prison licence travel

Travelling Abroad and Within the UK While on Licence

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If you wish to travel outside the UK while you are on licence, you will need to seek permission from your probation officer. Each request is considered on a case-by-case basis, but you should be aware that permission will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances might include visiting a family member who is dying, or attending a funeral, but even then it is still up to probation to decide whether to grant permission. It is highly unlikely that you will be granted permission to travel abroad on holiday while you are on licence.

You should speak to your probation officer about your wish to travel abroad. They will be able to advise you on the best way to apply and whether you are likely to be granted permission.

Usually, you will need to put your request in writing, explaining where you would like to go, the dates you would like to travel and your reasons for doing so. When assessing your application, probation will consider the following criteria:

• Will the benefits of travelling abroad be realised if the travel is postponed until after the end of the licence period (for determinate sentence offenders) or suspension of the supervision element of the licence (for indeterminate sentence offenders)?
• Is the travel abroad connected or potentially connected to your offence (e.g. importation of drugs; fraud involving companies set up outside of the United Kingdom; human trafficking)?
• Will the travel interfere with your sentence plan or increase any risk of reoffending or risk of serious harm, including risk of serious harm to prior victims?
• Will the travel interfere with your requirements to report to your probation officer or attendance at offending behaviour programmes or interventions?
• Have there been any concerns regarding a lack of compliance with your licence conditions or any escalation in risk of reoffending or risk of serious harm in the past 12 months?
• Is the senior probation manager satisfied that you can be trusted to return and resume the supervisory period?

You may wish to contact Nacro’s Criminal Record Support Service on 0300 123 1999 for further advice about travelling abroad while on licence.

There is no formal appeal process as such. If you are unhappy with the decision, you can make a complaint through the Probation Service’s complaints process. The decision is unlikely to change unless the circumstances under which you have applied have changed.

Once you have exhausted the complaints process, your only option is to take the decision to judicial review. This involves a court process, so you might wish to seek legal advice before pursuing this course of action.

Yes – as long as you notify your probation officer in advance of any proposed travel away from your approved address and your travel will not breach the conditions of your licence.

If you are on the sex offenders’ register, you will need to notify the police of your intention to travel away from your approved address in accordance with your notification requirements. You may also need to register upon arrival in certain other jurisdictions (e.g. Jersey). Please see here for more advice about travelling while on the sex offenders’ register .

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Understanding your licence conditions

Our mission is to support & advocate for people with criminal records to be able to move on positively in their lives. Find out more

Often, with hindsight, people released from prison say that they thought prison would be the hard bit, when in fact it was after prison that they really started encountering problems.

Being released from prison can be a daunting experience. Being released on licence can be even worse.

Given the way that the current legislative/sentencing regime operates, most people being released from prison are released in advance of the point that they were sentenced to serve by the judicial system. This means that there is a large number of people being released from prison “on licence”.

For additional information about supervision in the community after release from prison see here .

We are unable to provide specific legal advice around your own situation, i.e. when your licence should end, when you can be recalled, how you can be recalled, etc.

Licence conditions

If you were sentenced to more than 12 months in prison,but less than four years , you may be released early on licence.

You will also have a licence if you’re out of prison on a home detention curfew (on a tag). Being on licence means that you are still serving a prison sentence but you can live in the community instead of being in prison. Whilst you are on licence, there are rules you must follow. How long these rules apply for depends on the length of your sentence. If you break the rules, you’ll have to go back to prison (be recalled).

Who determines standard determinate sentence licence conditions?

The Parole Board is no longer involved in imposing licence conditions. Governors now have responsibility for including any additional conditions though these must be from the approved list and recommended by Probation. If Probation want to add a condition not listed or a governor is concerned about the need for additional conditions they must seek advice from the Public Protection Unit. The licence is prepared by Custody/Discipline office and should be explained to you at least one week before release.

What if I refuse to sign the licence?

The licence remains lawful irrespective of whether you sign it. If you refuse to sign it, the governor will sign to confirm the conditions have been read out and explained. A copy is given to you on release and further copies are kept on your records at the prison and sent to the police.

How can I challenge my licence conditions?

A complaint about the necessity or proportionality of additional licence conditions imposed can be considered by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman. You will first have to complain internally through Prison/Probation.

Are life licence conditions different?

Life sentence conditions are set by the Parole Board but are very similar to the standard conditions. Additional conditions can also be imposed and again are likely to be similar to those on standard determinate sentences.

As a lifer, will I be on licence for ever?

Although the life licence remains in force and you are liable to recall for the rest of your life, you can apply to the Secretary of State (via request to Probation) and request that, as the conditions are no longer necessary, they are cancelled. The supervision or reporting restrictions normally remain in force for around 4 years, though this can be up to 10 years for people convicted of sexual offences, and can remain in force for longer or shorter periods depending on your own case. The Secretary of State will normally refer the case to the Parole Board before cancelling the supervision requirements. Even where there are no longer any supervision requirements you can be recalled for committing other offences etc

Useful resources

Licences and licence conditions (Prison Service Instruction 12/2015) – This explains the various conditions that can be attached to a licence.

Standard conditions of licence

The Criminal Justice (Sentencing) (Licence Conditions) Order 2005 (Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 648) below sets out the standards conditions. An explanatory note for the SI is also available.

(1) The conditions set out in paragraph (2) are the standard conditions prescribed for the purposes of section 250 (1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

(2) The prisoner must-

(a) keep in touch with the responsible officer as instructed by him;

(b) receive visits from the responsible officer as instructed by him;

(c) permanently reside at an address approved by the responsible officer and obtain the prior permission of the responsible officer for any stay of one or more nights at a different address;

(d) undertake work (including voluntary work) only with the approval of the responsible officer and obtain his prior approval in relation to any change in the nature of that work;

(e) not travel outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man without the prior permission of the responsible officer, except where he is deported or removed from the United Kingdom in accordance with the Immigration Act 1971 or the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 [See Article 3 Explanatory note];

(f) be of good behaviour, and not behave in a way which undermines the purposes of the release on licence, which are to protect the public, prevent re-offending and promote successful re-integration into the community;

(g) not commit any offence.

As well as these standard rules, your probation officer might have recommended extra conditions, like not making contact with certain people or not living at the same address as children. Your licence will say what the extra conditions are. If you have to miss an appointment with your probation officer, it’s important to be able to show them proof of the reason. For example, if you are ill, get a doctor’s note. Examples of conditions are listed below:

(1) Conditions of a kind set out in paragraph (2) are prescribed for the purposes of section 250(2)(b)(ii) and (4) (b) (ii) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

(2) The conditions are those which impose on a prisoner:

(a) a requirement that he reside at a certain place;

(b) a requirement relating to his making or maintaining contact with a person;

(c) a restriction relating to his making or maintaining contact with a person;

(d) a restriction on his participation in, or undertaking of, an activity;

(e) a requirement that he participate in, or co-operate with, a programme or set of activities designed to further one or more of the purposes referred to in section 250(8) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003;

(f) a requirement that he comply with a curfew arrangement;

(g) a restriction on his freedom of movement (which is not a requirement referred to in sub-paragraph (f));

(h) a requirement relating to his supervision in the community by a responsible officer.

(3) For the purpose of this article, “curfew arrangement” means an arrangement under which a prisoner is required to remain at a specified place for a specified period of time which is not an arrangement contained in a condition imposed by virtue of section 37A(1) [See Article 3 Explanatory note] of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 Act or section 250(5) of the Act.

You can apply to your probation officer to change your conditions. For example, if a curfew would mean that you can’t take up a suitable job, the hours of your curfew could be changed.

Supervision and support whilst on licence

You should be allocated a supervising probation officer who will supervise you on release. The supervising officer must ensure that a first appointment is arranged for the day of release (or next working day).

It is stated in PSO 4700 that the supervising probation officer has to ensure that arrangements are made for weekly contact for the first four weeks following release. In addition one contact has to be a visit to the home address within 10 days of release. Contact should comprise a minimum of fortnightly for the second and third months following release and thereafter monthly.

Accommodation

You won’t be considered for early release until you have a suitable address. This could be with friends or family or at a hostel. You might get help from the council to pay for your accommodation. You aren’t allowed to move without permission from your probation officer.

You aren’t allowed to take a job unless your probation officer approves of it. There are rules about declaring your criminal record when you apply for a job. For some jobs, such as working with children, disabled people or other vulnerable people, you’ll always have to declare all your criminal convictions.

It is stated in the Lifer Manual that the supervising probation officer must consider advising certain third parties of the nature of the offence and implications of the supervision process including conditions. In the case of partners, employers, educational providers and accommodation suppliers the presumption is in favour of disclosure. The preferred approach is for the licensee to disclose this information themselves.

There is a presumption in favour of disclosure by probation to partners of the licensee.

The prison isn’t responsible for your healthcare if you’re serving your sentence in the community. Unless getting treatment is one of your conditions, it’s up to you to get any healthcare you need. When you leave prison, it’s a good idea to register with a GP.

Travelling abroad whilst on licence

You have to get permission to travel abroad, and all people on licence face restrictions on travelling abroad whilst on licence supervision in the community. We have put together some information for people in this situation within our section on travel abroad .

If you break the rules – Recall

You can be sent back to prison if you break the rules.

First of all, your probation officer will look at your case. They might give you a warning or they might decide you should go back to prison. If they think you should go back to prison, they’ll ask the Ministry of Justice to order you to return to prison. This decision can be taken very quickly – in emergency cases, the decision can be taken within two hours. You’ll be arrested and taken straight to prison. This would usually be your local prison, not necessarily the one you were released from.

