ABSTRACT
The length of a sentence defines the longest time a convicted person may spend in prison. Since the Criminal Law that came into force in 1933, early release after two-thirds of the length of the sentence has been incorporated and described as expected to be “almost automatic”. Initially a prisoner had to spend a minimum of nine months in prison before release on parole. This period is gradually shortened to two months and a few supplementary concepts such as earlier release with electronic monitoring have been introduced.
The criminal sanctions system has gained strong political attention and in the same period, the frequency of parole has decreased.
It is obvious for practitioners and researchers that cooperation between all actors involved in the release process is crucial for the release process. However, it is also clear that good cooperation is hard to achieve in spite of positive efforts. The Prison and Probation Service runs a geographically limited experiment in cooperation called Guided Inclusion.
