Imprisonment for Public Protection ("IPP")

What are IPPs?

IPPs are a form of indeterminate custodial sentence which has now been abolished courtesy of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

What is an indeterminate sentence?

An indeterminate sentence is a type of custodial sentence (i.e. one which is to be served in prison) where the court (i.e. sentencing judge) sets the minimum term of imprisonment an individual must serve before becoming eligible for release by the Parole Board.

Example of an IPP:

Sentencing judge sentences individual to an "IPP with a minimum term of 5 years" = prisoner must serve 5 years in custody before being eligible to come before the Parole Board. The Parole Board then decide whether the individual still poses a significant risk of serious harm to the public. 

What categories of offenders were eligible for IPP?

Sentencing judges had the power to impose IPPs for the following categories of offenders:

• Offenders convicted of serious sexual or violent offences which is punishable by imprisonment for life or a determinate period of 10 years or more;
• in the court’s opinion the offender poses a significant risk to the public of serious harm by the commission of further specified offences;
• the offence is punishable with life imprisonment and the court is satisfied that the seriousness of the offence justifies such a sentence; and
• If the offender had a previous conviction for an offence listed in Schedule 15A CJA 2003, or the current offence warrants a notional minimum term of at least two years.