Here are the basic procedures if a prisoner wants to apply for parole. The similarities to requesting reinstatement are quite remarkable, don't you think?
About six months before the first date at which you can be released (i.e. your PED (parole eligibility date)) the prison will give you a form. This will ask you whether you want to apply for early release. If you decide to apply, a review will start.
- The prison will put together a file of papers about you, the crimes you have committed, how you have spent your time in prison and your plans on release. This file is called the "dossier".
- When the dossier is ready, you will be given it to read and you can add on anything you want to say in writing. Your part of the dossier is called "the prisoner's representations". Many prisoners ask their solicitor to help them.
- When everything is in the dossier, three members of the Parole Board (often called "the panel") will meet to discuss your application for release. The Parole Board is not part of the Prison Service or the Ministry of Justice and makes its own decisions. The panel will be looking at how high they think the risk is that you might commit offences on licence, and whether it is best for you and the public for you to be released.
Does anyone else think that the WTS used these guidelines in setting up their rules on reinstatement?