Guide to parole for victims of crime
An overview of resources to help victims of violent or sexual crime understand the parole process and their entitlements within the Victim Contact Scheme.
Applies to England and Wales
Not all of the information in this guide may apply to you.
The Victim Contact Scheme
If you are the victim of a serious or violent sexual offence where an offender receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, you can opt into the Victim Contact Scheme. Once in the scheme, a Victim Liaison Officer will keep in contact with you during the sentence, answer your questions and give you information about how the justice system works. You are entitled to know certain information, and to request additional conditions to an offender’s licence relating to you and/or your family.
Find out more about the Victim Contact Scheme.
The Parole Board
The Parole Board is an independent body that carries out risk assessments on prisoners to determine whether they can be safely released into the community.
Responsibilities to victims
Read guidance on what the Parole Board must do for victims of crime during the parole process, as set out in the Victims’ Code. Find out more about the Parole Board’s commitment to victims.
Parole hearings and decisions
Find out how the Parole Board makes decisions.
You can apply for a parole hearing to be public. The threshold for a hearing to be held in public is high, and the Parole Board will only allow a public hearing where it is in the interests of justice.
You can request a summary of any Parole Board decision made on or after 22 May 2018.
A Parole Board decision can be challenged through:
- the reconsideration mechanism
- an application to set aside a decision
- judicial review
Only a party to the case – either the Secretary of State for Justice or the prisoner - can apply for a decision to be reconsidered or set aside. Read the guidance on how each route to challenge works.
The Victims’ Code
The Victims’ Code focuses on victims’ rights and sets out the minimum standard that organisations must provide to victims of crime. The Victims’ Code contains information about your entitlements as a victim of crime throughout the criminal justice system, including the parole process.
Victim Personal Statement
The Victim Personal Statement is your opportunity to explain how a crime has affected you and your family - for example, physically, emotionally, financially or in any other way.
You can submit a Victim Personal Statement to the Parole Board and request how it is presented during the parole review. Via the link you can find information on:
- who can make a victim personal statement and when
- how it’s used
- what to include in your Victim Personal Statement
- how to present it at a parole hearing
Read further guidance on making a Victim Personal Statement.
Licence conditions
Licence conditions are the set of rules which individuals must follow if they are released from prison but still have a part of their sentence to serve in the community. You can request to vary or add to an offender’s licence conditions through your Victim Liaison Officer. You only have the right to make representations about licence conditions that relate to you, as a victim, such as a no-contact order or an exclusion zone.
Read guidance on how licence conditions are used and how to request them.
Your Victim Liaison Officer will advise you on the deadlines to submit a Victim Personal Statement, or request licence conditions to the Parole Board.
Offenders detained under the Mental Health Act 1983
If you are the victim of a crime committed by an offender who is a patient detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 because of their mental disorder, you are entitled to receive information about the offender, including key developments in the case through your Victim Liaison Officer. Your entitlements are set out in the Victims’ Code.
The Mental Health Tribunal
The Mental Health Tribunal is an independent body that hears applications and references for people who are detained or liable to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. This includes patients who are detained in a hospital or those who are living in the community, but subject to legal restrictions under the Mental Health Act.
Decisions on cases are made by the First Tier Mental Health Tribunal in England and the Mental Health Review Tribunal in Wales.
See guidance for victims of violent or sexual offences committed by someone who was later detained under the Mental Health Act or is having their detention considered by the First Tier Mental Health Tribunal.
Read more about the restricted patient system and victims’ rights regarding mentally disordered offenders.
Representations to the Mental Health Tribunal
You can make a representation to the Mental Health Tribunal. This means that you can ask the Tribunal to consider placing conditions on the patient’s discharge, including banning the patient from contacting you and making exclusion zones that the patient is not allowed to enter.
- Make a representation to the Mental Health Tribunal in England
- Make a representation to the Mental Health Review Tribunal in Wales
Support services
The parole process can be a difficult time for victims. You can access victim support services to help you, including a free and confidential 24/7 telephone support line and live chat service.
Speak to your Victim Liaison Officer about crime-specific services, such as Independent Sexual Violence Advisors, or Independent Domestic Violence Advisors.
Find local support services via Victim Support.