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Indefinite imprisonment or indeterminate imprisonment is the imposition of a sentence by
imprisonment Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...
with no definite period of time set during sentencing. It was imposed by certain nations in the past, before the drafting of the
United Nations Convention against Torture The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (commonly known as the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)) is an international human rights treaty under the review of the United Nation ...
(CAT). The length of an indefinite imprisonment was determined during imprisonment based on the inmate's conduct. The inmate could have been returned to society or be kept in prison for life. In theory, an indefinite prison sentence could be very short, or it could be a
life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
if no decision is made after sentencing to lift the term. In many cases, either a minimum term is imposed or the maximum that can be served is the maximum allowable by law in the jurisdiction for the particular offense.


Rationale

The main reason for imposing indefinite (as opposed to fixed) sentences is to protect the community. An offender can then be kept behind bars until it is determined the offender would not pose any danger to society. In some places, indefinite sentences have been around for a long time. In other jurisdictions, they have been introduced more recently.


Australia

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
's ''Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003'' authorised the continued detention of
sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
s who had served their term of imprisonment. The other Australian states followed with similar legislation.


Tasmania

An offender who is at least 17 years of age and has been convicted of at least two violent or sexual offences can be declared a dangerous offender and detained indeterminately. A judge must consider the potential of future harm that could be caused by the offender, the circumstances of the offenses, medical and psychiatric opinion, and any other matters of relevance. The decision passed by the court is not reviewable; the indeterminate sentence(s) commence upon the expiration of any determinate sentence imposed, and release is only by way of an order from the Supreme Court. Seven Tasmanian offenders are serving one or more consecutive sentences of indefinite imprisonment as of July 2012.


Western Australia

The Criminal Code Act 1913 (WA) and the Crimes (Serious and Repeat Offenders) Act 1992 (WA) contain provisions for the indeterminate incarceration of youths and adults convicted of particular offenses. The indeterminate sentence(s) commence upon the expiration of any determinate sentence imposed, and are reviewed every three years after that. Release is through a Supreme Court Order or at the discretion of the Governor. Paedophile Mark Pendleton is currently serving an indefinite sentence to commence on the expiration of 27 years for sexual offences committed against girls between 1977 and 1996, possessing child exploitation material in his cell, and being the ringleader of a conspiracy with fellow paedophiles to abuse children in Thailand. Another paedophile, Christian Michael Roach, was sentenced to three consecutive indefinite terms to commence on the expiration of 27 years in 2008 for drugging and sexually abusing nine young women and girls (and the manslaughter of one of them) between 1987 and 1999, but Roach hanged himself in his cell ten days after being sentenced.


Northern Territory and South Australia

The Criminal Code Act 1983 (NT) and the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988 (SA) allow for the indefinite incarceration of a person who is determined to be a habitual criminal and/or incapable of controlling sexual urges. In South Australia, the indefinite sentence(s) commence upon the expiration of any determinate sentence imposed, and are reviewed every three years after that. Release is only by way of an order from the Supreme Court. In the Northern Territory, a prisoner serving one or more indefinite sentence(s) has a nominal sentence set at 70% of the sentence that would have been imposed if the prisoner were not dangerous, 20 years (25 years in some circumstances) if the sentence imposed would have been one or more consecutive sentences of life imprisonment, or any other term as is fixed by the court. The indeterminate sentence must be reviewed by the court when the nominal sentence has expired and every three years afterward.


Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and Victoria

The Sentencing Act 2005 (ACT), the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 (Qld), and the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) concern habitual offenders. An offender can be incarcerated indefinitely if there is a high probability because of the offender's character, nature of their offense, psychiatric evidence as to the danger of the defendant and any other relevant circumstances that the offender poses a serious threat to the community. The indeterminate sentence must be reviewed by the court when the nominal sentence has expired and every three years afterward. The minimum nominal sentence that can be imposed is ten years, but the sentencing judge can extend it if the prisoner's criminal history or the nature of the prisoner's offending warrants it. The longest nominal sentence on one or more sentences of indefinite imprisonment is 30 years, currently being served by serial pedophile Geoffrey Robert Dobbs (Queensland), who pleaded guilty to 124 sex offences and one count of attempting to pervert the course of justice committed against 63 girls under his care as a teacher and youth leader aged between one month and 15 years (including five family members) from 1972 to 2000.


Canada

In Canada, an inmate classified as a
dangerous offender In Canada, England, and Wales, certain convicted persons may be designated as dangerous offenders and subject to a longer, or indefinite, term of imprisonment in order to protect the public. Other countries, including Denmark and parts of the U ...
can be given an indefinite prison sentence. That means the offender is at risk for causing a "serious personal injury."


