One hell of a devastating eye-opener, Britain’s Forgotten Prisoners details an injustice that should long have been sorted, robbing thousands of the chance of a proper life after rehabilitation. Martin Read’s documentary fills you with sadness for the lives lost due to bureaucracy.
Over three thousand forgotten prisoners are languishing in jail in England and Wales, held indefinitely with no idea when they’ll be released, even though they completed their sentences years earlier. They’re IPP prisoners – people who were given an additional indeterminate sentence, Imprisonment for Public Protection.
The idea of IPP imprisonment seemed to be a good idea, but as we find in Britain’s Forgotten Prisoners, all the best of intentions when Tony Blair’s Labour introduced it. Properly rehabilitate the offender so that when they are released, the public is safe, and this person is no longer a danger. Yet, the people intended to serve the IPP were the rapists, child abusers etc. Not people who committed petty theft had one incident of GBH to their name, etc. So, these people who were due to be in prison for two years for lesser crimes became trapped. It’s pretty harrowing to think about once Martin Read’s film lays out the facts to you. It has you asking just how people under these sentences could still be stuck with them.
Read gives us a film that feels deeply personal for his subjects and their families while highlighting just how horribly wrong this form of imprisonment has gone. He goes point for point on what the failings are and wisely uses the stories of his subjects to hammer the point home. Especially when he zeroes in on the mental anguish that not only the prisoners go through but also their friends and family. They are all struggling to stay together in a situation that has far too many uncertainties to count for the inmates when they are in and out of prison.
Throughout the documentary, Read adds in little blurbs of statistics to try and usually successfully drop your jaw while reading. One stated that IPP prisoners need to sustain ten years in the community after being released to be eligible to have their licence removed. How damn cruel is that? By giving us these snippets, he provides as complete a picture as possible of the mental torment these prisoners go through.
During the phone calls, we hear how bad it still is inside for prisoners detained under IPP. The prisons and guards do not have the facilities to look after these prisoners. Some have been there for so long and, with no apparent likelihood of getting released, have become lost within themselves. Even when on probation, the resources are not there. None have been helped about how to integrate back into society, and due to being failed by those who are meant to help keep them out of prison, they are often recalled back to continue the sentence they long finished.
One subject in Britain’s Forgotten Prisoners tells us that they are afraid to learn to drive in case they get a parking ticket or to use the self-service aisle in case they are accused of stealing. It is all utterly maddening and, in truth, incomprehensible to the outsider looking in. How could the system have gotten this bad? Read nails all of this in his documentary and keeps ramping up your exasperation to heights you weren’t sure you had.
This documentary leaves you actively frustrated, not from the filmmaking, but from what is being informed to you. A clear injustice has been taking place for over 20 years, and little to nothing has been done about it except for the activism of a small few. As expected with a film like this, each subject has an update section at the end. I found myself unconsciously crossing my fingers as their image and update came up and being actually frustrated with one. It is the nature of this horrendous beast, yet, hopefully, Martin Read’s film opens up for more eyes to this issue as something needs to be done before more lives are needlessly lost.
★★★★
For more coverage of Sheffield Doc Fest 2024, please check out the reviews below.
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