Prisoners' Release

Sections 35 to 45 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 confer important rights upon eligible victims, where they choose to exercise them, including receiving information about an offender's release and making representations about the licence conditions to which an offender should be subject upon release. The Probation Victim Contact Scheme (VCS) is the means by which victims are enabled to exercise their rights, and this applies equally to releases under the Earned Progression Mode. For this purpose, a victim includes family members of victims in homicide cases.

Victims and victims' families who are engaged in the VCS are supported by a dedicated Victim Liaison Officer (VLO). The VLO acts as the primary point of contact, ensuring that victims' families are informed about key stages of the offender's sentence and that their views and concerns are obtained and conveyed to probation staff responsible for managing the offender.

Before an offender's release, the dedicated VLO works closely with the Probation Practitioner supervising the offender, to ensure that any representations made by victims' families are fully considered when it comes to setting the offender’s licence conditions. Representations may include requests for conditions intended to protect victims and their families, such as exclusion zones or non-contact restrictions.

Victims' families are informed of the outcome of decisions regarding licence conditions prior to release. Arrangements are put in place to ensure that any approved conditions, including electronic monitoring or GPS exclusion zones where appropriate, take effect from the point of release. Where representations made by victims' families are not reflected in the final licence conditions, the VLO will explain the reasons for the decisions made.