Policy background Custodial Sentences Power to refer high-risk offenders to the Parole Board in place of automatic release
Offenders who are assessed as dangerous by the sentencing court may be sentenced to an extended determinate sentence and may be released only before the end of their custodial term if the Parole Board assess they no longer pose a public protection risk. The majority of offenders who are not assessed as dangerous by the sentencing court will be given an SDS. They will be automatically released before the end of their sentence – either at the half way point or the two-thirds point of the sentence – to serve the remainder of the sentence on licence in the community.
	The Government introduced fast-track legislation after the terrorist attack in Streatham in February 2020, the TORER Act 2020, to ensure that those convicted of terrorist or terrorist-connected offences serving standard determinate sentences could not be released before the end of their sentence without the approval of the Parole Board.
	Section 131 builds on this approach by introducing a new power for the Secretary of State to prevent the automatic early release of prisoners serving an SDS who are identified as a significant public protection concern while they are imprisoned. This measure will ensure that prisoners who become dangerous or are identified as dangerous in prison following conviction and sentencing are not subject to automatic release before the end of their sentence. They will instead be assessed by the Parole Board who will determine if they can be safely released on licence before this point. There will be no provision for holding an offender in custody beyond the end of the sentence handed down by the court.