If you committed another criminal offence while you were out on licence, you’ll go to court for that offence. If you’re found guilty, the new sentence will be added on to your old sentence.

If you’re sent back to prison for breaking your conditions, you should get legal advice as soon as possible. You might get Legal Aid.

A licence can be revoked at any time and the licensee recalled to prison by the Secretary of State on the recommendation of the parole board. If the licence is revoked, the licensee is immediately recalled to prison to continue her life sentence. The licensee must be informed of the reasons for the revocation of the licence and has the right to make representations to the Parole Board in an oral hearing.

In deciding whether to recommend the recall of a lifer the Parole Board should consider:

• whether the licensee’s continued liberty would present a risk to the safety of the public and if the licensee is likely to commit further imprisonable offences;
• the extent to which the licensee has failed to comply with the conditions of the life licence and otherwise failed to cooperate with the supervising officer;
• whether the licensee is likely to comply with the conditions of the licence and supervision if allowed to remain in the community.

The Parole Board take account of the supervising officer’s recommendation as to whether the licensee should remain on licence.

Problems if you’re sent back to prison

You may have problems if you’re sent back to prison, for example:

• there’s a delay before the prison gets information about you
• you don’t how long you’ll have to stay in prison. However, you should be given an information pack explaining how to appeal to the Parole Board
• if you’re not sent back to the same prison, you may not know how the prison works. However any differences between the prison where you used to be and your current prison should be explained to you
• you may lose your right to Housing Benefit after 13 weeks of being back in prison.

If you aren’t sure why you’ve been taken back to prison or if you have any other problems, get specialist advice.

Other information

In order for the conditions to be lawful they must be both necessary and proportionate to the needs of protecting the public and preventing  re-offending. Necessary means that no other means of managing a particular risk is available or appropriate; and proportionate means that the restriction on the offender’s liberty is the minimum required to manage the risk.

Licence conditions are not designed to be punitive, and are designed for risk management and public protection purposes, see R (on the Application of Carman) -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] EWHC 2400 (Admin). Further, they are subject to the scrutiny of the Administrative Court by way of Judicial Review due to the principles of reasonableness, necessity and proportionality.

Further, they may infringe an offender’s Human Rights and the most typical is their right to a private and family life pursuant to Article 8 (1) ECHR. The State is entitled to interfere with Article 8 rights in accordance with Article 8(2), so long as it is in pursuance of legitimate aims, but only if reasonable and proportionate to those aims.

Thus, providing the proposed conditions correspond with a legitimate purpose, any corresponding interference with the Claimant’s Article 8 rights will be justified so long as that interference is reasonable and proportionate to the stated Purpose. Once again these issues can be resolved in the Administrative Court. If an offender breaches the terms of their licence, they render themselves liable to be returned to prison and will not be released unless the Parole Board directs it. The power to recall lies with Probation Service therefore it is essential that the conditions in place are necessary, proportionate to manage risk.

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What does being ‘on licence’ mean? Task

Being released ‘on  licence ’ means that  you ’re   freed  from prison  before your sentence is complete , but   you  must  stick to  a set of rules  for the rest of your sentence .  These rules are known as the  licence  conditions.    

The aim of a period  ‘ on  licence ’  is to protect the public, to  prevent  you from re-offending, and to  help you settle back into the c ommunity.  The   licence  conditions  are not a form of punishment , so   they  m ust  be fair  and necessary.  

Standard licence conditions

You  will be expected to follow a set of conditions:  

• Behave well and do not question the purpose of the licence period   
• Do n ot  commit any offence  
• K eep in touch with  your  supervising officer  according to  their instructions  
• Be visited by  the supervising officer  following  their instructions  
• Stay at an address which you have agreed with your  supervising officer and  ask for   their  permission  before  any stay of one or more nights at a different address  
• Do n ot  work, or  do  a particular type of work, unless it is approved by  your  supervising officer   
• Let your  supervising officer  know  in advance of any  specific  type s  of work  
• Do n ot  travel outside the United Kingdom, the Channel  Islands   and  the Isle of Man except with the prior permission of your supervising officer or for the purposes of immigration deportation or removal

Additional licence conditions

You  may  be expected to follow  a set of  further  conditions:  

• Live at a  specifi c  place  
• Not live somewhere  you’re  not allowed to ( restriction of residency )  
• Not contact  a specific person  or people  
• Cooperat e  with or participat e  in a  set of activities  
• Not do certain activities   
• Be at home by a certain time of the day (curfew)  
• Not hav e  certain documents or items  you’re  not allowed to have  
• Tell your officer specific information such as if you open a bank account  
• Not g o  places that are off-limits  
• Help your officer check up on you  

Supervision and support while on licence

You should be  given  a supervising probation officer who will  check in with you when  you’re  released from prison . The y  must  make sure  that a  f irst  meeting  is arranged for the day of release (or  the  next working day).  

Your supervising probation  office r   will give you the rules, or  licence  conditions, you will need to follow.  

It’s  important to  know  that  you  can be sent back to prison if you break the se  rules.  

What if I refuse to sign the licence?

The  licence  remains lawful whether you sign it  or not .   

If you refuse to sign it, the  licence  officer  will sign to confirm the conditions have been read out and explained. A copy is given to you on release and further copies are kept on your records at the prison and sent to the police.  

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Travelling abroad with a criminal record.

• Inside Time Reports
• 1st August 2018
• *Information

Whilst you’re in prison, you’ll probably have heard lots of conflicting information about travelling abroad with a criminal record. Unless you’re on licence, there’s rarely anything stopping you from travelling abroad and at the moment you can travel freely within the EU.

When and where you can travel to will depend on the country you wish to visit, the nature of your offence and sentence you received. Visiting counties like the USA or Australia will usually mean applying for a visa. However, don’t be put off by this. We know of many people with a criminal record who’ve successfully been granted visas.

Travelling abroad whilst on licence

It’s more than likely that you’ll face restrictions on travelling abroad all the time you’re on licence. A standard condition of any licence is ‘not to travel outside the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man without the prior permission of the responsible officer’.

Therefore if you’re considering travelling abroad, it might be an idea to approach your probation officer informally to start with. You’ll be able to get an idea of whether they’d give you permission prior to putting your request in writing. Each probation area will have their own approach to travelling abroad, so get a copy of your area’s policy to find out how closely you meet their criteria. If you’re refused you can go through the complaints system, details of which you should be able to get from your probation officer.

Moving abroad whilst on licence

Moving to another country can be extremely problematic all the time you’re on licence. Although you’re not in prison, the time you’re on licence is still classed as part of the sentence given to you by the court.

Usually, you’ll need to spend some time in the community in the UK on licence before you can be considered for resettlement overseas. This is to ensure that any risk you pose of reoffending can be assessed as well as evidencing that you’re able to conform to all your licence conditions.

In deciding whether to grant you permission to move abroad, your probation officer will consider whether you have any family ties or other connections (for example you lived overseas prior to going to prison) as well as reviewing whether your offence is related to the country you wish to travel to.

Travelling when you’re on the sex offenders register

If you’ve been convicted of a sexual offence, you may find that even when your licence ends, you will remain on the register. If this is the case, you’ll need to continue to notify the police if you intend leaving the country for 3 days or longer.

Once you’ve informed the police of your travel plans, your supervising police officer may decide to ‘flag’ your passport with an Interpol Green Notice. This notification on your passport will alert overseas immigration officers that an individual who is on the sex offenders register is visiting. Depending on the country you’re travelling to, you may be denied entry and sent back to the UK. Examples of people we’ve heard this happen to are those looking to visit places like Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

What information is held about you on your passport?

The UK has been using ‘biometric’ passports since 2006. These passports contain a microchip which stores a digitalised image of your passport photograph as well as the biographical details printed on the passport. It does not contain any information which can’t be found on the physical version of the passport. It’s a myth that the chip holds details of your criminal record.

Travelling to Europe post-Brexit

As I’m sure you know, Brexit should be finalised by March 2019 and although the exact outcome is yet to be finalised, there is talk that the ease with which we currently travel to the EU may change.

The European Union has proposed a new visa scheme for all visitors to the EU, called a European Travel Information and Authorisation System. If approved, it will place some restrictions on who can and cannot travel. However, until the withdrawal date and during the transition, the current immigration arrangements for British nationals will continue as they are currently.

Debbie Sadler is the advice manager at Unlock, an independent charity for people with convictions and our helpline provides confidential peer advice on overcoming the effects of criminal records. You can call 01634 247350 Monday to Friday, 10-4 (the number does not need to be put on your pin) or write to Unlock, MCSC, 39-48 Marsham Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1HH.

Our website: www.unlock.org.uk

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3 thoughts on “ Travelling abroad with a criminal record ”

I’ve done a 21 months sentence for abh can i go out to Cyprus to visit my son now my licence as ended

What countries am I not allowed to travel too on an ipp license, and what information on someone on licence going abroad, ie probation approval

Furthermore : Post Brexit – the threshold for deportation, of EU nationals, will change. That is, EU nationals will be deportable. What happens with the Common Travel Area is not clear. Some say it will remain , some say it will go. IF it goes it means Irish, too , might become deportable. Though Irish nationals would, first, have had to renounce their UK citizenship(cost around £300). Though you should wait until Brexit to find all this out first!

