How to make early prison release work
Sir Mark Rowley is completely justified in his fears for public safety (UK's most senior police officer criticises early prison release scheme, 28 May). We confuse the lines between punishment, prison sentencing, deterrence and the desire to prevent reoffending.
We can readily identify those who are less likely to reoffend – those who are over 25 and no longer testosterone-fuelled, those who do not have a drug habit, have a home and family to go to, and a means of earning an income.
We know, too, that if prison works as a deterrence, its greatest impact is in the first few days of being there. Thereafter, life becomes institutionalised.
Releasing those from prison who qualify as above, and allowing them to satisfy their sentences with meaningful community employment, may not be the fairest way of reducing the number of people currently in prison, but it is likely to be the safest and most effective way forward for the convicted individual, the taxpayer and society as a whole.Andrew LeslauHenley on Thames, Oxfordshire
Police chiefs complain that violent criminals released early will affect public safety. This is misleading. First, only 5.7% of crimes lead to an arrest, and some are acquitted.
It follows that at any time, the great majority of perpetrators of violent crime are on the streets. Early releases will make a relatively small difference.
Second, a violent criminal will currently be released after half their sentence. Say they are 30 years old. This gives them decades to commit further crimes. Adding one or two years to this will not have much impact on total crime.
Third, some of those released early will be convicted of a further crime sooner and return to prison for longer, reducing the impact of early release.
A complex issue is being highly oversimplified by the police chiefs.Peter WestLondon
As you rightly point out in your editorial (The Guardian view on sentencing reform: a landmark chance for change, 25 May): 'The review rightly says that relationships between probation staff and offenders should get priority.'
What is not mentioned are the enormous cost savings in moving from prison to community service sentences (estimated to be as much 40 times less). These huge cost savings would pay for all the additional probation staff, as well for much improved training and professionalisation for supervisors, upon which the long-term success of this scheme crucially depends.Adam HartCommunity service supervisor, East Northamptonshire, 1977-80
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He has already served four years, four months and 22 days so the adjusted minimum term is 17 years and 223 days. He also granted a restraining order banning Brooks from contacting the Perks family or going into their home village of Halam, Nottinghamshire, until further notice. Mr Perks did not attend court, with victim impact statements read out on behalf of him and his family. Mr Perks said: 'This event was an unimaginable catastrophy for two families but a nightmare for my wife Beverley and son Henry, who must have wondered if I was going to survive. 'Bev is a very resilient farmer's daughter who tackles anything, but this has been beyond every struggle in our lives so far.' Mr Perks told how the family had to move out of the house for three months due to fuel contamination and due to restoration work, and while in hospital he had initially been unable to see his family due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions. He spent 23 days in a major trauma unit where he said everyone he came into contact with had 'such generous spirit that my recovery was made easier.' He had to learn how to walk again and said that while he can remember little of the incident, his wife believes he is now more disinhibited than he used to be. Brooks' attack left him with a three-inch scar under his right ribs due to the stabbing, and a ten-inch scar across his abdomen as a result of surgery. He added: 'It's impossible to explain why I have been so lucky. I have no hard feelings or bitterness and derive no satisfaction from (Brooks') conviction. 'It's just another interesting chapter of life and I wish (Brooks') family well. 'It's ironic that a burns surgeon should wish to immolate our family. 'This has been for me (but definitely not our family) emotionally, a life-enhancing experience, due to the amazing human beings, professionals, friends and extended family, who came to our help. Most importantly our family who came together in an unforeseeable crisis. 'A 'second life' is a rare gift and richly treasured every day.' Mr Perks said fluid retention caused him to temporarily gain 23 kilograms in weight, going from a 33-inch waist to 44inches. Complications from his injuries and treatment have left him exhausted when climbing the stairs, and he has been prescribed life-long blood-thinning medication. In his victim impact statement, Mr Perks said that prior to the stabbing, he was 'healthy, fit for 65 years, took no regular medication, and had a body with no surgical scarring.' As well as his the scars he now bares, Mr Perks said he has 'abnormal veins' after a post-surgery blockage, and suffers mild chronic swelling in his legs, which his managed by wearing support stockings 'all-day, every day', as well as other health complications. He described the period before the stabbing as his 'first life'. Mr Perks had retired from the NUH NHS trust a month before he was attacked, but had agreed a 'flexible contract' to work at a hospital elsewhere in the county, and also planned to continue with some private medical