Measures to Improve Victim Engagement in the Parole Process

Overview

The Department of Justice wants to improve the experience of victims of crime throughout all stages of the criminal justice process.  We recognise that this process does not end when an offender is sentenced to imprisonment. It includes the stage at which an offender is eligible for release on licence and the Parole Commissioners have to decide if the offender is safe to be released into the community.

Knowing that an offender may be released into the community can be a worrying and potentially re-traumatising experience for victims.  This is especially the case where offenders have been through the parole review process a number of times before they are allowed to be released (or if they have been released and subsequently had their Licence revoked and been recalled back to prison).  In these circumstances victims may feel unable to move forward whilst this cycle of reviews is ongoing.

The message to the Department of Justice has been clear – victims should have the option to be able to reflect their views and concerns to the Parole Commissioners.  The measures in this consultation are aimed at enhancing victim engagement in the parole review process.

Responses

Respondents are asked to share their views on the five proposals outlined in the Consultation Paper (which can be found in the Related Documents section below). The best way to respond to this consultation is online here on Citizen Space. There is also a questionnaire below which can be completed and emailed to ppbconsultationresponses@justice-ni.gov.uk.

The consultation is open for 13 weeks. The closing date for receipt of responses is 11.59pm on 22 May 2026. Please note that it is unlikely that we will consider responses received after this date.

Copies of the document in alternative formats (including Braille, large print etc.) can be made available on request. If it would assist you to access the document in an alternative format or language other than English, please contact us at ppbconsultationresponses@justice-ni.gov.uk.

Privacy Notice

For this consultation, we may publish all responses except for those where the respondent indicates that they are an individual acting in a private capacity (e.g. a member of the public). All responses from organisations and individuals responding in a professional capacity will be published. We will remove email addresses and telephone numbers from these responses; but apart from this, we will publish them in full. For more information about what we do with personal data please see our consultation privacy notice.

Your response, and all other responses to this consultation, may also be disclosed on request in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR); however all disclosures will be in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679.

Complaints

If you have any concerns about the way that this consultation process is being or has been handled, please contact us at Governance.Unit@justice-ni.gov.uk