Documentary on IPP sentences

The Injustice of 'never-ending' Prison Sentences

Alexandra Genova and Naomi Larsson are two freelance journalists who created a short documentary film about Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, released in April 2020.

If you would like to support our journalism, and help us recover some of the costs we spent making this film, please donate here.

We want to make sure the people who worked on this project are paid, any help would be much appreciated.

Equipment, studio hire, travel: £592
Production hours: £1342

What are IPPs? 

On April 5, 2020, it was 15 years since these sentences were introduced. Under IPPs, which were abolished in 2012 after a European court found them to be unlawful, offenders were given a minimum tariff but no release date for a range of crimes - including many that were low-level.

More than 3,000 people are serving time in prisons across England and Wales without a release date. 93% of those serving an IPP order are still in prison having passed their tariff date. 

IPP prisoners are also subject to a life licence, meaning they can be recalled to prison at any time if they breach their terms of the license.

Adam Watson was recalled in January 2020, without criminal charge. He was first handed an IPP sentence in 2006. 

During the making of the film, Adam told us he feels like he is serving a “death sentence” with no clear path to release.

We hope this film can help to raise awareness of these sentences and the damaging impact on many people’s lives. 

View the film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0qAL-0nMss&feature=emb_logo