Reform indefinite sentencing call

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The Howard League for Penal Reform published a report on the indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP) introduced in 2005 for offenders convicted of a wide range of serious crimes. The organisation said IPPs are "ill-conceived and fundamentally flawed".

Justice Secretary Jack Straw is already reviewing the way the sentence is operating after a series of successful challenges by inmates in the High Court.

Howard League director Frances Crook said: "The IPP is a disastrous example of the Government failing to plan for the consequences of an ill-thought out policy.

"With official estimates that the number of IPPs will reach 25,000 by 2012 - almost a third of the current prison population - this sentence threatens to overwhelm a prison system that is already on its knees.

"If the Government's attempts to appeal the recent High Court judgments fail, then hundreds of prisoners classified as 'dangerous' will be released from custody. Either way, the public is not being well served."

She added: "The Howard League opposes the IPP as a matter of principle. It is wrong to imprison a person for what they might do rather than what they have actually done."

Senior judges ruled IPPs are unlawful if prisoners are not provided with the behaviour management courses and assessments they need to help demonstrate to the Parole Board that they can be released.

Being unable to access such courses has led to many prisoners being kept behind bars for longer than the minimum period set out by the court, adding to the jail overcrowding crisis.