Voices in Justice: Parole Reform in Scotland: Consultation Analysis

Annex 1 Prison questionnaire

Voices in Justice: A Consultation on Parole Reform in Scotland

Respondent Information Form

To be returned to: Parole Policy Team, Community Justice Division, Scottish Government, St. Andrews House, 2 Regent Road Edinburgh, EH1 3DG

Question 1. Do you think it is a good idea to have a definition that clearly explains the purpose of parole in Scotland?

• Yes
• No
• Other
• Not sure / No opinion
• Please explain your answer:

Question 2. If Scotland made a clear rule about what parole is for, what things do you think should be in that rule?

Question 3. Should the Parole Board publish full details about why someone was or wasn’t allowed to leave prison on parole? This would include reasons why the decision was made.

• Yes – in all cases.
• Yes – but only in certain types of cases.
• No – decision summaries are OK.
• Other
• Not sure / No opinion
• Please explain your answer:

Question 4: How much should the Parole Board hide names and private details when sharing decisions about someone’s parole?

• Not at all, it should show full decisions to help people understand.
• Some details, like names and addresses should be removed, but the rest of the decision should be shared.
• It should hide everything private so no one can be identified.
• Other ideas
• Not sure
• Please explain your answer:

Question 5. Should the Parole Board explain more clearly how they make decisions? This could include rules, examples, and helpful guides.

• Yes
• No
• Other
• Not sure / No opinion
• Please explain your answer:

Question 6. How should victims first be told that someone might be allowed to leave prison?

• Letter
• Email
• Phone call
• Video call
• In person
• Not sure / No opinion
• Other, please specify:

Question 7. What would you change or add to help victims understand the parole system better?

Question 8. Should victims, who are part of the Victim Notification Scheme, always be allowed to watch parole hearings?

• Yes, they should always be allowed.
• No, they should still have to ask.
• Other idea.
• Not sure.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 9. Should all victims be allowed to ask to watch a parole hearing, no matter what sentence the person got?

• Yes, every victim should be allowed to ask.
• No, only victims in very serious cases should be allowed.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 10. Who else, other than the victim, should be allowed to watch a parole hearing? (Select all that apply)

• Only the victim or their family
• People from the public
• Journalists
• Lawyers or researchers
• Social workers
• Other workers for training
• Other (say who)
• Not sure
• Please explain your answer:

Question 11. Should all victims, regardless of the type of sentence the person in custody is serving, be allowed to speak to the Parole Board before a case is decided?

• Yes – every victim should have the right to speak to the Parole Board for Scotland.
• No – only victims in the most serious cases should speak to the Parole Board.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.

Question 12. What kind of information helps victims feel safe, supported, and included?

Question 13. How things like videos, podcasts, or online updates could help people understand parole better?

Question 14. How to share information better with victims and others?

Question 15. Do you think there should be one simple rule for deciding if someone in prison can be safely let out?

• Yes – I think a single test for all cases is a good idea.
• No – I think there should be different tests depending on sentence type.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 16. Should the test for release focus only on how risky a person is, or also if that person is ready to live safely in the community?

• The test(s) should continue to focus on risk.
• The test(s) should check if someone is safe to leave prison and also ready to live a good life outside prison.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 17. Do you have any other views on how decisions should be made about release? For example, do you think there are other improvements that could be made?

Question 18. Do you think the Parole Board should be allowed to check how someone is doing after they leave prison and take actions based on the person’s needs?

• Yes.
• No.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 19. If we had meetings to check how someone is doing on parole, what should the Parole Board be allowed to change? (select all that apply)

• Change some of the licence conditions.
• Give new licence conditions.
• Recall the person back to prison.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 20. After someone leaves prison on parole, how long after that should the Parole Board be allowed to check how this person is doing?

• One year (like in New Zealand).
• Less than one year.
• Longer than one year.
• The full length of a person’s parole.
• Other
• Don’t know / No opinion
• Please explain your answer:

Question 21. If progress hearings were introduced, how often should the Board be able to do them?