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Release on licence

• be of good behaviour and not behave in a way which undermines the purpose of the licence period;
• not commit any offence;
• keep in touch with the supervising officer in accordance with instructions given by the supervising officer;
• receive visits from the supervising officer in accordance with instructions given by the supervising officer;
• reside permanently at an address approved by the supervising officer and obtain the prior permission of the supervising officer for any stay of one or more nights at a different address;
• not undertake work, or a particular type of work, unless it is approved by the supervising officer and notify the supervising officer in advance of any proposal to undertake work or a particular type of work;
• not travel outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man except with the prior permission of your supervising officer or for the purposes of immigration deportation or removal.
• residence at a specified place;
• restriction of residency;
• making or maintaining contact with a person;
• participation in, or co-operation with, a programme or set of activities;
• possession, ownership, control or inspection of specified items or documents;
• disclosure of information;
• curfew arrangement;
• freedom of movement;
• supervision in the community by the supervising officer, or other responsible officer, or organisation..

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Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint

Adult passengers 18 and older must show valid identification at the airport checkpoint in order to travel.

• Beginning May 7, 2025, if you plan to use your state-issued ID or license to fly within the U.S., make sure it is REAL ID compliant . If you are not sure if your ID complies with REAL ID, check with your state department of motor vehicles.  
• State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License
• U.S. passport
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• DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
• U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
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• An acceptable photo ID issued by a  federally recognized , Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe
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• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
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• Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

In coordination with its DHS counterparts, TSA has identified acceptable alternate identification for use in special circumstances at the checkpoint.

A weapon permit is not an acceptable form of identification. A temporary driver's license is not an acceptable form of identification.

Beginning May 7, 2025, if you plan to use your state-issued ID or license to fly within the U.S., make sure it is REAL ID compliant . If you are not sure if your ID complies with REAL ID, check with your state department of motor vehicles.

Learn more about flying with a REAL ID .

 TSA currently accepts expired driver’s licenses or state-issued ID a year after expiration. DHS has extended the REAL ID enforcement deadline to May 7, 2025. Learn more about REAL ID on  TSA’s REAL ID  webpage.

TSA does not require children under 18 to provide identification when traveling within the United States. Contact the airline for questions regarding specific ID requirements for travelers under 18.

Forgot Your ID?

In the event you arrive at the airport without valid identification, because it is lost or at home, you may still be allowed to fly. The TSA officer may ask you to complete an identity verification process which includes collecting information such as your name, current address, and other personal information to confirm your identity. If your identity is confirmed, you will be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint. You will be subject to additional screening, to include a patdown and screening of carry-on property.

You will not be allowed to enter the security checkpoint if your identity cannot be confirmed, you choose to not provide proper identification or you decline to cooperate with the identity verification process.

TSA recommends that you arrive at least two hours in advance of your flight time.

Names With Suffixes

TSA accepts variations on suffixes on boarding passes and ID. Suffixes are not required on boarding passes. If there is a suffix on the boarding pass, and there is not one on the ID or vice versa, that is considered an acceptable variation.

If your identity cannot be verified, you will not be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint.

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After Prison, I Went to Miami to Reacquaint Myself With Freedom

By Ryan M. Moser

This essay is the first in a series about traveling after confinement. Look for the next one this summer.

The day after leaving prison, I inhaled ocean air for the first time in eight years.

I’d decided to take a barefoot walk down Ocean Drive in Miami , passing vendors selling handmade wooden bead bracelets and blown-glass bowls. Bikers and roller skaters were cruising the beachside promenade. Reggae music from a nearby bar floated in the air. Carrying an oversized mojito in one hand and a churrasco skewer in the other, I gazed past the strip of white sand, dotted with umbrellas and sunbathers, towards the Atlantic—the same water I’d grown up swimming in during family vacations at the Jersey Shore . The ocean’s edge has been a sanctuary for me since childhood, always drawing me in to splay my toes across the gritty, cool surface strewn with black-stained jingle shells, tan whelks, and chips of horseshoe crab shells. I need the sand and the ocean like I need air and food.

But it didn’t seem real to me now, being completely free in nature.

When I was arrested for property crimes in 2014, I was living in north Florida. Before that I lived in Philadelphia , my hometown. But my prison, Everglades Correctional Institution, rested 30 miles west of Miami—a city I had never visited. The yachts and nightclubs of the coastal metropolis had felt a million miles away, but somehow the stories I heard about fresh mango juice and the Latin Quarter always made it seem welcoming.

In this way, traces of Miami had reached my prison. I would watch the Miami Dolphins play on Sundays. Through the window next to my prison bunk, I could see the fireworks shows on holidays. And Miami locals would tell me of their favorite restaurants, the music scene, and the city’s celebrities. Juan talked about his Uncle’s Cuban coffee shop on 6th Street. Garcia loved the way the bay smelled after a storm came through—“like a fishy heaven,” he’d say.

During my eight-year prison sentence, I dreamed of visiting this vibrant, multicultural city. And on New Year’s Eve 2022—one day after I was set free—I finally did.

My last day at Everglades started like every other during my roughly 3,000 days of incarceration. I was startled awake by a loudspeaker and siren at 4 a.m. and told to prepare for chow. Impatient prisoners lined up for food and gang gossip. Fights broke out. I felt the stress of living in a constant state of heightened situational awareness. Beige concrete walls and steel bars had colored my life for so long. I was anxious to return to things I barely remembered: the sounds of a violin, the smell of fresh laundry, the taste of Dr. Pepper. But six hours away from being released, I felt unsure of how I was going to re-acclimate to the world.

I sat on a metal bench in the prison’s TV room watching TMZ and thought about the decisions that had brought me here. When my pain pill abuse was at its worst, I committed property crimes to support my addiction. I never realized how much it would cost: freedom, dignity, respect, love. I hadn’t seen my family in a decade, but I was excited, and nervous, to be seeing them soon—and I knew I was the only one going home that day. Through the barred window were glimpses of the Everglades swamp, with myna birds and snapping turtles feeding just outside the prison gate. I waited to hear my name and Department of Corrections number called to signal my release.

When I stepped out of the concertina razor-wire fence, guarded by armed officers, my mentor Alex stood waiting for me on the other side. For four years, I led a men’s group he had created inside my prison, and we had become friends. Tall and gregarious—a retired restaurateur committed to helping men inside prison—he was a father-figure to me when my own dad and stepdad couldn’t be. He looked like an elder statesman with graying hair as he greeted me, throwing a pair of khaki shorts and a polo into my hands and telling me to get changed in his Lexus. When people leave prison, it is often described as “coming home.” But Alex was not only figuratively welcoming me home, he was hosting me at his house in Kendall, a town just outside of central Miami, for the week.

“How does it feel to look back at that fence and know you’re never going back?” he asked me.

I was so overwhelmed I couldn't respond.

Even though I had left prison, I still felt like someone was watching my every move. Inside, the guards were ever present and in your face—a reminder every day that I was temporarily the property of the state, and they took the custody of that property very seriously. On the beach, I had to remind myself there were no corrections officers waiting to catch me breaking a rule—the bike cops cruising around South Beach didn’t even glance at me walking by. I was not an imposter. No one was waiting to send me back to prison. I had served my time. I belonged out here.

As twilight arrived on New Year’s Eve , laughter and revelry echoed from bars. Lamborghinis and Porches, crammed bumper to bumper, blasted electronic dance music as they crawled down Ocean Drive. Neon lights illuminated the strip’s Art Deco architecture. I washed the sand off my feet and caught an Uber downtown to the Hard Rock Cafe to meet Alex and his wife.

For months, the couple had boasted about the restaurants in Miami , telling me over the phone how proud they were of me and how excited they were to show off their city. Dinner was fresh salmon and asparagus at a table overlooking Biscayne Bay. I leaned back in my chair and marveled at how the fish melted in my mouth. The greens were so crisp that they crunched with a snap. I tasted the plum sauce and avocado spread with my bread, and thought about the mystery meat I’d eaten for eight years—how I’d never again stand in a crowded chow line and have to choose between being malnourished or eating food that regularly got men sick with food poisoning.

We had even bigger plans for the rest of the night. After dinner, we walked to the ampitheather at Bayfront Park where we would ring in the New Year at a concert by Pitbull —just about as Miami as you can get. Subwoofers pounded as we neared the show. Though I could barely see the stage from our spot on the grass, I was buzzing with happiness. There were so many people around me that at first Alex was worried about me getting anxious, but I felt comfortable and warm, like I was surrounded by a new family.

Half way through the show, fireworks blasted up into the air and the inebriated crowd screamed and whistled. The large Orange Bowl clock by Biscayne Bay counted down: Three minutes and ten seconds… Three minutes and nine seconds… I had waited years for a clock to run out. But now, I was content in the present.

“Isn’t tonight special?” a German tourist turned and asked me. “You can just start over.”

I thought of the times I had wished I could start over: during my addiction, my marriage, my relationship with my kids, my career, my conviction, my loss of freedom. “You’re right,” I said. “It is special.”

The fireworks crescendoed as it got closer to midnight. Colorful bombs exploded above the heart of Miami. Yellow and blue sparks criss-crossed the sky. I pulled out my new smartphone to take a picture, but cellphones had changed drastically while I was gone and I fumbled. I looked at Alan with tears in my eyes, as the final 10 seconds of the year disappeared and I left behind the mistakes from the past.

It was officially the dawn of 2023 when we got back to Alex's condo in a highrise along the Biscayne Bay. I smoked a cigar on the balcony and looked over the railing at the water lapping against the wooden piers, processing the culture shock of leaving one world and entering another—grateful for another chance at peace. Palm trees swayed as a pair of white ibis grazed in the shallows. Boat lights sprinkled the rippling water under a waning moon and laughter echoed across the bay from a late-night soiree. I drifted to sleep in a hammock right on the balcony and felt safe for the first time in years.

