Public Consultation on the Introduction of Detention for Public Protection and Enhanced Detention for Public Protection

1.   The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law ↗ (opens in new tab)invite the public to provide feedback on our proposals to introduce the (i) Detention for Public Protection (DPP); and (ii) Enhanced Detention for Public Protection (EDPP) regimes. These proposals arise from our review of the existing Corrective Training (CT) and Preventive Detention (PD) regimes.

Detention for Public Protection (DPP)

2.   The CT and PD regimes deal with repeat offenders. They allow for a detention period that is longer than the maximum imprisonment term prescribed for the offence, to prevent repeat offenders from committing further crimes. They require the repeat offenders to undergo rehabilitation and supervision.

3.   Given the similarities between the CT and PD regimes, we are proposing to streamline both into a single DPP regime. The DPP regime will continue to focus on protecting the public from repeat offenders while rehabilitating them, and the criteria and features will be adapted from the existing CT and PD regimes.

Enhanced Detention for Public Protection (EDPP)

4.   Over the years, there have been cases where offenders have again committed serious violent or sexual offences after release from imprisonment for earlier such offences, and these have raised the question of whether more should be done to protect the public from such dangerous offenders.

5.   We therefore propose to introduce a new EDPP sentence to enhance our levers to deal with such dangerous offenders. EDPP aims to ensure that due consideration is given to the risk that this group of offenders still poses to public safety, before they are released back into the community. An offender who is sentenced to EDPP will be detained for a minimum period, and only released on licence (i.e. under supervision in the community) if the Minister for Home Affairs assesses that he is suitable for such release, taking into account the assessment by professionals (such as qualified psychiatrists or psychologists) of his risk of re-offending. If an offender is released on licence, conditions such as e-tagging may be imposed to monitor him. After the offender has completed a period of supervision while on release on licence, the offender’s suitability to be released without supervision will be assessed.

6.   In designing the EDPP, we studied the experience in other jurisdictions with similar regimes, such as Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Hong Kong, Norway, as well as England and Wales.

7.   The public consultation on the above proposals will run from 2 July 2021 to 30 July 2021.

8.   More details on the above proposals and how to provide feedback can be found on the REACH website ↗ (opens in new tab).