TNAG-2156-FCO40-3076-International-Covenant-on-Civil-and-Political-Rights-(ICCPR)-1990 — Page 70

purpose is extremely unsatisfactory.

Rigorous measures have been taken to avoid the use of police cells for prisoners who ought to be in prison custody, and the number of prisoners in police cells had fallen to under 20 at the time of this report.

Remission and parole

169. Detention in police and prison custody before sentencing counts towards the completion of any custodial sentence subsequently imposed. In Northern Ireland, detention in police custody before sentencing will count towards the completion of any custodial sentence subsequently imposed once article 49 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 is brought into operation early in 1990. Inmates serving a sentence of 12 months or less in England and Wales are eligible for half remission; those servicing longer determinate sentences may receive one-third remission, but are also eligible for release on parole. Prisoners in Scotland are eligible for one-third remission. Remission may be forfeited only if this is ordered for an offence against prison discipline, the adjudication of which has to conform to statutory rules and is subject to judicial review by the courts. The arrangements for remission and parole in England and Wales and in Scotland have been the subject of the major reviews described in paragraphs 133 to 136 above. Parole is not available in Northern Ireland, but all inmates are eligible for half remission whatever their length of sentence, except as provided in paragraph 170 below.

170. In 1988, following growing concern about re-offending rates in Northern Ireland, particularly those of terrorist-type offences, the

50 per cent remission rate applied there (see para. 134 above) was reviewed. Section 22 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, which came into force on 16 March 1989, applied to persons convicted and sentenced to five years or more for a scheduled offence committed on or after that date. In addition, the Act requires a court to reactivate in its entirety the unexpired portion of any previous prison sentence should an offender be convicted of a scheduled offence attracting a sentence of imprisonment of more than one year. Such a period of reactivation must be served before commencement of an additional sentence, and does not attract remission.

Reservation

171. The Government supports in principle the requirement under article 10, paragraphs 2 (b) and 3 of the Covenant that detained juveniles should be separated from adults. The Prison Service in England and Wales also recognizes a third group of offenders: young adults aged 17 to 20. It is in general the policy to accommodate all three groups separately. There are certain circumstances, however, where the mixing of offenders in these groups is considered appropriate, for example (in some instances) to provide a balanced institutional community, or to allow access to particular facilities. In the latter circumstances, steps are taken to ensure that inmates from different groups are kept apart as far as possible.