Over the course of the next week I was met with raw emotions and fresh experiences: tacos in Little Havana while Cuban salsa music played; graffitied buildings in the Wynwood art district; sips of coffee at a bistro overlooking the bay. On my last day in Miami, I borrowed Alex’s car and drove to the beach at dawn to rent a bike and ride the path along the ocean. The sky was an eerie bruised purple, except for a speck of amber on the horizon. I started my ride at 30th Street and pedaled south as Vance Joy’s “Missing Piece” played from my phone, zipping by the venerable Fontainebleau Hotel . The beach was empty and for the first time in many years, I was completely alone with my thoughts.

At 8th Street, I locked my bike and walked toward the surf, making sure to squeeze my toes deep into the sand. A cruise ship blew its foghorn in the distance. I sat on the beach watching the crimson sun rise up through peach-colored clouds to be born with indescribable beauty. I wept softly for all of the years I had lost, for making it out alive, for being able to soon reunite with my family. I felt sanguine and was hopeful for the future, having spent my first week out experiencing the joys and wonders that life has to offer through the lens of this magical town: like friendship and trying new food, or talking to my sister on the phone while smelling the salt in the air. It all reminded me of what there is to lose if I make a bad decision.

I breathed deeply. There's never been a night dark enough that the light of a sunrise cannot defeat, and I was thankful for that.

This article was published in partnership with the Prison Journalism Project , a nonprofit journalism organization that trains incarcerated writers in journalism and publishes their work. You can read more work by PJP writers  here .

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U.S. tourist faces 12 years in prison after taking ammunition to Turks and Caicos

An Oklahoma man faces up to 12 years in prison on a Caribbean island after customs officials found ammunition in his luggage.

Ryan Watson traveled to Turks and Caicos with his wife, Valerie, to celebrate his 40th birthday on April 7. They went with two friends who had also turned 40.

The vacation came to an abrupt end when airport staff members found a zip-close bag containing bullets in the couple's carry-on luggage. Watson said it was hunting ammunition he had accidentally brought with him — but under a strict law in Turks and Caicos, a court may still impose a mandatory 12-year sentence.

"They were hunting ammunition rounds that I use for whitetail deer," Watson told NBC Boston in an interview conducted last week that aired after their first court appearance Tuesday.

"I recognized them, and I thought, 'Oh, man, what a bonehead mistake that I had no idea that those were in there,'" he said.

The couple were arrested and charged with possession of ammunition. Authorities seized their passports and explained the penalties they faced.

Valerie Watson said in the interview: "When I heard that, I immediately was terrified, because I was like we can't both be in prison for 12 years. We have kids at home, and this is such an innocent mistake."

The charges against her were dropped, and she returned home to Oklahoma City on Tuesday after the court hearing to be reunited with her two young children.

"Our goal is to get Ryan home, because we can’t be a family without Dad," she said.

The couple also spoke about the financial burden of a much longer-than-planned trip. "This is something that we may never recover from," Ryan Watson said.

The U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas issued a warning to travelers in September about a law that strongly prohibits possession of firearms or ammunition in Turks and Caicos, an overseas British territory southeast of the Bahamas that is a popular vacation spot.

It said: "We wish to remind all travelers that declaring a weapon in your luggage with an airline carrier does not grant permission to bring the weapon into TCI [Turks and Caicos Islands] and will result in your arrest."

The embassy added: "If you bring a firearm or ammunition into TCI, we will not be able to secure your release from custody."

The embassy and the government in Turks and Caicos did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The same thing happened to another American, Bryan Hagerich, of Pennsylvania, who was arrested after ammunition was found in his luggage before he tried to board a flight out of Turks and Caicos in February. He said he accidentally left it in his bag.

Hagerich was on a family vacation with his wife and two young children but has now been in the country for 70 days. He spent eight days in prison before he posted bail.

"It’s incredibly scary. You know, you just don’t know what the next day may bring — you know, what path this may take," Hagerich told NBC Boston.

"You know, it’s certainly a lot different than packing your bags and going away with your family for a few days. It’s been the worst 70 days of my life," he said.

Hagerich, once a professional baseball player, was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the MLB 2007 June amateur draft from the University of Delaware.

His case goes to trial May 3.

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

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Could Trump Go to Prison? If He Does, the Secret Service Goes, Too

Officials have had preliminary discussions about how to protect the former president in the unlikely event that he is jailed for contempt during the trial.

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By William K. Rashbaum

The U.S. Secret Service is in the business of protecting the president, whether he’s inside the Oval Office or visiting a foreign war zone.

But protecting a former president in prison? The prospect is unprecedented. That would be the challenge if Donald J. Trump — whom the agency is required by law to protect around the clock — is convicted at his criminal trial in Manhattan and sentenced to serve time.

Even before the trial’s opening statements, the Secret Service was in some measure planning for the extraordinary possibility of a former president behind bars. Prosecutors had asked the judge in the case to remind Mr. Trump that attacks on witnesses and jurors could land him in jail even before a verdict is rendered.

(The judge, who held a hearing Tuesday morning to determine whether Mr. Trump should be held in contempt for violating a gag order, is far more likely to issue a warning or impose a fine before taking the extreme step of jailing the 77-year-old former president. It was not immediately clear when he would issue his ruling.)

Last week, as a result of the prosecution’s request, officials with federal, state and city agencies had an impromptu meeting about how to handle the situation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

That behind-the-scenes conversation — involving officials from the Secret Service and other relevant law enforcement agencies — focused only on how to move and protect Mr. Trump if the judge were to order him briefly jailed for contempt in a courthouse holding cell, the people said.

The far more substantial challenge — how to safely incarcerate a former president if the jury convicts him and the judge sentences him to prison rather than home confinement or probation — has yet to be addressed directly, according to some of a dozen current and former city, state and federal officials interviewed for this article.

That’s at least in part because if Mr. Trump is ultimately convicted, a drawn-out and hard-fought series of appeals, possibly all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, is almost a certainty. That would most likely delay any sentence for months if not longer, said several of the people, who noted that a prison sentence was unlikely.

But the daunting challenge remains. And not just for Secret Service and prison officials, who would face the logistical nightmare of safely incarcerating Mr. Trump, who is also the presumptive Republican nominee for President.

“Obviously, it’s uncharted territory,” said Martin F. Horn, who has worked at the highest levels of New York’s and Pennsylvania’s state prison agencies and served as commissioner of New York City’s correction and probation departments. “Certainly no state prison system has had to deal with this before, and no federal prison has had to either.”

Steven Cheung, the communications director for Mr. Trump’s campaign, said the case against the former president was “so spurious and so weak” that other prosecutors had refused to bring it, and called it “an unprecedented partisan witch hunt.”

“That the Democrat fever dream of incarcerating the nominee of the Republican Party has reached this level exposes their Stalinist roots and displays their utter contempt for American democracy,” he said.

Protecting Mr. Trump in a prison environment would involve keeping him separate from other inmates, as well as screening his food and other personal items, officials said. If he were to be imprisoned, a detail of agents would work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, rotating in and out of the facility, several officials said. While firearms are obviously strictly prohibited in prisons, the agents would nonetheless be armed.

Former corrections officials said there were several New York state prisons and city jails that have been closed or partly closed, leaving wings or large sections of their facilities empty and available. One of those buildings could serve to incarcerate the former president and accommodate his Secret Service protective detail

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for the Secret Service in Washington, declined in a statement to discuss specific “protective operations.” But he said that federal law requires Secret Service agents to protect former presidents, adding that they use state-of-the-art technology, intelligence and tactics to do so.

Thomas J. Mailey, a spokesman for New York State’s prison agency, said his department couldn’t speculate about how it would treat someone who has not yet been sentenced, but that it has a system “to assess and provide for individuals’ medical, mental health and security needs.” Frank Dwyer, a spokesman for the New York City jails agency, said only that “the department would find appropriate housing” for the former president.

The trial in Manhattan, one of four criminal cases pending against Mr. Trump and possibly the only one that will go to a jury before the election, centers on accusations he falsified records to cover up a sex scandal involving a porn star. The former president is charged with 34 counts of felony falsifying business records. If convicted, the judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, could sentence him to punishments ranging from probation to four years in state prison, though for a first-time offender of Mr. Trump’s age, such a term would be extreme.

If Mr. Trump is convicted, but elected president again, he could not pardon himself because the prosecution was brought by New York State.

Under normal circumstances, any sentence of one year or less, colloquially known as “city time,” would generally be served on New York City’s notorious Rikers Island, home to the Department of Correction’s seven jails. (That’s where Mr. Trump’s former chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, 76, is currently serving his second five-month sentence for crimes related to his work for his former boss.)

Any sentence of more than a year, known as state time, would generally be served in one of the 44 prisons run by New York State’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

The former president could also be sentenced to a term of probation, raising the bizarre possibility of the former commander in chief reporting regularly to a civil servant at the city’s Probation Department.

He would have to follow the probation officer’s instructions and answer questions about his work and personal life until the term of probation ended. He would also be barred from associating with disreputable people, and if he committed any additional crimes, he could be jailed immediately.

Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.

William K. Rashbaum is a Times reporter covering municipal and political corruption, the courts and broader law enforcement topics in New York. More about William K. Rashbaum

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis

The criminal trial of Trump featured vivid testimony about a plot to protect his first presidential campaign  and the beginnings  of a tough cross-examination  of the prosecution’s initial witness, David Pecker , former publisher of The National Enquirer. Here are the takeaways .

Dozens of protesters calling for the justice system to punish Trump  briefly blocked traffic on several streets near the Lower Manhattan courthouse where he is facing his first criminal trial.

Prosecutors accused Trump of violating a gag order four additional times , saying that he continues to defy the judge’s directions  not to attack witnesses , prosecutors and jurors in his hush-money trial.

More on Trump’s Legal Troubles

Key Inquiries: Trump faces several investigations  at both the state and the federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.

