Press release

Parole Board chair pushes for greater transparency for parole system

Nick Hardwick spoke to the Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry Annual Conference where he called again for greater transparency of the parole system.

Nick

Professor Nick Hardwick, Chair of the Parole Board today called again for greater transparency of the parole system.

Speaking at the Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry Annual Conference in Nottingham, he said:

“In a democratic society, surely, for confidence in that exchange to hold, justice needs to be seen to be done. Equally, most democratic societies accept that there are justifiable and necessary limits to the principle of open justice.”

He continued:

“The scrutiny the Parole Board has been under provides an opportunity to make positive change in the parole system. We welcome that. Whatever the results of the judicial reviews I hope the Ministry of Justice review will lead to significant change. That should include harnessing modern technology and social media to provide a much more responsive service to victims and others. We want to and can provide an explanation of our decisions while balancing that with the privacy of victims, prisoners and others involved. We would welcome a simple system that allows our decisions to be reviewed.”

Find Nick Hardwick’s speech to Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry Annual Conference 2018 here:

Nick Hardwick's speech to Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry Annual Conference 2018

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Published 28 February 2018