Prison Law Specialist Solicitors

We conduct cases on a private client basis.We can assist you with any concerns you may have about your conviction or your time in prison. Remember, you do still have rights.

Emmersons Prison Law Specialist Solicitors can advise you as to all appropriate remedies including appeals to the Court of Appeal, applications to the CCRC, and Judicial Review.

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We can help you with:

• Oral Hearings before the Parole Board
• Paper Representations for the Parole Board
• Adjudications before the District Judge
• Categorisation
• Parole
• Recall
• Proceeds of Crime Act
• Judicial Review
• SOPO
• Licence Issues
• Lifer Cases

Some of the above procedures are no longer covered by Legal Aid. However if you or your family can raise the funds we can still carry out the work on a private fixed fee paying basis wherever Legal Aid is not available.

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"Many thanks for your help with everything over the past few months. The outcome could've been a lot worse, so I'm not disappointed with the result."

Mr. R.

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"I just wanted to send you a massive "thank you" for everything you have done for C. You have been amazing throughout it all."

Mr. D.

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""I can't thank you enough for what you have done for my boy. There isn't a word in the dictionary for just how much I think of you all. You are worth your weight in gold. My son jumped out of be today and said "Dad I feel great", for the first time in nearly a year"."

MR I.S.

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Why use Emmersons Prison Law Specialist Solicitors?

Our Prison Law Solicitors and Lawyers Michael Robinson, Rebecca Highton and Carrie Marriner are well known in both the North East of England and in various prisons around the UK, including Scotland. We are one of very few firms who can represent prisoners who have hearings before the Parole Board of England and Wales.

We have over 50 years of advocacy and pride ourselves in finding ways to help our clients secure their release where others have failed to do so.

The vast majority of our clients are transferred to open conditions or released soon after instructing us. This is because we plan ahead with our clients and undertake a huge amount of preparation work on their behalf.

Emmersons Prison Law Solicitors can represent you at oral hearings; we have an outstanding record of obtaining results for clients. Our Prison Law team has been short listed for "Criminal Team of the Year" the last two years running in the Northern Law Awards.

Michael Robinson, Prison Law and Criminal Law specialist has had considerable success with Proceeds of Crime cases. He has managed to save family homes meaning wives and children were not left homeless. We have been successful in Judicial Review hearings especially in respect of Category A Lifers. We continue to support ex- service personnel in the prison system. We have been associated with SSAFA in the North East for over 10 years. Jacqueline Emmerson, one of our Directors, is the Honorary Solicitor for SSAFA in Newcastle upon Tyne.

We have campaigned nationally for the abolition of Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences. Our campaign began with an open letter to the Prime Minister which was published in Inside Time. The matter has now been widely mentioned in Parliament. We encouraged all IPP prisoners and their families to lobby their MPs. We attracted over 800 replies. We are now widely referred to as the IPP Specialists. Our campaign has been acknowledged by Liberty and other campaigners. We were Highly Commended for Excellence in Marketing by the Law Society for our work in relation to IPP’s.

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Contact us

je@emmersons-solicitors.co.uk

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Let Us Help You Get Out of Jail Faster. Call:

Prison Law Specialists Sunderland: 0191 567 6667 or Freephone: 0800 193 0146

or email us: enquiries@emmersons-solicitors.co.uk

Or complete our Online Enquiry Form and select Probate

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Your Defence Law Experts with offices in Newcastle and Sunderland. Read our latest news and articles and insight.

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Why are beds at Approved Premises taking so long to allocate and are they delaying Prisoners' release?

Approved Premises also referred to as “AP’s” or “Hostels” are residential premises for offenders that have been released into the community to progress with their life.

S.13 Offender Management Act 2007 set out the law around APs. The AP’s are for offenders who are being released into the community so they are able to show they have made progress and can function within the community. Therefore, staff in the AP’s monitor the offenders in their care and ensure their risk is being managed within the community.

At an Approved Premises you are allocated a keyworker, whom you meet with regularly and they offer you the necessary support. There are specific rules in place, such as a curfew, the minimum curfews are 11pm-7am. You will be expected to take part in programmes and activities. You will be expected to take a drug and alcohol test and you will be told whether or not you can have visitors. If a prisoner refuses to stay at an AP, they would then be recalled as this is a breach of a licence condition on the majority of prisoners.

Sara Robinson, at a recent Association of Prison Lawyers Conference’, stated there are 104 Approved Premises across the country. 89 provided by HMPPS, 15 independent AP’s and 9 female sites. This includes the 10 PIPE sites and 18 sites which have enhanced security placement.

Approved Premises are supposed to offer an enhanced level of public protection in the community and should be used for high and very high risk of serious harm individuals who are released on licence into the community. This often includes index offences which are of serious violence and sexual offences. It is also important to note, the Parole Board records it actual proven rate of Serious Further Offence as closer to 0.5%. Therefore, those assessed as high to very high risk of serious harm, are very unlikely to be convicted of a Serious Further Offence.

Often Probation are making prisoners wait for an Approved Premises place, when they have a home to go to and relatives waiting for them. This can lead to delays of approximately 3 months. AP places are not supposed to be for every prisoner, they are supposed to be for those of a high risk of serious harm. A prisoners AP placement need to be justified by Probation, rather than them taking the view it is the only option for most prisoners. Legal Representatives should see question whether sufficient effort has been made to review other alternatives, such as family homes.

If Probation stopped forcing every offender into an Approved Premises, this would likely lower the delays, the negative attitudes towards AP’s and ensure the right people are getting the necessary help. It is essential Probation review each individual on a case by case basis, rather than grouping every prisoner together as a whole.

The Prisoner’s Community Offender Manager (COM) decides what should happen to a offender within the community. For example, whether they can live with family or whether they should reside in an AP for a set amount of months.

The only way to ‘appeal’ the decision is to contact your COM to discuss it. If your COM does not change their decision, the only thing an offender can do is make a complaint to the relevant probation service. Thereafter a complaint to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman might resolve the issues. As there is no formal review process, we have seen more and more former prisoners being sent to an AP and being unable to appeal this decision. The decision to place offenders in certain Approved Premises may lead to recall due to the unsuitability of the premises for the prisoner.

Even though Probation plan to increase the number of beds to at least 200, the best way to avoid the delays is to consider each case individually. Probation should be looking at other options for the offender, including private accommodation and staying with family.

Gabrielle Coates

Paralegal / Advocate at Emmersons Solicitors

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If you would like any further information, or guidance from our Prison Law team, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our telephone numbers are:
Prison Law Solicitors Newcastle:   0191 284 6989
Prison Law Solicitors Sunderland: 0191 567 6667

Or complete our Online Enquiry Form

or email us: enquiries@emmersons-solicitors.co.uk

Our Gosforth Office has wheelchair access, you can be dropped off at our front door and there is free parking on the adjoining streets. You can also park opposite our Sunderland Office on John Street.