Case Tracker:  Keep track of the developments in the criminal cases  involving the former president.

What if Trump Is Convicted?: Could he go to prison ? And will any of the proceedings hinder Trump’s presidential campaign? Here is what we know , and what we don’t know .

Trump on Trial Newsletter: Sign up here  to get the latest news and analysis  on the cases in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.

Russia in talks with U.S. on prisoner swap that could include jailed reporter Gershkovich

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Moscow is in talks with the U.S. on the issue of releasing jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich , with the Kremlin hoping to “find a solution” even though “it’s not easy.”

Putin spoke about Whelan and Gershkovich during his year-end news conference in response to a question about a recent offer the Biden administration made to secure the two men’s release. The U.S. State Department reported it earlier this month, without offering details and said Russia had rejected it.

Putin said that Moscow was not refusing to free the two Americans , but also added: “Why would they commit offenses on Russian soil?”

“We have contacts on this matter with our American partners; there’s a dialogue on this issue. It’s not easy, I won’t go into details right now. But in general, it seems to me that we’re speaking a language each of us understands,” Puptin said. “I hope we will find a solution. But, I repeat, the American side must hear us and make a decision that will satisfy the Russian side as well.”

Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, has been jailed in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage-related charges that he and the U.S. government dispute. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,200 miles east of Moscow. Russia’s Federal Security Service alleged that Gershkovich, “acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.” He has been behind bars ever since.

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Dec. 8, 2023

The Lefortovo District Court in Moscow on Nov. 28 ordered his detention extended till the end of January , and the appeal Gershkovich has filed against that ruling was rejected by the Moscow City Court at a hearing Thursday.

Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal deny the allegations, and the U.S. government has declared him to be wrongfully detained. Russian authorities haven’t detailed any evidence to support the espionage charges.

Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be charged with espionage in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB . Gershkovich is being held at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, notorious for its harsh conditions.

Analysts have said that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips after U.S.-Russia tensions soared when Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At least two U.S. citizens arrested in Russia in recent years — including WNBA star Brittney Griner — have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the U.S.

Putin insists there will be no peace in Ukraine until his goals are achieved

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to vow that there will be no peace in Ukraine until his goals, which remain unchanged, are achieved.

Dec. 14, 2023

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said it would consider a swap for Gershkovich only after a verdict in his trial. In Russia, espionage trials can last for more than a year.

Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, attended the court hearing for Gershkovich’s appeal Thursday and told reporters that “Evan’s ordeal has now stretched on for over 250 days. His life has been put on hold for over eight months for a crime he didn’t commit.

“Although Evan appeared as sharp and focused as ever today in the courtroom, it is not acceptable that Russian authorities have chosen to use him as a political pawn,” Tracy said after the hearing.

More to Read

U.S. citizen facing drug charges in Russia appears in court

April 25, 2024

Moscow court rejects Evan Gershkovich’s appeal, keeping him in jail until at least June 30

April 23, 2024

Biden reaffirms he’s working to release Wall Street Journal reporter held in Russia for a year

March 29, 2024

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Women's prison hosts Vatican's Venice Biennale show

A women's prison is the site of an immersive art show from the Vatican at the 60th Venice Biennale, an unlikely venue that its curator says is a "message in itself".

The Canale della Giudecca in Venice

(Copyright: MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP)

Away from the spotlight and the crowds of the prestigious international art fair, the former convent on the island of Giudecca in the Venetian lagoon now houses women serving long sentences. 

But during this year's Biennale it is home to the exhibit "With my Eyes", which considers the daily lives of the prisoners through the work of 10 different artists. 

Setting the tone on the exterior facade of the prison is an imposing painting of the soles of two bare feet with rough skin by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.

"It was not a matter of turning the prison into a mundane exhibition space, but of engaging artists in artistic and relational work with female inmates," said Bruno Racine, the curator.

The invited artists were "united by a conscience of the context and a willingness to participate in a unique artistic and human experience", he said. 

"We had to find a concept, a place that was a message in itself" for the Vatican's show.

Pope Francis, who has repeatedly championed the cause of prisoners and others on society's margins, plans to tour the exhibition during a visit to Venice on Sunday.

- 'No armour' - 

Even gaining access to the show is part of the experience as visitors must comply with stringent security measures, including reserving in advance and leaving mobile phones in lockers during the visit.

Photography is not allowed. 

Twenty prisoners out of the institution's 80 are taking part in the show as guides, including Pascale and Marcella at a recent press day. 

In a decrepit outdoor brick corridor topped with barbed wire, poems and messages have been transcribed onto lava slabs by the Lebanese artist Simone Fattal. 

"I would like to isolate myself, to roll up in a ball in my chest, here there is no armour", one of them reads. 

At the end of the corridor is a work by the Claire Fontaine collective -- a neon eye that has been crossed out, symbolising invisibility and inmates' inability to access the outside world. 

Nearby, rows of lettuce are planted in a large garden with greenhouses, a rare glimpse into the daily life of the prisoners. 

"This is the part I call home. This is where we grow the fruit and vegetables that are sold outside," Marcella said.

In the courtyard, a blue neon message hanging on the wall calls out to visitors: "Siamo con voi nella notte" ("We are with you in the night"), a slogan born in Florence and used in 1970s Italy in support of political prisoners. 

Illuminated 24 hours a day, it can be seen from the cells. 

It's "a way of showing women that they're not alone", said a guard who was supervising the visit. 

- 'Intimate stories' -

A black-and-white short film by the Italian director Marco Perego features some of the inmates as well as his wife, the American actor Zoe Saldana, telling the story of a woman's last day in prison.

In another room are paintings of the prisoners and their loved ones by the French artist Claire Tabouret, reproduced from family photos. 

"She has collected pieces of intimate stories, of life. Here, there's my son," said Marcella, pointing to one of the paintings. 

At the end of the visit, Marcella recited a poem she had written and expressed enthusiasm about the pope's visit.

"We can't wait to see him. This whole project is a message of hope."

© Copyright 2024 ETX Studio

These incarcerated women are leaving prison with a certified license to make people feel beautiful. The program ‘gave me a chance to feel human again’

Stephanie F., who asked Fortune to withhold her last name for privacy concerns, was 39 when she became incarcerated in 2018 at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility , a medium-security women’s prison in Oregon that holds anyone from drug charges to those serving life sentences without parole. At the time, she said, “I never really took care of myself,” and needed to learn to “control my temper and keep my mouth shut.” 

Five years into her sentence, she was desperate for a fresh start. Her release date in 2032 was a decade away, and prison could be demoralizing. That’s when she met another woman in custody who was enrolled in a cosmetology program at Coffee Creek, which awards graduates a state license in hair, esthetics and nails to practice as estheticians and cosmetologists upon release. It changed everything for her. 

“I saw this transformation that this person made and who they became,” she told Fortune in a phone interview , “and I just thought, I want that for my life. I want to be a better person.” 

Now age 45, Stephanie is 11 months deep in the two-year program, and is on her way to join a cohort of 36 graduates, nine of whom have been released. The corrections facility has been in partnership with skin therapy company Dermalogica on the program since 2019, with an aim to help women run their own businesses or secure a liveable income upon release. When she’s out, she’ll join the flock of about 650,000 people released from state and federal prisons every year—some of whom find freedom with “little more than a few dollars and a bus ticket,” according to a statement President Joe Biden released while proclaiming April as “Second Chance Month.” 

Historically, Americans with criminal records face an unwelcoming labor market. According to a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics that tracked 50,000 people after leaving prisons in 2010, over a third found no employment four years after their release, and at any given time, no more than 40% were employed. But the tides are turning: in a survey of 1,000 job seekers conducted by Indeed, 92% said they would be comfortable with a co-worker who has a nonviolent criminal record. Companies, like Dermalogica, are committing more to equity efforts, too. In 2022, railroad company Union Pacific began hiring formerly incarcerated people, citing evidence that employment helps them avoid further arrests and makes their children less likely to be imprisoned. 

For formerly incarcerated people, re-entry into society is one of the “most significant challenges facing the criminal justice system,” according to a National Institute of Justice report . And with 78,000 women being released from prison each year, while the number of women entering prisons and jails is growing , it’s a problem that deserves attention. 

In addition to employment, the report states, challenges include securing housing and managing mental illness, family reunification, childcare and parenting. In fact, the majority of incarcerated women are parents to children under the age of 18. 

For Dermalogica’s partnership with Coffee Creek, the intention is to help women come out of prison with a few of those bases covered, namely the ability to earn a livable wage and provide support to their families. The partnership involves a 1,835-hour certification program in hair, skin and nails to cohorts of 20 women at a time.

The structure of the program involves two instructors from Dermalogica staff, which the prison hires on contract to teach monthly classes via Zoom while the women in custody practice techniques on each other and mannequins. They also study theory through textbooks and workbooks that the company provides. Dermalogica doesn’t release how much funding goes into the program, but provides upwards of 50 products like facial cleansers, exfoliators, moisturizers, brushes and LED machines for advanced skin care treatment twice a year, along with study materials for the license certification exams at the end of the program. 

In class, the women study how to treat different skin conditions, while also performing hands-on treatments. When a student completes 1,835 hours, another can begin on a rolling basis. The aim is to give women in custody a skillset they can rely on once they’re released—and that they can apply in a growing industry.

The professional skin care industry is growing at an accelerated rate, Dermalogica CEO Aurelian Lis told Fortune , adding that the program “works all around to train students for roles that will be more in-demand than ever.” 

