§ Ms CoffeyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it obligatory for the prison authorities to give prior notification to the police and to the victims of the crime of the release of a prisoner convicted of assault.
§ Mr. Peter LloydUnder the early release arrangements introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 1991, the Prison Service already provides the police with prior notice of the release dates of all offenders, irrespective of the offence committed. I do not believe that it would be practicable to require the Prison Service to inform the victim or the victim's family in every instance that an offender, or particular class of offender, is due to be released. However, the Probation Service national standards for the supervision of offenders in the community which came into effect at the same time as the early release arrangements, require that in particularly sensitive cases the probation officer should, when completing a pre-discharge or parole assessment report, address the whereabouts, attitude towards release and concerns of the victim or the victim's family.