§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details of the differences in the manner in which prisoners with different classifications are treated by the prison authorities.
§ Mr. CopeThe classification of prisoners by age, length of sentence, temperament and record is taken into account in deciding the allocation of prisoners to prisons in Northern Ireland, and determines the amount of pre-release home leave for which they will be eligible to apply in the final stages of their sentence.
The security category allocated on committal reflects both a prisoner's escape potential and the risk he would pose to society and the security forces should he escape. Decisions on security categories are taken after a thorough examination of all the relevant information available. Reviews are conducted periodically during sentence and prisoners are often downgraded to a lower security category.
The security category is also taken into account in determining the prison to which a prisoner is allocated, and it determines the degree of supervision and control that is exercised. Those in the top risk category are held in single-cell accommodation which is searched at irregular intervals, and they are subject to a higher frequency of searching and cell transfer than other prisoners. They are also assigned individual prison officer escorts during movement within the prison, which is always on a one-to-one basis.
§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details of the systems used for classifying prisoners in Northern Ireland prisons; and how many prisoners there are within each classification.
§ Mr. CopeThe classification of prisoners in Northern Ireland is governed by the Prison Rules (NI) 1982 which provide that a prisoner may be classified having regard to424W his age, temperament and record. On committal all prisoners are in addition allocated a security category. Both a prisoner's classification and security category can be changed during his term of imprisonment.
The tables provide a breakdown of the population in Northern Ireland prisons as at 15 January 1990:
Classification Number Untried 342 Appellant 14 Adult indeterminate 386 Secretary of State's pleasure 26 Short term star 125 Short term ordinary 131 Long term star 367 Long term ordinary 173 Young person 164 1,728
Security category Number Low risk 144 Medium risk 1,259 High risk 302 Top risk 23 1,728
§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is(a) the total number of red-book prisoners in Northern Ireland, and (b) the number of red-book prisoners who have served over 13 years in prison, and who were denied Christmas parole in 1989; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CopeThere are currently 23 top risk (commonly known as "Red Book") prisoners in Northern Ireland, only 10 of whom are sentenced prisoners. Two such prisoners, who are serving life sentences, had spent 13 years in custody at 21 December 1989 but were excluded from applying for Christmas home leave. Home leave schemes are designed to assist prisoners to prepare for their eventual return to the community. Prisoners who are in the top risk category after 13 years in custody are not, in my view, making satisfactory progress and I am not, therefore, prepared to grant them this privilege.