Thorn Cross

Since 17 July 2023, the Secretary of State has directed a change to the criteria by which indeterminate sentenced prisoners (ISPs) are assessed for suitability for open conditions. With immediate effect, new criteria must be met for an ISP to be judged suitable for a move. The said criteria being 1) the prisoner to have made sufficient progress in addressing and reducing risk to a level consistent with protecting the public from harm (in circumstances where the prisoner in open conditions may be in the community, unsupervised under licenced temporary release) 2) assessed as low risk of abscond and 3) there is a wholly persuasive case for transferring the ISP from closed to open conditions.
If a prisoner is waiting for a decision from the Secretary of State on whether a Parole Board recommendation for a move to open conditions will be accepted or rejected, this will be considered under the new criteria, and in the coming weeks they will be updated with the outcome. If a prisoner recently received a decision about their suitability for open conditions from the Secretary of State, then that decision will remain in place as it was made using the criteria in place at that time. However, any future Parole Board hearing will be conducted using the approved criteria at that time.

Regarding re-sentencing prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP), the Justice Select Committee’s (JSC) inquiry constituted a thorough assessment of the issues surrounding the IPP sentence and the published report contained considered recommendations for change. Although the IPP sentence was abolished in 2012, it is the Government’s long-held view that retrospectively changing the sentence which was lawfully passed would give rise to an unacceptable risk to public protection. As such, the Government rejected the Committee’s main recommendation to undertake a full resentencing exercise of all remaining IPP offenders who had not yet had their license terminated.
The Government’s formal response to the Committee’s report is available here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1509/imprisonment-for-public-protection-ipp-sentences/publications/.
The Government did however, accept the Committee’s recommendation to review the existing Action Plan and shared the outcome of the review with the JSC on 26 April 2023 which can be accessed here: Letter from the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on the Imprisonment for Public Protection Action Plan (parliament.uk). In updating the Action Plan HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) specifically focused on improved, clear work streams, with deadlines, and a robust overarching governance structure. The refreshed Action Plan will be a strong driver to build on past achievements and continue to provide the best possible opportunities for those serving an IPP sentence to progress towards a safe and sustainable release. Efforts in recent years have delivered a substantial reduction in the number of IPP prisoners who have never been released, which at its highest in 2012 was over 6000 and now stands at 1,312 at the end of June 2023. As a priority matter, the Government is now reviewing the Department’s work to date to help more IPP prisoners progress towards release and will be considering thoroughly if there are further steps that need to be taken. The Secretary of State for Justice does not want to prejudge his conclusions, but please be assured that he will be giving the matter his close personal attention.

The Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework clearly sets out that Governors should ensure management checks are undertaken to have confidence that prisoners’ property has been handled correctly and with care. This includes, for example, checks on property cards to ensure they have been completed accurately and the volume of property held by prisoners does not become excessive. HMPPS is planning to undertake work in due course to establish the impact of the new Framework.
HMP/YOI Thorn Cross has continued to experience issues with property, particularly, property transferred from other establishments. The Governor will continue to escalate matters at a local and prison group level.

As the Board is aware, secure, restricted internet access is provided which is available in all prisons across the estate. HMP/YOI Thorn Cross already provides limited internet access via HMPPS’s virtual learning environment, which allows access to approximately 70% of the internet.
HMPPS recognises that access to online educational content is important to aid learning and development of prisoners. Over the next two years, HMPPS is looking to invest in additional networking capabilities through ongoing education programmes, of which HMP/YOI Thorn Cross is in scope alongside other establishments. The Prison Education Services programme to launch in April 2025 will seek to continue access at similar levels. In the meantime, the Governor will keep you informed of any developments.

As highlighted by the Board, during the Covid-19 pandemic open prisons were permitted to allow prisoners supervised video calls to their families using their own smart mobile phones in the visiting hall, as face to face visits and release on temporary licence were suspended. However, the subsequent return of in person visits along with reprofiling of staffing detail resulted in video calls being discontinued on mobile devices.
Video calling continues to be available to prisoners via the third-party supplier Phonehub. Every adult prisoner and young person in custody is offered one free 30-minute video call per month and the Governor may allow additional calls for wellbeing reasons and in exceptional circumstances. Video calls can have up to four people on the call talking to a prisoner. All callers must be on the prisoner’s visitor list and the main caller must be over 18 years of age, although people under 18 can be on the video call.
Mobile phone access is a local decision for the Governor.
Prisoners located at HMP/YOI Thorn Cross can currently request mobile phone access/visit. The Governor will look to promote this and raise awareness locally. A ‘family champion’ Custodial Manager post has been created at HMP/YOI Thorn Cross and the role will be to understand the needs of all prisoners and shape resources to best meet these.

Your comments about the relaunch of the Prison Council, increase in mandatory drug testing and the various sporting events/activities held throughout the year, were encouraging to hear.