PRT comment: Learning lessons from self-inflicted deaths of IPP prisoners

Commenting on the findings of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s learning lessons bulletin on the self-inflicted deaths of IPP prisoners, published today (8 September), Mark Day, Deputy Director of the Prison Reform Trust said:

“This troubling report highlights the devastating impact the IPP sentence can have on the mental health and wellbeing of prisoners. Too often the sense of hopelessness and frustration associated with the sentence can have tragic consequences for those who remain subject to it, despite its abolition over a decade ago. The report should be a wakeup call to the prison service to ensure that the specific risk factors associated with the sentence are identified and acted upon. It should also be a spur to ministers to revisit the recommendations of the Justice Committee’s authoritative report on the IPP sentence, and give IPP prisoners and their families the hope they so desperately need.”