"Imprisonment for Public Protection: A Case Study of Risk, Populism and Penal Politics" Event

This seminar explores the creation and subsequent amendment of the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence, a significant development both in itself in and its broader ethical and penological implications. Key moments and processes in the creation of the sentence will be discussed. In particular, the relationship between the IPP’s creation and the apparently pervasive concepts of ‘risk’ and the ‘public voice’ are examined. It will be argued that while the ideas of ‘risk’ and the ‘public voice’ strongly conditioned the aims of key actors, precision is required in delineating the meanings of these terms for these specific actors and in this context. The subsequent amendment of the sentence is traced, demonstrating the important role of electoral cycles in penal developments. Further, the parallels and contrasts between the amendment and creation of the sentence are argued to underscore the central themes to emerge from this research: namely, the complex interrelationship between risk, penal politics and the rise of the ‘public voice’.