Category: Factual & Arts TV; Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO
Date: 12.04.2006
Printable version
For the first time in the Parole
Board's 38-year history, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ cameras have been allowed to film prisoners
going up for parole.
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As a national debate rages about the early release of prisoners, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
TWO goes behind closed doors to let viewers see the system at
work and ultimately decide for themselves what they think about the parole system
of England and Wales.
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Since 1968 it has been the responsibility of the Parole Board to decide whether a prisoner serving more than four years should be released early and whether a lifer should be released at all.
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With unprecedented multi-agency access, Up
For Parole (3x60min) is an intimate portrait
of the Parole Board at work and the way in which prisoners, victims
and the Probation and Prison Services feed into that process.
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Producer Louise Shorter comments: "The Parole Board is really
the last great public institution in Britain to open its doors to TV cameras.
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"Having such incredible access has allowed us
to explore a world which has historically been conducted behind closed
doors. It's the sort of long-term project that only the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ could
invest the necessary time and commitment to."
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Co-producer Sara Hardy continues: "For more than a year we've
filmed with a variety of prisoners from armed robbers to arsonists as they go
through the parole system.
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"The unprecedented access we gained allows us
to show viewers, for the first time on television, the workings of
the parole system from start to finish.
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"Viewers will see for themselves
just who is - and isn't - released from prison early and why."
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The series follows the Parole Board members who have responsibility for deciding whether the release of a prisoner is a risk to the public.
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Viewers hear from the prisoners themselves on their
crime, their punishment and chance of release, as well as the professionals
working with them whose reports help decide their fate and future.
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The series also hears from the victims of crime who
describe the impact of the parole process from their perspective.
Of those who are given parole, the cameras follow their progress
to see how they cope with being back in the community.
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