New Zealand

In New Zealand, indefinite imprisonment is called
preventive detention Preventive detention is an imprisonment that is putatively justified for non- punitive purposes, most often to prevent (further) criminal acts. Types of preventive detention There is no universally agreed definition of preventive detention, and m ...
and is handed down to individuals aged 18 or over convicted of a qualifying violent or sexual offences if it is likely that the offender will re-offend even if given the maximum term of imprisonment otherwise allowed. Such individuals will not receive parole unless they can demonstrate they no longer pose a threat to the community. Preventive detention has a minimum period of imprisonment of five years, but the sentencing judge can extend that if the nature of the prisoner's offending or the prisoner's criminal history warrants it. The longest minimum period of imprisonment on a sentence of preventive detention is one of 28 years, which was given in 1984.


United Kingdom


England and Wales

Imprisonment for public protection In England and Wales, the imprisonment for public protection (IPP; ) sentence was a form of indeterminate sentence introduced by section 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (with effect from 2005) by the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, and abolis ...
was a form of indefinite sentence that was used in England and Wales from 2005 until 2012, in addition to the traditional
life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
. The imprisonment for public protection sentence was abolished in 2012, but offenders already serving that sentence remained in prison.


Scotland

In Scotland, the
Order for Lifelong Restriction An Order for Lifelong Restriction is a sentence that can be imposed by a judge of the High Court of Justiciary on serious violent and sexual offenders in Scotland. Such an Order is an indeterminate sentence will see the convict subject to indefin ...
was implemented by the
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...
, which gives a
judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
of the
High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...
the power to impose a sentence for serious
violent Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened o ...
and
sexual offences Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...
, that includes the life imprisonment or detention of the offender. The offender is subject to a process of
risk assessment Broadly speaking, a risk assessment is the combined effort of: # identifying and analyzing potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment (i.e. hazard analysis); and # making judgments "on the to ...
and risk management by the
Risk Management Authority The Risk Management Authority is an Public bodies of the Scottish Government, executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government with responsibility for risk assessment, assessing and risk management, managing the risks posed by ce ...
through a ''Risk Management Plan'', which includes ways to manage the risks from the offender in
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
and, where allowed by risk assessment, through
release on licence Release on licence in England and Wales can refer to * Release from prison on temporary licence, followed by return to prison. * Release from prison on parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of earl ...
. Should an offender be released from prison or detention they will be subject to more intensive supervision, treatment, and monitoring.


United States

Some
US states In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
have various forms of indefinite sentencing, and many have effective indeterminate sentencing with evaluation-based parole. The US federal prison system does not allow parole for any crimes committed after 1987. Therefore, a sentence of life imprisonment means that the prisoner will be incarcerated for life without parole. Indeterminate sentencing existed in every U.S. state from the 1930s to the mid-1970s. The
Model Penal Code The Model Penal Code (MPC) is a model act designed to stimulate and assist U.S. state legislatures to update and standardize the penal law of the United States.MPC (Foreword). The MPC was a project of the American Law Institute (ALI), and was pu ...
, developed in the 1950s, focused on offenders' treatment needs rather than on retribution. Generous amounts of
good conduct time Good conduct time, good time credit, good time, or time off for good behavior is a sentence reduction given to prisoners who maintain good behavior while imprisoned. Good time can be forfeited if a prisoner is determined to have committed disciplin ...
could be awarded by prison officials. By the mid-1970s, indeterminate sentencing was under attack, as arguments were made that racial and other invidious biases influenced officials; that rehabilitative treatment programs were ineffective; and that broad, standardless discretion denied constitutional due process and permitted undue leniency that undermined the deterrent effects of sanctions.
Federal supervised release United States federal probation and supervised release are imposed at sentencing. The difference between probation and supervised release is that the former is imposed as a substitute for imprisonment, or in addition to home detention, while th ...
is also sometimes cited as an example of indeterminate sentencing.


See also

*
At His Majesty's pleasure At His Majesty's pleasure (sometimes abbreviated to King's pleasure or, when the reigning monarch is female, at Her Majesty's pleasure or Queen's pleasure) is a legal term of art referring to the indeterminate or undetermined length of service of c ...
*
Indefinite detention without trial Indefinite detention is the incarceration of an arrested person by a national government or law enforcement agency for an indefinite amount of time without a trial; the practice violates many national and international laws, including human rights ...
*
Three-strikes law In the United States, habitual offender laws (commonly referred to as three-strikes laws) have been implemented since at least 1952, and are part of the United States Justice Department's Anti-Violence Strategy. These laws require a person who i ...
*
Involuntary commitment Involuntary commitment, civil commitment, or involuntary hospitalization/hospitalisation is a legal process through which an individual who is deemed by a qualified agent to have symptoms of severe mental disorder is detained in a psychiatric hos ...


References

{{Authority control Imprisonment and detention Penal imprisonment Sentencing (law) Life imprisonment