What type of sentence have I got?
When you were sentenced the judge will have explained what it is and how it works. It can be complicated and if you are not sure, the parole clerk can check for you. You will be serving one of the following:
- Less than 4 years for a crime committed before 4 April 2005
- 4 years or more for a crime committed before 4 April 2005
- Sentenced before 1 October 1992
- Extended sentence for a crime committed before 4 April 2005
- Less than 12 months for a crime committed on or after 4 April 2005
- 12 months or more for a crime committed on or after 4 April 2005
1. Less than 4 years for a crime committed before 4 April 2005
You will be released automatically when you have served half the sentence. The Parole Board does not see your case and you do not have to apply to be released.
2. 4 years or more for a crime committed before 4 April 2005
- When you have served half your sentence, you can apply to the Parole Board for early release. You will only be released if the Parole Board decides that you will not commit crimes on parole and will not break your parole licence. The date on which you can be released at the half way stage is called your parole eligibility date (PED).
- If you get parole you will stay on a licence and will be supervised by the Probation Service. This will last until the licence runs out three quarters into your sentence. This date is called the licence expiry date (LED).
- For sentences of 4 years or more, and less than 15 years, the Parole Board decides on your release; for sentences of 15 years or more, the Parole Board can recommend your release but the Secretary of State will decide whether or not to release you.
- If you do not get parole the first time (at PED) and your sentence is long enough, you will be able to apply for parole once every year.
- If you do not get parole at any of these dates, you will be released when you have served two thirds of your sentence. This is called the non-parole date (NPD). You will be on a licence and supervised by the Probation Service until your LED.
- As long as you are on licence, you can be recalled to prison. See the section on recall. When your licence runs out at the three quarter stage, you can still be required by the courts to serve the remainder of your sentence if you commit another crime. This is called the "at risk" period. The date your sentence runs out is called the sentence expiry date (SED).
The important dates are shown in this diagram.
Note 1 - if you were convicted for a sexual crime, the judge may have ordered that that your licence will last until SED, rather than LED. If you are not sure, ask the parole clerk.
Note 2 - The first three dates (PED, NPD and LED) can be changed if you break prison rules and get additional days awarded at an adjudication. These are called ADAs and mean you will have to wait longer to apply for parole and get released. They cannot change your SED.
Note 3 - Any time you spent in police custody, or on remand, will count towards the dates above.
3. Sentenced before 1 October 1992
There are hardly any prisoners still serving these sentences. If you are one of these you can apply for parole in exactly the same way as 2 above, except that you become eligible for parole after serving one-third of your sentence. The only other difference is that, should parole never be awarded, when you have served two thirds of your sentence, you will be released without a licence and without supervision.
4. Extended sentence for a crime committed before 4 April 2005
If you were convicted for a violent or sexual crime, the judge may have given you an extended sentence. This means a number of years in prison, followed by a longer than usual licence. For example, 2 years in prison with a 4 year licence.
If you have one of these sentences, your release will depend on how long the prison part of the sentence is. If less than 4 years, see 1 above. If 4 years or more, see 2 above. Once you are released, you can be recalled to prison at any time during the licence period set by the court.
5. Less than 12 months for a crime committed on or after 4 April 2005
Once you are on licence, you can be recalled to prison if you break conditions on your licence.
- Since 26 January 2004, a new sentence of "intermittent custody (IC) was piloted (or tested) in a small number of areas. If you were sentenced by a court in one of these areas, the judge sentenced you to IC. This means that you may serve part of each week in prison and the other part on a licence; for instance you may have to go to prison at the weekend, but go out on a licence during the week. You will have been told about this by the judge when you were sentenced. The pilot area involving male offenders covers Greater Manchester, Lancashire and those sentenced by the North Liverpool Community Justice Centre. Male offenders serve their time at Kirkham prison. For female offenders, the area covers Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, South Yorkshire, West Midlands and West Yorkshire. Female offenders serve their time at Morton Hall prison.
- Instead of "Custody Plus" and "Intermittent Custody", the judge may suspend a sentence of less than 12 months. This is called "Custody Minus". It means that you do not go to prison unless you have broken the terms of the judge's order and you have gone back to court for the judge to send you to prison.
6. 12 months or more for a crime committed on or after 4 April 2005 (and where at least one part of the total sentence is for a term of 12 months or more)
These sentences are very different from those at 1 and 2 above. There are two types:
A) A set number of years, with no extended licence
- However long your sentence is, you must be released when you have served half of it.
- The Parole Board will not see your case and you do not have to apply for release.
- Once you are released, you will stay on licence right up until your sentence runs out (SED). During this time, you can be recalled to prison. See the section on recall.
B) An extended sentence for public protection
- If you have been convicted of a violent or sexual crime, the judge may sentence you to a number of years in prison, followed by a longer than usual licence period.
- When you have served half of the prison part of your sentence, you can apply to the Parole Board for early release (the application is usually made 6 months before this so that reports can be obtained). You will only be released if the Parole Board decides that you will not commit crimes while you are on a licence, and will not break conditions of your licence.
- If you do not get released the first time and your sentence is long enough, you can apply again every year until the prison part of the sentence runs out.
- Once you have been released, you can be recalled to prison right up until the licence runs out.
The Parole Board. Working with others to protect the public.