Compassionate Early Release Template Letter to Download and Use

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As you know, PAS is calling for the release of low risk prisoners and those

prisoners who are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus (see below and

previous e-mail from PAS). To that end, we have created a Compassionate Early

Release request template letter for anyone to amend and use if they believe

that a prisoner should be released early on compassionate grounds given the

extreme circumstances of the coronavirus emergency.

This letter asks the Secretary of State for Justice to grant early release of the

prisoner, and the prison Governor to confirm to you, either way, what steps are

being taken to protect vulnerable people in prison. Please feel free to share

this letter with anyone you believe it may help. Please do let PAS know if you

receive a favourable response.

Download Compassionate Early Release Letter Template here.

NB: This letter template is not applicable to those serving indeterminate or life

sentences. Such prisoners who are low risk and particularly vulnerable to the

coronavirus should write to the Parole Board or Public Protection Casework

Section. If your friend / family member has a prison lawyer advising them on

parole matters, please contact them for further advice.

News: First PAS Coronavirus Success Story

Pas Helps Sickle Cell Anaemia Sufferer to Self-Isolate at His Father’s

Home

PAS received a call to our Advice Line from a prisoner due to be released

to an Approved Premises (AP) imminently, despite the fact that he has

Sickle Cell Anaemia, which is one of the highest risk groups for

coronavirus infection and full-blown COVID-19. As the AP would be shared

with other residents, the prisoner was scared, worried about exposure to

the coronavirus, but had been told by the Parole Board that he had no

option but to be released there.

The prisoner’s father had offered to accommodate his son so he could

safely self-isolate for the recommended 12 weeks for Sickle Cell and his

Offender Supervisor (OS) had been trying to contact the Offender

Manager (OM) for three weeks in order to enact this arrangement, but

without success. The prisoner had had three OMs recently and did not

know the name of the most recent one. PAS advised that we’d attempt to

identify and contact the OM to make informal representations for the

prisoner to be released to his father’s place of residence.

With the help of a very good London-based Probation Officer, previously

known to PAS, we managed to track down the OM and suggested a Home

Circumstances Report – over the phone – and prompt change to the

prisoner’s licence in view of Public Health England’s guidance on

vulnerable groups and coronavirus. We then spoke with the OM on the

phone again and were assured that a new Home Circumstances Report

had been done and that the prisoner would be released to his father’s as

we wanted.

Changes to PAS Services During

Crisis

Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-

19) situation, on 12 March 2020, PAS

closed its office to all but a skeleton

Advice Line staff in order to keep that

service safely going for as long as we

possibly could.

Since then, we have been reviewing

which services we are able to continue

to provide and considering any

adjustments we will have to make in the

coming days and weeks as we

normalise remote working and isolation.

Telephone Advice Line

With the suspension of outreach

services and the Letters Clinic

temporarily disrupted (see below), PAS

is prioritising our Advice Line service,

ensuring that we are able to continue

dispensing advice and support to as

many prisoners as we can by expanding

the hours that the service is available.

Obviously this work is now having to be

executed remotely. Calls to the Advice

Line are redirected to the mobile phone

number of our Advice Line Manager, or

Advice Line Caseworker, who either take

the call or redirect it again to the

PAS Calling for the Release of

Prisoners

To recap, in our last e-mail, on 16

March 2020, we informed you that

PAS had issued a statement

calling on the government to assist

in slowing down the potential

coronavirus crisis in prisons by

releasing the following groups of

prisoners:

1. Everybody aged over 75, no

matter what their conviction.

2. Those over 50 convicted of non-

violent/sex crimes.

3. People held under immigration

detention powers, whether in

prison or detention centres.

4. All those who have under a year

of their sentence left to serve.

5. All prisoners with physical

disabilities.

Caseworker/s on duty.

Pending consolidation of remote

systems and the implementation of

efficient working practices, it is our

intention to open the Advice Line more

frequently than is usual, with more

members of staff answering the phones

at any one time. Hours will be confirmed

in due course.

Outreach Clinics

Our outreach programme is suspended.

We will resume Outreach Clinics inside

prisons as soon as it is deemed safe to

do so.

Letters Clinic/Legal Letters

In terms of PAS’ Letters Clinic, we are

keenly aware that prisoners remain one

of the few communities of people who

still send letters and we are trying to

keep that line of communication open.

With our office due to close completely

in the coming days, alternative

arrangements are being made to secure

ongoing receipt and dispatch of physical

mail. We will have our incoming mail

redirected to a member of staff who has

access to a printer/scanner, who can

then send the documents electronically

to the Caseworker or member of staff

addressed. All of our Caseworkers will

also work on current cases at home and

continue to send letters and legal

documents to prisoners and other

recipients via the Royal Mail as usual,

albeit via local post offices, or post-

boxes. Mail may take longer than usual

to arrive in the present circumstances.

PAS has also subscribed to the ‘email a

prisoner’ scheme, whereby messages

and documents are sent to a general

6. People awaiting extradition.

7. IPP prisoners whose tariffs have

expired.

We stated that these measures

would have no discernible effect on

the crime rate and would allow

prisons to implement strategies for

safely managing and caring for

those high risk prisoners who

remain incarcerated.

Since then, PAS has learned that

there are no plans for early

releases, although the release of

pregnant women in custody is

being considered.

For all the latest PAS news during

this unnerving time, please

remember to follow us on Twitter

and Facebook.

We are also posting regular

updates to our website, which you

can access here.

prison e-mail. These are then printed out
by  Prison  Officers  and  handed  to  the
prisoner  in  question.  Although  not
confidential, this is another way to reach
out to the prisoner community during this
extraordinary time.
Statement for Families Regarding Use of Advice Line During Crisis
During this time of crisis for us all, PAS understands that families of prisoners may
wish to contact us in order to enquire about what their loved-ones may be facing in
prison.   While PAS adapts to working from home and isolating, we are delivering a
limited service and – of course – must focus our resources on advising and supporting
prisoners.   If you would like to submit a query to PAS, please DO NOT USE THE
PHONE. Instead, please e-mail PAS at:   advice@prisonersadvice.org.uk.  
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
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