Stakeholder consultation on victim participation in Parole Board hearings

07/04/2009

In October 2005, the Government published the Code of Practice for the Victims of Crime. This Code of Practice was issued by the then Home Secretary under section 32 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. It was intended to govern the services provided in England and Wales of various organisations to victims of criminal conduct which occurred in England and Wales.

The Parole Board was one of those organisations with obligations under the Victims' Code of Practice and it is committed to meeting its obligations under the Code.

For some time the Parole Board has been allowing victims to make written statements for consideration by the panel. These statements are commonly known as Victim Personal Statements. On occasion, there have been applications for victims to attend hearings in order to present their Victim Personal Statements in person. To date, such applications for victims to attend in person have been dealt with on a case by case basis.

In order to ensure that the expectations of victims, offenders, prison law practitioners, Ministry of Justice and other interested parties can be properly met, a formal policy on victim participation in Parole Board hearings is required. The proposed Parole Board policy has been drafted by the Parole Boards Procedural Guidance Committee and is attached.

The Parole Board recognises the significance of giving victims a voice by allowing them to submit a statement for consideration by the panel and by enabling them to apply to attend and present that statement in person. The Parole Board also recognises that such inclusive processes for victims in the parole process can be emotionally difficult for victims and for offenders alike.

It is appreciated that at present it may be unclear to those involved what the purpose or benefit is of this engagement. The purpose of this policy is to set out the parameters of both Victim Personal Statements and victim participation in Parole Board hearings so that expectations are set and the Board can ensure that it meets its obligations under Common Law to provide fair hearings.

Notes to Editors

The Parole Board is seeking feedback on the proposed policy from stakeholders by 1st May 2009. Views received will be conveyed to the Procedural Guidance Committee before the making final decisions on the policy.

The draft victim policy can be downloaded in PDF format.

The Parole Board is an independent body that works with its criminal justice partners to protect the public by risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can safely be released into the community.

For further information please call Tim Morris, Head of Communications for the Parole Board, on 020-7217 0564 during office hours, or on 07725-927954 out of hours, look on the Parole Board website at www.paroleboard.gov.uk , or e-mail tim.morris5@paroleboard.gsi.gov.uk

ENDS                                                                                  PR/02/2009

The Parole Board for England and Wales

Grenadier House, 99-105 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2DX

Telephone 0845 251 2220