Sure enough, the industry is growing: the professional skin care market size was valued at about $12.4 billion in 2022, and it’s forecast to grow to $15.3 billion by 2029, according to a Market Reports World report on LinkedIn . The Bureau of Labor Statistics also expects skin care specialists to grow 9% from 2022 to 2032, a rate that’s much faster than the average for other occupations. But the classes, which also cover entrepreneurship and soft skills, have been offering much more than just a good job outlook.

Lis described how the program is unique to a correctional facility because “it’s the only place that adults in custody are able to touch each other.” With the no-touching rule, “you lose that humanity,” she added, and it’s something many of the women struggle with. Stephanie agreed, noting she believes it’s normal human behavior to want to hug your friends and that physical touch can improve mental health.

Sarah E., a graduate of the program who spent five years in the facility until her release in February 2020, told Fortune that without the support and friendships she formed in class, she “might not be alive today,” adding that the program “gave me a chance to feel human again.”

“Sometimes our families just can’t support us in that place,” she said. “They’re living life outside, and we’re stuck in this box. We’re worried about what’s going on with our families and their lives, and the support and care from people in the same situation is huge.”

It’s not surprising the no-touch rule needs to bend for the program, where the incarcerated women learn skills like facials, chemical peels, hair coloring and styling and manicures, while practicing the services on other adults in custody and even prison staff. Practicing services on staff, Stephanie said, improved interactions that are often dehumanizing for both sides: she has a tendency to put “cop labels” on the guards, while she said they can often be “condescending.”

“It’s hard for them to see us as regular people,” she said.

But when she performs services that require communication and mutual agreements with staff members, “it lets them see that I’ve made choices in my life, but it doesn’t mean I’m not going to be their neighbor someday.” 

Tammy Kennedy, a trainer for the cosmetology program at the facility, told Fortune that staff can request haircuts, facials and skin treatments at beauty school prices, which are often a fraction of what salons charge. Other adults in custody can get treatments for free or for a small fee. Treating prison staff as clients has been a positive experience for the women, she said, because they “have to rise to a different level and learn to have appropriate conversations with people that aren’t about the stuff happening in the facility.” It puts a focus on conversational soft skills that are vital for salon workers.

Beyond that, the services are a way for women to earn a livable wage immediately upon their release.

That’s one reason the work resonated for Sarah, who felt the other courses offered at the facility—like call center training with the Department of Motor Vehicles and sewing courses—wouldn’t help her provide enough for her three kids, aged 22, 16 and 12. 

Before prison, she was working in the food industry, where she earned about $10 an hour. Now, she makes more than twice that, plus tips, but the beginning of her career was rough because of the pandemic. Sarah was released in February 2020, just as the pandemic had begun derailing industries that depend on close contact, like hers. 

In September of that year, she secured a job in the esthetics field, and when the salon shuttered its doors two years later in November 2022, she started a new job at a plastic surgery office in Eugene, Oregon, where she now works as an esthetician and medical assistant on services like Botox, fillers, facials, and one of her favorite treatments, chemical peels.

Along with a license to practice beauty, Sarah walked away from prison with friendships she believes will be “life lasting.” One of the women she graduated with, she said, hangs out with her at her house and spends time with her kids—and also helps her save upwards of $300 by doing her hair for free. 

The community the women gained from classes has also inspired them to give back to other women who might be having a hard time. For Stephanie, who has a 15-year-old daughter waiting for her outside prison, being incarcerated is difficult when she thinks of the events she’s missing in her daughter’s life, like first days of school and prom. When “you’re an incarcerated mom,” she said, “everything is limited. But you know that appearance can matter to them so much.” She hopes to give back to the program by offering to help other kids with incarcerated parents get ready for prom. 

For her part, Sarah believes the program’s skills can help sustain women into “life outside of those walls,” especially considering that many women are released with low credit scores, poor rental histories or work experiences. “It’s such a beautiful program,” she said, “I don’t know if I would have survived prison without it.”

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Inside Russia’s penal colonies: A look at life for political prisoners caught in Putin’s crackdowns

FILE In this file photo made from video provided by the Moscow City Court on Feb. 3, 2021, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny makes a heart gesture standing in a cage during a hearing to a motion from the Russian prison service to convert the suspended sentence of Navalny from the 2014 criminal conviction into a real prison term in the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, has become Russia’s most famous political prisoner. He is serving a nine-year term due to end in 2030 on charges widely seen as trumped up, and is facing another trial on new charges that could keep him locked up for another two decades. (Moscow City Court via AP, File)

FILE Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny looks at photographers standing behind a glass of the cage in the Babuskinsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 20, 2021. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, has become Russia’s most famous political prisoner. He is serving a nine-year term due to end in 2030 on charges widely seen as trumped up, and is facing another trial on new charges that could keep him locked up for another two decades. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Detained protesters are escorted by police during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Jan. 31, 2021. Memorial, Russia’s oldest and most prominent human rights organization and a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, counted 558 political prisoners in the country as of April -- more than three times higher than in 2018, when it listed 183. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Alexey Navalny, speaks with riot police officers blocking the way during a protest rally against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s rule in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Feb. 25, 2012. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, has become Russia’s most famous political prisoner. He is serving a nine-year term due to end in 2030 on charges widely seen as trumped up, and is facing another trial on new charges that could keep him locked up for another two decades. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Police block a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Jan. 23, 2021. Memorial, Russia’s oldest and most prominent human rights organization and a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, counted 558 political prisoners in the country as of April -- more than three times higher than in 2018, when it listed 183. (AP Photo, file)

FILE Sasha Skochilenko, a 32-year-old artist and musician, stands in a defendant’s cage in a courtroom during a hearing in the Vasileostrovsky district court in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 13, 2022. Skochilenko is in detention amid her ongoing trial following her April 2022 arrest in St. Petersburg on the charges of spreading false information about the army. She has spent over a year behind bars. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza is escorted to a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 8, 2023. Kara-Murza, another top Russian opposition figure, was sentenced last month to 25 years on treason charges. (AP Photo, File)

FILE In this handout photo released by the Moscow City Court, Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, on April 17, 2023. Kara-Murza, another top Russian opposition figure, was sentenced last month to 25 years on treason charges. (The Moscow City Court via AP, File)

FILE - Alexei Gorinov holds a sign “I am against the war” standing in a cage during hearing in the courtroom in Moscow, Russia, on June 21, 2022. Gorinov, a former member of a Moscow municipal council, was convicted of “spreading false information” about the army in July over antiwar remarks he made at a council session. Criticism of the invasion was criminalized a few months earlier, and Gorinov, 61, became the first Russian sent to prison for it, receiving seven years. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Andrei Pivovarov, former head of Open Russia movement stands behind the glass during a court session in Krasnodar, Russia, on June 2, 2021. Pivovarov, an opposition figure sentenced last year to four years in prison, has been in isolation at Penal Colony No. 7 in northern Russia’s Karelia region since January and is likely to stay there the rest of this year. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Andrei Pivovarov, former head of Open Russia movement, speaks with media in Moscow, Russia, on July 9, 2020. Pivovarov, an opposition figure sentenced last year to four years in prison, has been in isolation at Penal Colony No. 7 in northern Russia’s Karelia region since January and is likely to stay there the rest of this year. (AP Photo/Denis Kaminev, File)

FILE - Riot police detain two young men at a demonstration in Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 21, 2022. Memorial, Russia’s oldest and most prominent human rights organization and a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, counted 558 political prisoners in the country as of April -- more than three times higher than in 2018, when it listed 183. (AP Photo, File)

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TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — When Alexei Navalny turns 47 on Sunday, he’ll wake up in a bare concrete cell with hardly any natural light.

He won’t be able to see or talk to any of his loved ones. Phone calls and visits are banned for those in “punishment isolation” cells, a 2-by-3-meter (6 1/2-by-10-foot) space. Guards usually blast patriotic songs and speeches by President Vladimir Putin at him.

“Guess who is the champion of listening to Putin’s speeches? Who listens to them for hours and falls asleep to them?” Navalny said recently in a typically sardonic social media post via his attorneys from Penal Colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region east of Moscow.

He is serving a nine-year term due to end in 2030 on charges widely seen as trumped up, and is facing another trial on new charges that could keep him locked up for another two decades. Rallies have been called for Sunday in Russia to support him.

Navalny has become Russia’s most famous political prisoner — and not just because of his prominence as Putin’s fiercest political foe, his poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin, and his being the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary.

He has chronicled his arbitrary placement in isolation, where he has spent almost six months. He’s on a meager prison diet, restricted on how much time he can spend writing letters and forced at times to live with a cellmate with poor personal hygiene, making life even more miserable.

Most of the attention goes to Navalny and other high-profile figures like Vladimir Kara-Murza , who was sentenced last month to 25 years on treason charges. But there’s a growing number of less-famous prisoners who are serving time in similarly harsh conditions.

Memorial, Russia’s oldest and most prominent human rights organization and a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, counted 558 political prisoners in the country as of April — more than three times the figure than in 2018, when it listed 183.

The Soviet Union’s far-flung gulag system of prison camps provided inmate labor to develop industries such as mining and logging. While conditions vary among modern-day penal colonies , Russian law still permits prisoners to work on jobs like sewing uniforms for soldiers.

In a 2021 report, the U.S. State Department said conditions in Russian prisons and detention centers “were often harsh and life threatening. Overcrowding, abuse by guards and inmates, limited access to health care, food shortages and inadequate sanitation were common in prisons, penal colonies, and other detention facilities.”

Andrei Pivovarov , an opposition figure sentenced last year to four years in prison, has been in isolation at Penal Colony No. 7 in northern Russia’s Karelia region since January and is likely to stay there the rest of this year, said his partner, Tatyana Usmanova. The institution is notorious for its harsh conditions and reports of torture.

