Summary
Jacqui Smith, the former Labour home secretary, investigates why government policies fail, focusing on one of her party's most cherished reforms.
Indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPPs) were devised by David Blunkett and the Home Office to reassure voters that those convicted of serious violent and sexual offences would stay in prison until they could show by their changed behaviour that they could safely be released.
But much larger numbers of offenders received the sentences than had been expected and, as the prison population rose, jails struggled to provide the facilities IPP prisoners needed to show that they had reformed. The new sentencing structure, first passed in 2003, had to be drastically changed by Labour in 2008 and finally to be repealed by the coalition four years after that.
Jacqui Smith discovers the reasons why the change in sentencing was embarked upon, why its potential flaws weren't detected before its introduction and why the policy was maintained even as problems mounted. She considers the difficult legacy of IPPs - for those still in prison and for politicians devising shiny new initiatives in other fields of government.
Among those taking part: David Blunkett, Kenneth Clarke, Lord Judge, Professor Nick Hardwick.
Producer: Simon Coates.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Analysis. |
| 0:02.0 | For years on programs we make like law in action, we've covered a nagging issue in the criminal justice system, |
| 0:08.0 | a sentencing policy which has meant thousands of people spending much longer in prison than they were supposed to. |
| 0:14.4 | Now an analysis we've decided to get to the bottom of it and find out just how this happened, |
| 0:19.6 | and we thought it might give some wider insight into how governments make mistakes. |
| 0:23.7 | Over to someone who should know. |
| 0:25.9 | Making her debut as an analysis presenter, here's the former Home Secretary Jackie Smith. |
| 0:31.8 | Every government gets things wrong, but why does it happen and how do you fix it? |
| 0:38.8 | In this programme I'm looking at one policy that didn't work. It wasn't about theory. It was about people |
| 0:46.1 | like a man will call Mark. He's written a poem about his experience. Here are |
| 0:51.4 | the opening lines. |
| 0:53.0 | Through the gate and off to prison, |
| 0:55.0 | into a world where no one listens. |
| 0:58.0 | No one cares what we think I say. |
| 1:00.0 | I don't even have a release day. |
| 1:02.0 | Mark's a criminal. |
| 1:04.0 | He deserved to go to prison for his violent assault. |
| 1:08.0 | The question is for how long? |
| 1:10.0 | He was originally sentenced to 22 months. He served more than 10 years. |
| 1:17.0 | That's a waste of his life and the public's money. |
| 1:20.0 | How can he have hope if you've known to give? How can I plan a life to live? |
| 1:24.0 | If failing to plans, planning to fail. |
... |
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