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<p> </p><p> </p><p>For offenders the period of post-release supervision on licence
forms an integral part of a sentence imposed by the court. The overriding priority
is to protect the public from harm and prevent re-offending.</p><p> </p><p>The recall
of offenders on licence is designed to protect the public by removing an offender
from the community who, by breaching his licence conditions, is considered to present
an increased risk of re-offending and where the Probation Service recommends that
this is the most effective response to the increased risk, in order to protect the
public.</p><p> </p><p>Behaviour that can result in recall includes: the commission
of further offences or charges being laid; behaviour which indicates that further
offending is imminent; or breaches of licence conditions which undermine the Probation
Service's ability to provide effective supervision, such as not living at the address
stipulated on the licence or failing to attend probation appointments.</p><p> </p><p>Once
recalled, it is the responsibility of the police to apprehend offenders, although
all agencies closely co-operate to ensure that they are swiftly returned to custody.</p><p>
</p><p>Data on those offenders who had committed minor breaches of licence, were warned,
and not recalled to prison are not collected centrally. Those offenders whose breach
of licence has resulted in a recall to prison are published quarterly in the Ministry
of Justice's Offender Management Statistics Quarterly Bulletin. This may be found
at the following web address:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly</a></p><p>
</p><p>The most recent bulletin was published on 30 January 2014, covering all offenders
who were recalled to custody since 1 January 1984 and who remained unlawfully at large
as at 31 December 2013. Therefore, the total number who remained unlawfully at large
as at 31 December 2013 includes some offenders who were recalled before 2001/02.</p><p>
</p><p>In over 99 per cent of cases where an offender has been recalled, the individual
has successfully been returned to custody. Where an offender has died we are unable
to remove them from the list until we receive a death certificate.</p><p> </p><p>
</p><p> </p><p>The data covering the years since 2001/02 are shown in the table below.</p><p>
</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial year</p></td><td><p>Number of recalls</p></td><td><p>Prisoners
who remain unlawfully at large</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2001/02</p></td><td><p>5,086</p></td><td><p>29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2002/03</p></td><td><p>8,406</p></td><td><p>29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2003/04</p></td><td><p>11,268</p></td><td><p>55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004/05</p></td><td><p>11,171</p></td><td><p>30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005/06</p></td><td><p>11,450</p></td><td><p>73</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006/07</p></td><td><p>13,411</p></td><td><p>60</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007/08</p></td><td><p>13,252</p></td><td><p>65</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008/09</p></td><td><p>13,467</p></td><td><p>76</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>15,004</p></td><td><p>89</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>15,631</p></td><td><p>79</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>16,591</p></td><td><p>118</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>16,307</p></td><td><p>127</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-September
2013</p></td><td><p>8,847</p></td><td><p>146</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>
</p><p> </p><p>Data on the number of releases on temporary release licence (ROTL)
since 1995-6, and temporary release failures since 2004-5 are published in the NOMS
Prison Performance Digest. This may be found at the following web address:</p><p>
</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls</a></p><p>
</p><p>The most recent data were published on 25 July 2013.</p><p> </p><p>Data on
ROTL and recorded temporary release failures are shown in the table below.</p><p>
</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial year</p></td><td><p>Release on temporary licence</p></td><td><p>Recorded
temporary release failures</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2001/02</p></td><td><p>273,569</p></td><td><p>293</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2002/03</p></td><td><p>294,112</p></td><td><p>312</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2003/04</p></td><td><p>342,742</p></td><td><p>395</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004/05</p></td><td><p>397,969</p></td><td><p>366</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005/06</p></td><td><p>407,199</p></td><td><p>360</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006/07</p></td><td><p>409,139</p></td><td><p>306</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007/08</p></td><td><p>434,728</p></td><td><p>248</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008/09</p></td><td><p>431,351</p></td><td><p>277</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>419,016</p></td><td><p>274</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>431,178</p></td><td><p>281</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>488,158</p></td><td><p>404</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>518,862</p></td><td><p>431</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>Not all temporary release failures are recorded on central administrative systems.
Those that are not recorded centrally are more likely to be low-level failures including,
for example, returning with unauthorised possessions. These failures are managed locally.
Where failures are recorded, the central administrative system only allows for one
reason to be recorded; where it is a failure to return this takes priority.</p><p>
</p><p>The number of prisoners unlawfully at large (UAL) having failed to return from
release on temporary licence for each financial year since 2004/05 is shown in the
table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial year</p></td><td><p>Number
of prisoners who remain UAL following failure to return from ROTL</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004/05</p></td><td><p>15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005/06</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006/07</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007/08</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008/09</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>To provide the number of temporary release failures where the prisoner has
failed to return and remains unlawfully at large prior to this date would require
the manual interrogation of 1,000 temporary release records which could be done only
at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>These figures have all been drawn from live
administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken
when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the
inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
</p>
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