BPS welcomes the end of lifetime licenses for rehabilitated individuals with past IPP sentences

Responding to the news of the end of lifetime licences for people who have previously served an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence, Professor Nic Bowes from the British Psychological Society's Division of Forensic Psychology said: 

"We welcome the government's decision to bring an end to indefinite community supervision for some people serving IPP sentences. Those who have successfully rebuilt their lives away from crime, who have lived responsibly in the community for years, should not remain under lifelong supervision. They deserve the opportunity to leave behind the stigma of their distant past. For the first time since being released, around 1,800 people will now have an 'end date' to their sentence and can continue to live the productive lives they have developed for themselves and their families in the community. 

"We understand the government will be 're-doubling' efforts with people who have never been released and who remain in prison, serving a sentence which has long been deemed both 'psychologically harmful' and 'unjust'. Forensic psychologists play a key role in this process and this urgent and much needed work must be prioritised and resourced effectively in order to support the engagement, progress and recovery of people serving IPP sentences in prison."