Nonviolent activists are being refused their legal right to a Home Detention Curfew (HDC). Is there any surprise that the UK’s prison system is close to capacity?
Roger Hallam and Dr Patrick Hart were both preparing for their release from prison in March when, just days before their scheduled release, they were informed that their applications for HDC had been refused. The HDC policy states that they should be granted for nonviolent prisoners as soon as eligible “wherever possible” and only be denied release in “exceptional circumstances”.
The justification for keeping peaceful protesters in an overcrowded prison system? In Pat’s case, it was “no suitable accommodation”. In reality, the Probation Service didn’t even bother following through with the home visit they were arranging for Pat’s house. Pat was subsequently given a new release date in early June. For Roger, after two weeks of silence he was finally informed the Probation Service had decided the media interest he had gathered had deemed him as unsuitable for HDC. He may now remain locked up until mid August!
The cruelty of having your freedom taken from you a second time around, is something the majority of us will never truly comprehend. The promise of spending the holiday with loved ones, waking up in your own bed, disappears in an instant. Both Roger and Pat are challenging this decision. But they have not been given a straightforward path to appeal. Both are independently seeking advice from lawyers, but as time goes on, as they wait to hear from their legal challenge, they sit and wait in prison, instead of in the warmth of their own homes.
And the Probation Service has a habit of keeping peaceful protesters locked up for absurd reasons.
In November 2024, Just Stop Oil activist Gaie Delap was released from a 20 month prison sentence on Home Detention Curfew. However, Gaie was unable to have a tag attached to her ankle due to an existing health condition. The private company contracted to install tags on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, EMS/Serco, failed to fit a tag to her wrist, deeming it as too small. They further, falsely, reported she had refused to have a wrist tag fitted, leading to her recall with an arrest warrant being issued. When she was finally picked up and returned to prison, a further twenty days were subsequently added to her sentence representing the time spent “unlawfully at large” between the EMS/Serco visit and her return to custody. Instead of the authorities finding an alternative monitoring solution, Gaie was locked up for a further 41 days and nights. When finally released on 31st January, she was fitted with the same sized wrist tag that was originally deemed as too small.
In November 2024, Just Stop Oil activist Gaie Delap was released from a 20 month prison sentence on Home Detention Curfew. However, Gaie was unable to have a tag attached to her ankle due to an existing health condition. The private company contracted to install tags on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, EMS/Serco, failed to fit a tag to her wrist, deeming it as too small. They further, falsely, reported she had refused to have a wrist tag fitted, leading to her recall with an arrest warrant being issued. When she was finally picked up and returned to prison, a further twenty days were subsequently added to her sentence representing the time spent “unlawfully at large” between the EMS/Serco visit and her return to custody. Instead of the authorities finding an alternative monitoring solution, Gaie was locked up for a further 41 days and nights. When finally released on 31st January, she was fitted with the same sized wrist tag that was originally deemed as too small.
Amy Pritchard was released on HDC after serving part of her sentence following an Extinction Rebellion action. She was told contractors would be at her address on the day of her release to fit a tag. Despite being severely sleep deprived, Amy stayed up past midnight waiting for them, and then again the next night. They didn’t come. Close to midnight on the third night, they finally arrived, but Amy was asleep and the contractor made minimal efforts to get her attention at the house, phoning her on a number that had been wrongly transcribed. When Amy found a note through the door the next morning, she contacted her probation officer immediately and was told she would have another opportunity to have her tag fitted. Amy stayed up past midnight, by the front door, every night for the next two weeks. No one came. Despite her active engagement with probation and the tagging company EMS, no one could say when it might come.
Five weeks later, they finally attended, again near midnight when Amy and her family were asleep. The contractor didn’t ring any of the three contact numbers they now had for Amy, and none of the multiple adults and children in the house heard them at the door. Instead, Amy’s recall to prison was immediately activated, unbeknownst to her. Days later, police entered Amy’s property and arrested her, in front of her family including young children. She remained in prison for a further five weeks. Following a successful challenge, a government lawyer confirmed “your recall resulted from communication issues rather than breach of curfew conditions and that you were not seeking to evade your curfew”. But that does not give Amy back her five weeks lost in prison, or remedy the stress to her and her family.
Who does this serve? Locking up nonviolent activists, wasting taxpayer money, clogging up a system already fit to burst.
If you would like to support Roger’s and Pat’s challenge, you can donate here to help with legal costs.