• No more than every 3 months (like in New Zealand).
• No more than every 6 months.
• No more than annually.
• Only when there is a specific reason.
• As often as the Board thinks it is needed (i.e. no limit).
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 22. Should the rules say that certain types of experts must always be part of the group that decides if someone can leave prison on parole?

• Yes – some experts (like doctors or social workers) should always be part of the group that decides if someone can leave prison on parole.
• No – oral hearing panel composition should stay flexible.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 23. If we always need certain types of people in the group that decides if someone can leave prison early, what kinds of jobs or experts do you think should be there?

Question 24. Do you think the Parole Board should think about anything else when deciding if someone can leave prison early?

Question 25. Do you think there should be a rule that lets people ask for the decision to be checked again? Who should be allowed to do this?

• Both the person in prison and the victim or their family should be allowed to ask for a second look (review or appeal process).
• Only the person in prison should be allowed to ask.
• Only the victim or their family should be allowed to ask.
• The current system is OK.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 26. Do you think the licence conditions should be looked at again to see if they can be made better?

• Yes.
• No – they work fine.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.

Question 27. Do you feel that the words used in licence conditions (see Annex C) are easy for everyone to understand and follow?

• Yes.
• No,
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 28. Do you think the way the licence conditions are made helps people stay out of trouble?

• Yes.
• No.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 29. Do you have ideas for making licence conditions better?

Question 30. What do you think about the options the Parole Board has when someone breaks their licence conditions?

• I think that the current options are good.
• I think that the Board should have more options.
• I think one or more of the current options should be removed.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 31. If someone breaks a parole rule and might need to go back to prison, what else should the Parole Board be allowed to do?

Question 32. Should the Parole Board be allowed to check on someone’s progress instead of sending them back to prison right away?

• Yes – I think this is a good idea because it gives the Parole Board more choices and helps experts make decisions that fit each person better.
• Yes – I think this is a good idea, but the meeting should only be to check how the person is doing. It should not be used to decide if the person should go back to prison.
• No – the options Parole Board has are OK.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 33. What other things should the Board think about before deciding if someone needs to go back to prison?

Question 34. What else could be done to make recall process better?

Question 35. Do you feel that re-release process works well?

• Yes, the system works well because it makes it possible to look at all the important information again.
• No, the decision to send the person back to prison has already been made, and sometimes there’s no need for another meeting to decide if they should come out again.
• The way the re-release hearings happen could be done in a different way (please explain how below).
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 36. Do you think there should be a clear time when the re-release hearing should happen?

• Yes, within two weeks of being recalled to custody.
• Yes, within four weeks of being recalled to custody.
• No, it should happen when it is possible but without any set timescales.
• Other.
• Not sure /No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 37. What other suggestions do you have about the format and timings of the Parole Board’s re-release hearings?

Question 38. If you have been involved in a case where a parole hearing was delayed, do you know why it was put off?

Question 39. Do you have any ideas to help make things work better so parole hearings don’t get delayed?

Question 40. What do you think about having parole hearings for people with long sentences every 12 months?

• 12 months is fine and there is no need for change.
• 12 months is too often.
• 12 months is not often enough.
• It depends on the case and the time should be different for each person, with no set limit.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 41. What do you think about having parole hearings for people with life sentences or OLR every 24 months?

• 24 months is fine and there is no need for change.
• 24 months is too often.
• 24 months is not often enough.
• It depends on the case and the time should be different for each person, with no set limit.
• Other.
• Not sure / No opinion.
• Please explain your answer:

Question 42. If someone is refused parole, what things need to be thought about to decide when they can be seen by Parole Board again?

Question 43. Which category best describes you – please tick all that apply:

• I am the victim or survivor of a crime.
• I am a family member or friend of the victim or survivor of a crime.
• have been in prison, but not on parole.
• I have been in prison and spent part of my sentence on parole.
• I am a family member or friend of someone who was in prison, but they were not on parole.
• I am a family member or friend of someone who was on parole.
• I work in the justice system.
• I am a lawyer.
• I work with Victim Support Organisations.
• I am a member of the public with an interest in this area.
• Other, please specify: