Life Licence

A 'Life License' is issued under section 28(5) of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 and specifies prisoners maintain reporting contact with their Offender Manager (at their local probation service office) and provide information of their whereabouts. Failure to do so means that they are in breach of the conditions of their license, and subject to an emergency recall. It is at this point that it becomes a police matter and are 'wanted on prison recall'.

Please send me the following information broken down annually (or in alternative format if the data is held in another way) over the last 5 years or fewer if the data was not collated at that time.

1. The number of prisoners, who have been released on a 'Life License', issued under section 28(5) of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 that have subsequently breached their license and have been 'wanted on prison recall'. 
2. Of those offenders 'wanted on prison recall', how many were successfully recalled.
3. Of those offenders subject to a 'prison recall' how many were convicted for another offence while at large.

The information can be provided either by calendar year or financial year depending on the figures that are collated. If there is a choice, I would like whichever provides the most up to date figures.

In accordance with section 1(1) (a) of the Act our response is provided below;

The information you are requesting is not held by the Constabulary. There may be occasions when individual officers have come across persons who, when checked, have been shown as wanted on a recall to prison and whom they have subsequently detained. That type of information, if it where held, would be held within an individuals custody record or on intelligence systems. To search those records in an attempt to retrieve any information would it is estimated exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate limit is defined in the Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004, which is covered by statutory Instrument Number 3244 of 2004. Furthermore, section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows a public authority to refuse to respond to a request for information where the cost of compliance would exceed the appropriate limit as defined by the above mentioned regulations.

It is likely that the prison service will hold the information you are seeking and you may wish to apply type them via the
HM Prison Service website