The 41-year-old former head of the pro-democracy group Open Russia spends his days alone in a small cell in a “strict detention” unit, and is not allowed any calls or visits from anyone but his lawyers, Usmanova told The Associated Press. He can get one book from the prison library, can write letters for several hours a day and is permitted 90 minutes outdoors, she said.

Other inmates are prohibited from making eye contact with Pivovarov in the corridors, contributing to his “maximum isolation,” she said.

“It wasn’t enough to sentence him to a real prison term. They are also trying to ruin his life there,” Usmanova added.

Pivovarov was pulled off a Warsaw-bound flight just before takeoff from St. Petersburg in May 2021 and taken to the southern city of Krasnodar. Authorities accused him of engaging with an “undesirable” organization -– a crime since 2015.

Several days before his arrest, Open Russia had disbanded after getting the “undesirable” label.

After his trial in Krasnodar, the St. Petersburg native was convicted and sentenced in July, when Russia’s war in Ukraine and Putin’s sweeping crackdown on dissent were in full swing.

He told AP in a letter from Krasnodar in December that authorities moved him there “to hide me farther away” from his hometown and Moscow. That interview was one of the last Pivovarov was able to give, describing prison life there as “boring and depressing,” with his only diversion being an hour-long walk in a small yard. “Lucky” inmates with cash in their accounts can shop at a prison store once a week for 10 minutes but otherwise must stay in their cells, he wrote.

Letters from supporters lift his spirits, he said. Many people wrote that they used to be uninterested in Russian politics, according to Pivovarov, and “only now are starting to see clearly.”

Now, any letters take weeks to arrive, Usmanova said.

Conditions are easier for some less-famous political prisoners like Alexei Gorinov , a former member of a Moscow municipal council. He was was convicted of “spreading false information” about the army in July over antiwar remarks he made at a council session.

Criticism of the invasion was criminalized a few months earlier, and Gorinov, 61, became the first Russian sent to prison for it, receiving seven years.

He is housed in barracks with about 50 others in his unit at Penal Colony No. 2 in the Vladimir region, Gorinov said in written answers passed to AP in March.

The long sentence for a low-profile activist shocked many, and Gorinov said “authorities needed an example they could showcase to others (of) an ordinary person, rather than a public figure.”

Inmates in his unit can watch TV, and play chess, backgammon or table tennis. There’s a small kitchen to brew tea or coffee between meals, and they can have food from personal supplies.

But Gorinov said prison officials still carry out “enhanced control” of the unit, and he and two other inmates get special checks every two hours, since they’ve been labeled “prone to escape.”

There is little medical help, he said.

“Right now, I’m not feeling all that well, as I can’t recover from bronchitis,” he said, adding that he needed treatment for pneumonia last winter at another prison’s hospital ward, because at Penal Colony No. 2, the most they can do is “break a fever.”

Also suffering health problems is artist and musician Sasha Skochilenko, who is detained amid her ongoing trial following her April 2022 arrest in St. Petersburg, also on charges of spreading false information about the army. Her crime was replacing supermarket price tags with antiwar slogans in protest.

Skochilenko has a congenital heart defect and celiac disease, requiring a gluten-free diet. She gets food parcels weekly, but there is a weight limit, and the 32-year-old can’t eat “half the things they give her there,” said her partner, Sophia Subbotina.

There’s a stark difference between detention facilities for women and men, and Skochilenko has it easier in some ways than male prisoners, Subbotina said.

“Oddly enough, the staff are mostly nice. Mostly they are women, they are quite friendly, they will give helpful tips and they have a very good attitude toward Sasha,” Subbotina told AP by phone.

“Often they support Sasha, they tell her: ‘You will definitely get out of here soon, this is so unfair here.’ They know about our relationship and they are fine with it. They’re very humane,” she said.

There’s no political propaganda in the jail and dance music blares from a radio. Cooking shows play on TV. Skochilenko “wouldn’t watch them in normal life, but in jail, it’s a distraction,” Subbotina said.

She recently arranged for an outside cardiologist to examine Skochilneko and since March has been allowed to visit her twice a month.

Subbotina gets emotional when she recalled their first visit.

“It is a complex and weird feeling when you’ve been living with a person. Sasha and I have been together for over six years — waking up with them, falling asleep with them — then not being able to see them for a year,” she said. “I was nervous when I went to visit her. I didn’t know what I would say to Sasha, but in the end, it went really well.”

Still, Subbotina said a year behind bars has been hard on Skochilenko. The trial is moving slowly, unlike usually swift proceedings for high-profile political activists, with guilty verdicts almost a certainty.

Skochilenko faces up to 10 years if convicted.

Licence conditions and recall — determinate sentences

This guide provides information about licence conditions and recall for people serving determinate sentences

What does being on licence mean?

How long will i be on licence, what are licence conditions, can i travel abroad whilst on licence, licence variation and licence authorisation, what can i do if i am unhappy with my licence conditions, what happens if i do not follow my licence conditions, what does being recalled mean, considerations for recall, what happens after i am recalled.

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When you are released you may be ‘on licence’.

This means you have an allocated Community Offender Manager (COM) and conditions which you must follow until a certain date. If you do not follow these conditions you could be returned to prison.

Being on licence is sometimes called being ‘on probation’ or ‘under supervision’. Your COM is sometimes called your ‘probation officer’ or your ‘supervising officer’.

The length of your licence depends on when you were sentenced, how long your sentence is, and what type of sentence it is.

You can check which release and licence arrangements apply to you in  Sentence Calculation Policy Framework: determinate sentenced prisoners

Since February 2015 even people given short determinate sentences must serve time on licence after release. The period on licence is usually the remainder of your sentence after you have been released from custody. If this period is less than 12 months, this will be followed by a period on ‘post-sentence supervision’. The post sentence supervision will finish 12 months after you were released from custody.

If you have an extended sentence there will be an extra period on licence in the community which will have been decided by the judge. For more details see our advice guide on Extended Sentences .

Your Licence End Date (LED) should be included on the notification the prison gives you when it works out you sentence. It will also be on the copy of the licence which you are given on release.

Licence conditions are the rules which you must follow when you are on licence. If you do not follow these conditions you could be returned to prison. This is called recall.

Your licence conditions will be written on your licence document which you will be given when you are released. You will be asked to sign this to show you understand the conditions. In some cases, these conditions will have been discussed with you by your Prison Offender Manager (POM) and/or your Community Offender Manager (COM) in advance of your release.

There are standard licence conditions which apply to everyone. There are also additional licence conditions which your offender manager can add to your licence if they think they are needed.

Licence conditions are covered in detail by Licence Conditions Policy Framework .

Standard licence conditions

The following are standard licence conditions and will be on every licence:

During your licence period you must:

a)    be of good behaviour and not behave in a way which undermines the purpose of the licence period;

b)    not commit any offence;

c)    keep in touch with the supervising officer in accordance with instructions given by the supervising officer;

d)    receive visits from the supervising officer in accordance with instructions given by the supervising officer;

e)   reside permanently at an address approved by the supervising officer and obtain the prior permission of the supervising officer for any stay of one or more nights at a different address;

f)    not undertake work, or a particular type of work, unless it is approved by the supervising officer and notify the supervising officer in advance of any proposal to undertake work or a particular type of work;

g)   not travel outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man except with the prior permission of your supervising officer or for the purposes of immigration deportation or removal.

h)   tell your supervising officer if you use a name which is different to the name or names which appear on your licence.

i)   tell your supervising officer if you change or add any contact details, including phone number or email.

Additional licence conditions

You may also have additional licence conditions if your offender manager thinks it is necessary and proportionate to do this.

The following categories of licence condition could be added to your licence:

• residence at a specified place;
• restriction of residency;
• making or maintaining contact with a person;
• participation in, or co-operation with, a programme or set of activities;
• possession, ownership, control or inspection of specified items or documents;
• disclosure of information;
• curfew arrangement;
• freedom of movement;
• supervision in the community by the supervising officer, or other responsible officer, or organisation.
• restriction of specified conduct or specified acts ;
• polygraph condition
• drug testing conditions
• electronic monitoring conditions

  Within each category there are different types of licence condition which your offender manager could add to your licence. You can find these in the Licence Conditions Policy Framework .

  Your offender manager must make sure that a request for additional licence conditions is necessary and proportionate. The Licence Conditions Policy Framework defines this criteria in the following way:

Necessary: Any licence condition requested must have been identified as a way to manage a specific risk or issue posed by the individual, without limitation to the current index offence;

Proportionate: Any licence condition must be the least intrusive means of enabling that management.

Some victims have the right to have their views considered about what conditions they think you should be subject to, and to be told about relevant conditions which are included in your licence. There is more information about this in the Licence Conditions Policy Framework .

Approved Premises

Your COM can include residing in Approved Premises as part of the residence conditions of your licence. They might do this if they think it will help to manage any risks when you return to the community.

Refusing to do stay at an Approved Premises would be considered a breach of your licence and you could be recalled to prison. You can find more information in our Approved Premises information sheet, and in PI 32/2014 Approved Premises .

Use of computers and mobile phones

Under additional condition 5 ) there are a number of restrictions which could be added to your use of devices such as mobile phones and computers.

For example, you may not be allowed to have more than one mobile phone, or any device with a camera function. You may be expected to make devices such as computers and phones available for inspection and told not to delete internet history information. You may be restricted from using any computer or device which is internet enabled without the prior agreement of your COM.

Exclusion zones

You may have an exclusion zone included in your licence. This means you cannot enter a specific area whilst on licence. This could be based on where previous victims live or locations that are linked to offending behaviour.

The Policy Framework states that ‘exclusion zones must have clear boundaries that can be understood on the ground.’ You should speak to your COM if you do not understand an exclusion zone or have a concern about access to something within it such as a hospital.

