Interim Chief Executive commences in post at Parole Board
The Parole Board for England and Wales today announced that Martin Jones has commenced in post as the Interim Chief Executive Officer at the Parole Board.
Martin Jones
Sir David Calvert-Smith, Chairman of the Parole Board said:
I am delighted that Martin has joined us as interim CEO. Martin has enormous relevant knowledge of our work, having been in the Ministry of Justice for many years, most recently he has been a helpful and supportive member of the Parole Oversight Board, while working as Head of Sentencing Policy.
Martin Jones comes to the Parole Board following his most recent post as Head of the Emerging Prison Estates Strategy, having previously spent 3 years working as Head of Sentencing Policy. He has detailed knowledge on all sentencing policy matters such as the abolition of the IPP sentence and introduction of the alternative Extended Determinate Sentence regime, the development and implementation of the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 and advising Ministers on the system response to the Osborn judgment.
Before that, Martin spent 6 years working for HM Courts and Tribunals Service (and its predecessors). Highlights of Martin’s time in the court service include overseeing the courts’ response to the public disorder in 2011, working with the senior judiciary to implement the Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedy, Summary Programme and the establishment of a programme for specialist drugs and domestic violence courts.
Martin will head up the Parole Board for six months, during which time arrangements will be made to recruit into the post permanently.
Notes to editors
The Parole Board is an independent body that works with its criminal justice partners to protect the public by risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can safely be released into the community. The Board has responsibility for considering life sentence prisoners (mandatory life, discretionary life and automatic life sentence prisoners and Her Majesty’s Pleasure detainees; and prisoners given indeterminate sentences for public protection); and determinate sentence cases (discretionary conditional release prisoners serving more than 4 years whose offence was committed before 4 April 2005; prisoners given extended sentences for public protection for offences committed on or after 4 April 2005; and prisoners given an Extended Determinate Sentence after 3 December 2012). The Board considers initial release into the community and re-release following a recall to prison.
For further information please call Glenn Gathercole, Business Development Directorate on 0203 334 4392 during office hours, or 07725 927 954 out of hours, or email glenn.gathercole@paroleboard.gsi.gov.uk