Tag: Philip Davies

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what offences were committed by prisoners serving their sentences in open prisons.

Jeremy Wright

Open prisons have been used since 1936, because they are the most effective means of ensuring that prisoners are suitably risk-assessed before they are released into the community under appropriate licence conditions. These prisons also provide effective supervision for prisoners who do not require the security conditions of the closed estate, because they have been assessed as having a low risk of harm to the public and a low risk of absconding by the independent Parole Board and/or NOMS.

Indeterminate sentence prisoners located in open conditions have been rigorously risk assessed and categorised as being of a low enough risk to the public to warrant their placement in an open prison. They will have previously spent time in prisons with higher levels of security, before being transferred to open conditions if recommended by the Parole Board – or directed through NOMS.

The main purpose of open conditions is to test prisoners in conditions more similar to those that they will face in the community. Time spent in open prisons affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. For many prisoners, in particular those, such as ISPs who have spent a considerable amount of time in custody; these are essential components for successful reintegration in the community and therefore an important factor in protecting the public. To release these prisoners directly from a closed prison without the resettlement benefits of the open estate would undoubtedly lead to higher levels of post-release re-offending. The reoffending rates for those released from open prisons are low when compared to all prisoners released from custody in England & Wales.

The requested information is provided in the table below.

These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders received a driving ban alongside a prison sentence of a longer length in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright

When the courts impose a driving ban and a custodial sentence at the same time, they already make some allowance for the length of time that the offender would normally serve in prison before becoming eligible for release, in order to ensure that disqualification has the desired impact. There are provisions in the Coroner’s and Justice Act 2009 which will give this statutory force. These will be commenced in due course.

We want to make sure that road traffic offenders face the full consequences of the punishment for their offence. When an offender commits a serious road traffic offence that attracts both a custodial sentence and disqualification from driving, it is essential for public confidence in the criminal justice system that the driving ban has full effect on the offender; he should not benefit from, in effect, a reduction in the length of the ban whilst he serves time in prison. These provisions will ensure that, as now, the court will determine the appropriate length of the ban for the purposes of the offence but it will then be required to extend the ban to take account of time to be spent in prison. This will ensure that there is consistency of action in every case and that driving bans bear equally on all offenders.

The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. This centrally held information records the period of disqualification into one of thirteen bands. As the exact length of driving ban is not available, it is not possibly to identify how many offenders received a driving ban alongside a prison sentence of a longer length. This detailed information may be held on the court record but due to the size and complexity is not reported centrally to the MoJ. As such, the information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people of each gender were sentenced in the West Yorkshire Police Force area to immediate custody for a first offence in each year since 2008; and for which offences such people were sentenced.

Jeremy Wright

The sentencing framework and sentencing guidelines apply equally to all offenders. Sentencing is entirely a matter for the courts, taking account of all the circumstances of each case. This will include the seriousness of the offence, including all aggravating and mitigating factors, and a guilty plea.

Defendants are now more likely to be convicted for committing crime and sent to prison for longer than they were a decade ago. In addition criminals convicted since 2010 are more likely to receive an immediate custodial sentence, both overall and for a first time offence.

Table 1 shows the number of offenders given an immediate custodial sentence in the West Yorkshire Police Force Area for their first offence, by offence class and gender 2008 -2013.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 95W, on non-molestation orders, what the figure for previous convictions or cautions is for (a) male and (b) female offenders.

Jeremy Wright

Male offenders receiving their first immediate custodial sentence for the criminal offence of breaching a non-molestation order in the 12 months ending September 2013 had received, on average, less than 1 (0.5) previous convictions or cautions for the same offence.

In the 12 months ending September 2013, 9 females received their first immediate custodial sentence for breach of non-molestation order, of which 6 had no previous, 1 had 1 previous and 2 had 2 or more previous convictions or cautions for the same offence. Averages have not been provided for female offenders breaching a non-molestation order as the number of females is too small to provide a reliable estimate.

It is important to note that these figures are based only on those offences recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC) by an English or Welsh police force, including the British Transport Police. This database holds details of all convictions or cautions for breaching a non-molestation order since their introduction as a criminal offence in July 2007.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders received a driving ban before the age of 17 in each of the last three years; and in what proportion of such cases the ban expired before the offenders’ 17th birthday.

Jeremy Wright

The attached table sets out the number of driving disqualifications for all motoring offences at all courts, for offenders aged under 17 years, in England and Wales from 2009 to 2012 (the latest data available). It is not possible to provide the more detailed information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

A disqualification of an offender aged under 17 means they cannot apply for or be issued with a driving licence until their disqualification period has passed.

Number of disqualifications for all motoring offences at all courts, for offenders aged under 17 years, England and Wales, 2008-2012(1)

(1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services – Ministry of Justice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a prisoner did not spend at least one period of 24 consecutive hours in prison in a week in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright

Prisoners may be released on temporary licence for reasons linked to their resettlement needs and sentence plans, or where there are compelling circumstances that justify the release. Last month, we announced a range of measures to strengthen the existing temporary release provisions to ensure that the right balance is always struck between facilitating resettlement and protecting the public. Under our plans, public protection will always take priority.

Data on the number of hours for which prisoners are released on temporary licence is not collated centrally.

Data on temporary releases in 2012 is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statistical-notice-releases-on-temporary-licence-2012

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