work. He was unable to do either due to 'the events and my recovery'. He said that while in hospital he suffered 'distressing hallucinations about house fires and being unable to reach my family'. He now checks every door and window of their home is locked each night. He added: 'One of the most upsetting experiences has been well-meaning people stopping us or my wife to ask, 'How are you Graeme?' or 'How is Graeme?' without realising that Bev has had a worse time.' Mrs Perks, a retired nurse, said her medical experience meant she knew instantly 'how close (Mr Perks) was to death as he collapsed in front of Henry and I'. She added: 'Now I worry about his life-changing injuries and whether he will recover fully.' Mrs Perks described a 'hideous experience' which had knocked her confidence. She added: 'Intrusive thoughts still wake me – such as what would have happened if Graeme or any of us had been doused in fuel? 'I recall vividly the inescapable smell of fuel, and then the fear and distress sets in. 'Ugly thoughts engulf me as I dwell on the 'What ifs?' such as what would have happened if the fuel had ignited.' Addressing the judge on Brooks' level of dangerousness, Prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC said Brooks shows no remorse for his actions and continues to pose a risk to Mr Perks and his family. She said Brooks has a 'history of being manipulative' and there was ample evidence that he 'refuses to cooperate with those with whom he disagrees.' Ms Ayling added: 'In relation to the attempted arson, there was a degree of planning…use of an accelerant and multiple people were endangered.' Following the verdicts Nottinghamshire Police released CCTV footage showing the shamed surgeon wheeling his bicycle out of the garage before pedalling away. The footage, taken by a neighbour's security camera in the minster town of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, then showed Brooks returning home shortly after the attack and opening his garage to place the bicycle back inside. Neighbours told MailOnline they had endured a succession of complaints from Brooks over building works or boundary issues with one describing the surgeon as 'a man on the edge'. Brooks, who goes by his middle name, joined the burns unit at City Hospital, Nottingham, in 2008. In 2013 he made headlines for the right reasons when Brooks was lauded for becoming the first surgeon to treat a burns victim with Botox. But by then he was already embroiled in workplace disputes which in 2015 saw him 'excluded' from the wards after Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said colleagues were unable to work with him. Brooks went to a tribunal, claiming his line manager Mr Perks had negotiated a 'job plan' which allowed him to 'maximise his private sector income' to the detriment of NHS patients. He claimed the burns service was left 'short of resources' and that a 'lack of adequate medical cover' caused him concern over patient safety. Brooks alleged he had been effectively suspended for whistleblowing, but ultimately lost his case, and with it a claim for £500,000 compensation. During his trial prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC said Brooks' attempt to get (Mr Perks) out of the way' came just three days after the start of the final stage of disciplinary proceedings against the defendant - which were likely to see him dismissed. The court heard statements from Mr Perks formed part of the evidence in those proceedings, which Brooks had tried and failed to get postponed. Ms Ayling said that Brooks was clearly 'frustrated' by the disciplinary proceedings and 'made a conscious decision to take the law into his own hands.' She told jurors his intention was 'to break into Mr Perks house, set fire to it and if necessary, stab Mr Perks'. The prosecutor added: 'In short, he intended to kill Mr Perks by either or both those means. The use of fire, or the use of a knife.' Mr Perks, then 65, his wife Beverley and son Henry, 29, were sleeping upstairs at the house and the staircase was their only means of escape, jurors heard. Ms Ayling said a 'fire raging downstairs and on the stairs' would have stopped them escaping. Mr Perks was stabbed through the abdomen and was taken to hospital after being discovered by his wife and son, a Royal Engineer Commando who was home on leave. A doctor who operated on the stab victim at Nottingham's Queens Medical Centre and told the court the injury would have been fatal in 95 per cent of cases. Brooks was arrested later that morning after being discovered asleep and bleeding from the hand on a bench in a communal garden in Southwell. When interviewed under caution he gave no comment answers to every question. Brooks was linked to the scene by a blood deposit in the conservatory and on a crowbar he had used to force entry. His blood was also found on the handle of the knife used in the attack, and on his garage door - where detectives found the container of petrol in his bicycle pannier, matches and a lighter. An earlier trial was halted in the summer of 2022 when Brooks developed medical complications from previous radiotherapy treatment. In a ruling ahead of the trial, Mr Justice Pepperall said Brooks' defence case admitted that he had set Mr Perks home alight before stabbing him. The ruling also documented that Brooks case was that his mental health was 'on the edge' after years of deterioration. It added: 'He blames the sustained and deliberate use of disciplinary processes to drive him out of his NHS Trust or to make him insane so that he could be dismissed.' A psychiatrist who examined