About the Parole Board
Working with others to protect the public video
What is the Parole Board?
The Parole Board is an independent body that works with its criminal justice partners to protect the public by risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can be safely released into the community.
What are the aims of the Parole Board?
The Parole Board aims to:
- Make risk assessments which are rigorous, fair and timely with the primary aim of protecting the public and which contribute to the rehabilitation of prisoners where appropriate.
- Demonstrate effective and accountable corporate governance by maintaining strong internal control, setting clear objectives and managing corporate risk and to deliver best value by optimum use of resources.
- Promote the independence of and public confidence in the work of the Board, while effectively managing change.
What are the responsibilities of the Parole Board?
The Parole Board for England and Wales was established in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act 1967. It became an independent Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The Parole Board's role is to make risk assessments about prisoners to decide who may safely be released into the community.
The Parole Board has responsibility for considering the following types of cases:
Indeterminate sentences
These include life sentence prisoners (mandatory life, discretionary life and automatic life sentence prisoners and Her Majestys Pleasure detainees) and prisoners given indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP). The Parole Board also considers whether prisoners are safe to release into the community once they have completed their tariff (the minimum time they must spent in prison) and also whether the Secretary of State is justified in recalling them to prison for a breach of their life licence conditions (the rules which they must observe upon release) and whether they are safe to re-release following recall.
Determinate sentences
These include discretionary conditional release (DCR) prisoners serving more than 4 years whose offence was committed before 4 April 2005 and prisoners given extended sentences for public protection (EPP) for offences committed on or after 4 April 2005. The Parole Board considers whether these prisoners are safe to release into the community once they have completed the minimum time they must spend in prison. The Board also considers any determinate sentence prisoner referred by the Secretary of State following recall to prison for a breach of their parole license conditions (the rules which they must observe upon release). The Board considers whether the recall was appropriate and whether the prisoner is safe to re-release into the community.
Useful Information/Documents
Interactive case study
Annual Reports
Business Plans
Corporate Plans
