Prison Recall Cases

Sometimes when a Prisoner is released on licence things can go wrong and this can lead to a Probation Officer making a decision to authorise recall of you back to Prison .

In such a situation you are entitled to make representations to the Parole Board which will help the Parole Board decide whether you should remain in Prison, be released, or the case should go to an oral hearing .

There are generally 3 types of recall :

• Emergency recall – if a prisoner is assessed as being  at harm or immediate risk of re-offending
• Fixed term recall – 28 days, this excludes sentences for violent crime or sexual offences
• Standard recall – for prisoners not eligible for fixed term recall, who will continue to serve until sentence expiry or earlier release authorised by the Parole Board

The Parole Board generally start with a Paper review of the case and the options are :

• Grant release on new licence conditions
• Refuse release and the case moves forward to a subsequent annual review to check if there has been progress after 12 months so that the Parole Board could consider a different decision next time
• Adjourn their decision either for an Orla Hearing to hear evidence or ask for further reports and then re-convene a further paper hearing to make a final decision

Representation can make a real difference to the outcomes in these cases and we have a long track record of successfully representing applicants on recall .

Funding - Legal Aid is available for all recall cases and this will include funding for an Oral hearing if the Parole Board directs one .

For those who are not eligible for legal aid , we can undertake recall work and oral hearing representation on the basis of agreed private fees .

If you are recalled or have a deadline for written representations or an oral hearing contact us straight away and we will be able to help you