Brooks last year in the build-up to the trial found he 'showed features of a disordered personality with predominant narcissistic and dissocial traits along with paranoia.' Dr Simon Gibbon, a consultant psychiatrist who assessed Brooks in prison on behalf of the defence, agreed with other clinicians who concluded that the defendant was on the autism spectrum but believed that in the shamed surgeon's case it was mild autism. He concluded that Brooks continues to pose a high risk of violence. Brooks, of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder, one of attempted arson with intent to endanger life and one count of possession of a bladed article. The maximum sentence for attempted murder is life in prison. Following the convictions in April it could be revealed that the 'narcissistic' medic had continually attempted to derail legal proceedings since the January 2021 attack on Mr Perks at his home in Halam, Nottinghamshire. Brooks continuallly sacked lawyers, went on hunger strike or refused to co-operate with prison staff, causing the trial to be rescheduled nine times - before a series of judges - before he was eventually brought to justice. Brooks sacked his latest legal team in February, then went on hunger strike and failed to attend the trial, which took place in Loughborough. Brooks – who is now virtually bed bound and has been on remand for four years, four months and 22 days - had previously vowed to a psychiatrist that he would starve himself to death if he was convicted. The court heard Brooks, who had no previous convictions, was currently eating and drinking normally in prison. The disgraced surgeon did not attend court, with his barrister Stephen Leslie KC told Mr Justice Pepperall he 'had an infection and he had indicated… that the journey would make him ill.' At the end of the trial in April the judge said he would require Brooks – who failed to appear at his trial – to attend the sentencing and wrote to the governor at HMP Norwich 'to indicate that steps should be taken to secure attendance'. The court heard a warrant was issued for his production to attend and prison healthcare workers assessed him as being fit to attend court. But the judge was told Brooks insisted he had a bedsore on his bottom that made it impossible to sit for long periods and he still refused to attend. The defendant instead watched proceedings on a video link – sat on hunched over in a chair, occasionally pacing around the small prison conference room before returning to his seat. KC Stephen Leslie, mitigating for Brooks, told the court today he had planned the attack 'to some degree'. Referring to the fact that Brooks had cycled to Mr Perks' home carrying a can of petrol in his pannier, and armed with a crowbar, matches and a knife, the KC said Brooks was 'interested in motorbikes'. He add: 'People do carry petroleum in their garage. There's nothing there that was taken that would not otherwise be in an ordinary garage of somebody interested in motorbikes.' He added: 'This was a single occasion of violence. 'Although he does not have a recollection (of the attack), he accepts that he may have done things that were not appropriate'. The judge replied that that was hardly a show of 'fulsome remorse'. Concluding his mitigation, Mr Leslie said Brooks, a former school governor who had worked with Medicines Sans Frontiers in Haiti, Gaza and Sri Lanka, had 'done a lot of good in the world and has helped many people.' Mr Leslie added: 'He should be punished, and seriously punished for this, but he should also be provided with a chance to reform himself. There is still good in him.' The defendant instead watched proceedings on a video link – sat on hunched over in a chair, occasionally pacing around the small prison conference room before returning to his seat. ...And on his own garage door following the attack Detective Inspector Matt Scott, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: 'This was a vicious and calculating attack that very nearly cost a wholly innocent man his life. 'Our contention has always been that Brooks set off that morning with a very clear intention in mind – to fatally injure his victim. 'I am pleased that – having heard all the available evidence – the trial jury agreed and hope that today's verdict provides at least some degree of comfort to the victim and his family. 'Over the last four years he and his family have been through an extremely distressing ordeal and I would like to thank them for the enormous courage and dignity they have shown throughout this process.' Sam Shallow from the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'Peter Brooks committed an act of extreme violence, attempting to murder a highly respected colleague. This was a planned, calculated attack, in which Brooks showed he was determined to kill his former colleague. 'Since committing these atrocious acts, Brooks has sought to evade responsibility. He has requested late adjournments, dispensed with his legal team, and used his health to avoid proper progress of the court proceedings. On each of the nine occasions the case has been listed at court, the prosecution team has been ready. 'Justice has now caught up with Brooks. 'His victim was fortunate to escape with his life and his whole family were in danger from Brooks's inexplicable actions. Despite the physical and emotional trauma they have endured, they have come to court to tell their story on two separate occasions. This has been a long process for them, but I hope that finally seeing these proceedings coming to a close will help them in their recovery from this ordeal.'
