Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

Like the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, I shall be brief. In the context of this amendment, I had hoped to pay some attention to the conduct of the sentence itself. When this was first announced in the 2003 Act, a number of us were very concerned about what it would mean for the Prison Service’s ability to do what it should be doing with and for prisoners on behalf of the public. All our worst fears have come to pass: not only are the prisons choked with people; the Prison Service simply does not have the resources, people, programmes or anything else that is needed to do what needs to be done with and for these people. I had hoped to link the problem of dealing with indeterminate-sentenced prisoners with the number of those who are sentenced for natural life. There is no doubt but that some people’s dangerousness continues in such a way that the indeterminateness of their sentence means they will never be released. I say that because one group that always concerned me as chief inspector were those who had been sentenced to natural life and for whom there was no hope of release, so they had nothing positive to aim for. Not only was there nothing positive for them; the situation also had an enormous effect on prison staff. One aspect of this sentence which has not been given due credence or attention is the impact on prison staff of having to deal with this group of prisoners who become more suicidal, difficult and frustrated. They are a problem that will get worse. It cannot be solved by tinkering with timing. It must be looked at so that it affects only those whose dangerousness is such that the indeterminateness is linked to public protection. Rather than being viewed almost as an academic exercise, it should be seen as an exercise in sensible sentencing.