenders were subsequently released.