Parole Board
It has now been just over a year since I had the pleasure of joining the Parole Board. Whilst there are numerous challenges ahead it is worth celebrating some of our achievements thus far:
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Our number one priority is reducing the backlog, thereby ensuring that prisoners receive a timely review of their case. We have made real progress on that, with the number of cases outstanding down from its 2015 peak of 3,163 cases outstanding to 1,931 as of the end of November a 39% reduction. I am grateful to all members and staff at the Board for their continued dedication and hard work in achieving this. We are now well over half-way to our target of reducing the number of cases to 1200 by the end of 2017.
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We recently welcomed the appointment of a record number of 104 new Members to the Parole Board. These members have been through a long assessment process and been approved by ministers. We have already commenced a comprehensive training and mentoring programme.
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The Parole Board Management Committee have signed off an ambitious new strategy which provides us with strong direction over the next 4 years.
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The e-dossier pilot is going from strength to strength. As of December 2016 82% of members are starting to use the new technology. This will save time and money couriering dossiers and enable members to work more efficiently.
The work of the Parole Board is of the utmost importance to prisoners, victims and the public, and I am committed to ensuring we do all we can to deliver on our objectives.