Rise in recall of freed criminals

The Parole Board says a cautious approach has led to fewer parolees

The number of criminals the Parole Board considers for recall to jail after being freed on parole or early release has risen by 58% in 2006-07.

The number of recall cases considered for recall by the board rose from 9,296 in 2005-06 to almost 14,700 in 2006-07.

Officers also recorded a rise in parole hearings for dangerous prisoners on indeterminate sentences.

Parole Board chairman Sir Duncan Nichol said dealing with these prisoners had become a "key challenge" for officers.

The Parole Board handled 25,436 cases during the year, an increase of more than 31%.

The report shows an increase in key areas of the board's work, including a 31% rise in oral hearings for release - a number that is expected to continue to grow as more criminals are sentenced to indeterminate sentences in the name of public safety.

Aggressive policing

Sir Duncan said the board was preparing to handle more oral hearings as the nature of the criminal justice system changed.

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The dramatic jump in the number of recall cases considered during the year has more to do with aggressive policing of release conditions rather than a higher rate of reoffending, the report states.

It adds the actual number of parolees and those on mandatory early release alleged to have committed new offences was 246, down 18% from 302 in 2005-06.

The number of criminals originally handed a life sentence who were recalled to jail after being released on licence was 178, up from 140 the previous year and nearly six times the number in 2002-03.

Of the 178, 71 had been accused of committing new violent or sexual offences and 26 had been accused of other types of crime.

At the heart of our core responsibility is public safety and public protection Parole Board chairman Sir Duncan Nichol

The number of offenders on definite sentences being granted parole has dropped to its lowest level since 1996-97.

The report states the falling rate reflects a more cautious approach by parole panels, which led to 36% of applicants being granted parole - down from 49% a year earlier.

"At the heart of our core responsibility is public safety and public protection," Sir Duncan said.

The caution follows a string of high-profile crimes committed by men on licence for violent crime.

In 2006 Craig Sweeney was on early release for indecently assaulting a child when he abducted a three-year-old girl from her home in Cardiff, sexually abused her and drove her to Wiltshire.

Other cases include those of Stephen Ayre, who abducted and raped a 10-year-old boy in February 2006, 10 months after his release, and Anthony Rice, who murdered 40-year-old Naomi Bryant in August 2005, less than a year after being released on licence from a life sentence.