As part of plans to deal with nearly-full prisons in England and Wales, Andy Burnham has pledged to bring an end to indeterminate imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences.

For those serving these sentences, this is a long-awaited development. IPP sentences were abolished in 2012, but not retrospectively. Currently, 2,271 IPP prisoners remain in custody in England and Wales.

They were introduced in 2005 to protect the public from “dangerous” offenders, but the definition of dangerous was broad and resulted in the sentence being imposed on many lower-risk offenders.

IPPs function like life sentences: prisoners serve a minimum term (say, 10 years), after which point they are eligible to apply for release. Unlike other sentences, IPP prisoners can only be released from prison by the independent Parole Board – there is no automatic release date set.

The IPP sentence has garnered much media interest over the years because of the shocking plight of prisoners serving this sentence. Being incarcerated is bad enough, but the indefinite nature of the sentence has led to widespread feelings of despair and isolation among this population and their families.

The late Lord Brown, a former supreme court justice, described the IPP sentence as the “greatest single stain on our criminal justice system”. Even David Blunkett, who introduced the sentence as home secretary, has expressed regret.

A justice select committee inquiry into the IPP sentence took place in 2022. The government of the time disregarded many recommendations, including the proposal that all IPP prisoners should have sentences reviewed and then be re-sentenced under current rules. Since then, Keir Starmer’s........

© The Conversation