Terrorist/Extremism Related Licence Conditions

Your COM may request use of specific terrorism/extremism related conditions if they belief you pose a risk in this area. You do not have to have been convicted of a terrorist or extremism related offence. There is more information about these conditions and their use in Annex A of the Licence Conditions Policy Framework .

Polygraph examinations

Polygraph examinations can be included as a licence condition for people convicted of relevant sexual offences and people convicted of relevant terrorist and terrorist connected offences. There is more information in the Polygraph Examinations Policy Framework .

Drug testing

A drug testing condition can only be added if you have a history of misusing illegal drugs and there is a reason to believe that this is linked to offending behaviour. There is more information in PSI 32/2014 Drug appointment and drug testing .

Electronic monitoring

Electronic monitoring, also known as ‘tagging’, is used to monitor conditions such as curfews and exclusion zones. It means having a ‘tag’ attached to you, usually on your ankle, and a monitoring unit installed in your agreed place of residence.

The Electronic Monitoring Service (EMS) will check the information from your tag and tell your COM if there is any indication you are breaching your licence condition. If you have any problems or questions about your electronic tag, you should contact EMS on 0800 137 291.

Electronic monitoring can now be included as a licence condition for a wider range of people, including those released on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) people serving extended sentences (e.g. EDS, EPP) or for acquisitive crime in some areas. If you have this on your licence and are not sure why, speak to your POM or COM about it, or call our advice service for more information.

Alcohol monitoring

Alcohol Monitoring (AM) conditions are available for adults where alcohol is considered a risk factor in their offending and for any sentence type which has at least 30 days remaining on the licence period.

There are two types of alcohol monitoring licence conditions:

• You must not drink any alcohol until [licence end date]. You will need to wear an electronic tag all the time so we can check this.
• You will need to wear an electronic tag all the time until [licence end date] so we can check how much alcohol you are drinking, and if you are drinking alcohol when you have been told you must not. To help you drink less alcohol you must take part in any activities, like treatment programmes, your probation officer asks you to.

An alcohol tag is a device that is securely fitted to your ankle. It monitors for the presence of alcohol by taking a sample of sweat every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day. The information is uploaded to the Wireless Base Station, which will occur at an agreed time daily. The information from the tag will show if you have been drinking alcohol, or if you have attempted to obstruct or remove the tag.

Even if you do not have an Alcohol Monitoring condition, you should be aware that the condition to ‘be of good behaviour’ could be enough to justify recall if your behaviour or risk after consuming alcohol is unacceptable. You should also be aware that complying with alcohol testing could be a condition of an Approved Premises. Being evicted from an Approved Premises for consuming alcohol could result in being recalled to prison.

Bespoke conditions

Your supervising officer may decide that the wording of the standard or additional licence conditions are not enough to manage a specific risk. They may make an application to the Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS) for a bespoke condition to be used.

Temporary travel abroad

The standard licence conditions mean that if you want to travel abroad for any reason including a seeing family, for business reasons, or for a holiday, you must get permission from your offender manager first.

You should be aware that it can be difficult to get permission to travel abroad, particularly in the early stages of your licence.

The Travel and Transfer on Licence and PSS Outside of England and Wales Policy Framework sets the following criteria for temporary travel abroad:

A. Does the individual need to travel abroad to undertake the activity?

B. Will the benefits to the individual of travelling abroad be realised if the travel is deferred until after the end of the licence and PSS period (for individuals subject to determinate sentences) or suspension of the supervision element of the licence (for individuals subject to indeterminate sentences)?;

C. Are travel or activities carried out abroad connected or potentially connected to the individual’s index offence (e.g. importation of drugs; fraud involving companies set up outside of the United Kingdom; human trafficking)?;

D. Will the travel interfere with the sentence plan or:

1. During a licence period: increase any risk of re-offending or risk of serious harm, including risk of serious harm to prior victims, or risk to the individual themselves?;

2. During a PSS period: deter from the rehabilitation of the individual, and interfere with the reestablishment of family/community ties?;

E. Will the travel interfere with reporting requirements or attendance at offending behaviour programmes or interventions?;

F. Have there been any concerns regarding a lack of compliance or any escalation in risk of reoffending or risk of serious harm in the past 12 months?;

G. Is the Senior Manager satisfied that the individual can be trusted to return and resume the supervisory period?

Note that the Policy Framework states that ‘there is an expectation with both types of external travel that the individual will have been in the community for a period sufficiently long enough that the understanding of risk can be updated and so more accurately considered against the criteria for travel where needed.’

Permanent resettlement abroad

The Travel and Transfer on Licence and PSS Outside of England and Wales Policy Framework sets out the following criteria:

A. Does the individual hold the nationality or have strong residential ties in the place s/he wishes to resettle, including, but not limited to, any compassionate reasons? If the answer to criterion a is ‘no’ then the application should be refused.

B. Is the individual’s index offence connected or potentially connected with the country s/he wishes to resettle in, or is generally connected with overseas activities? (e.g. fraud involving companies set up outside of the United Kingdom; sexual offences against children and wishes to travel to a country known for child sexual exploitation; people trafficking; extremism with potential or actual international links). If the answer to criterion b is ‘yes’, then the application should be refused.

C. Would the protection of the public (including victims), reduction in the risk of reoffending and rehabilitation of the individual be undermined by such resettlement? If the answer to criterion c is ‘yes’, then the application should be refused.

D. Have there been any concerns regarding a lack of compliance or any escalation in risk of reoffending or risk of serious harm in the past 12 months?; If the answer to criterion d is ‘yes’, then the application should be refused.

If you are considering making a request there is more information in the Policy Framework .

There is also a very helpful explanation on Unlock’s Information Hub titled Resettling abroad whilst on licence .  http://hub.unlock.org.uk/knowledgebase/travelling-licence/

It is possible for your COM to make changes to additional licence conditions once you are in the community, on a temporary or permanent basis.

Licence variation

Licence variation is where your COM applies to the decision maker for a change to additional conditions in your licence after you have been released from custody.

Additional licence conditions must continue to be both necessary and proportionate to remain on your licence. You COM may therefore need to add or remove licence conditions as things change over time.

For example, it may be necessary to alter or remove a curfew requirement to enable you to engage in some employment.

The process for applying for a licence variation is set out in the Licence Conditions Policy Framework .

Licence authorisation

Licence authorisation is where your COM gives permission for a temporary change to an additional licence condition. Many additional licence conditions include wording like “without prior permission of your supervising officer” which allows for this.

A licence authorisation should be used for exceptional circumstances only. It should only be approved where all other options have been explored and deemed unsuitable.

It should only be used for a specific reason. For example, a request for permission to attend a funeral taking place within your exclusion zone.

Where it is likely that the permission would be required on a repeated basis then a licence variation request is more appropriate.

There is more information about licence variation and licence authorisation in this guidance from the Ministry of Justice – Variation and Authorisation: Changing and managing Licence Conditions Following Release .

If you are unhappy with a licence condition you can:

Ask to speak with your offender manager

It may be helpful to explain to your offender manager why you are unhappy with the conditions and see if they will reconsider this.

Make a complaint about the licence condition

If you have spoken to your offender manager and still think your licence conditions are unnecessary or disproportionate, you can make a complaint. Your initial complaint should be made to the relevant probation service. Our advice guide about Probation Complaints has more information about how to do this.

If you are still unhappy after following the internal complaints process you can then ask the Prison and Probation Ombudsman to investigate it.

Get legal advice

It may be worth speaking to a solicitor to see if you can get any legal support challenging licence conditions. If you are in prison and need details of local solicitors, our Advice and Information Service can look for this information for you.

If you do not follow your licence conditions you could be returned to prison. This is called being ‘recalled’.

Recall – Determinate sentences

Being recalled means you are returned to prison. This can happen if you do not follow your licence conditions.

Your Community Offender Manager will make a request to the Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS) if they think you need to be recalled. PPCS decide if you should be recalled and how long you should be recalled for (see below).

If the decision is made to recall you, your licence will be cancelled. This is known as having your licence ‘revoked’

The police will be informed, as well as your probation service and the prison you were released from. You will be arrested and returned to prison.

If you avoid being returned to prison it is called ‘remaining unlawfully at large’. This is an offence and you could get up to two more years prison sentence.

The Recall, Review & Re-Release of Recalled Prisoners Policy Framework gives details about the things that should be considered for the following types of sentence:

Determinate sentences

Paragraph 3.3.9 of the Policy Framework says:

‘Offender managers must consider whether to seek recall in cases where the offender has breached the conditions of their licence, the offender’s behaviour indicates that they present an increased or Risk of Serious Harm (RoSH) to the public or there is an imminent risk of further offences being committed. Offender managers must also consider recall in cases where contact between the offender manager and the offender has broken down.’

Extended Sentences (EPP and EDS)

Your Community Offender Manager must show that there is some link between your current behaviour and your behaviour at the time of the index offence.

COMs must meet one of the following criteria set out in paragraph 3.3.1 of the Policy Framework when assessing whether to request recall:

i. Exhibits behaviour similar to behaviour surrounding the circumstances of the index offence;

ii. Exhibits behaviour likely to give rise (or does give rise) to a sexual or violent offence;

iii. Exhibits behaviour associated with the commission of a sexual or violent offence; or

iv. Is out of touch with the offender manager and the assumption can be made that any of (i) to (iii) may arise. ’

The prison should tell the Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS) that you have returned to custody immediately.

You should be told the reasons for being recalled. This information is in paperwork called your ‘recall dossier’.

Your recall dossier is given to the prison by PPCS. This should happen within one working day of PPCS being told that you have been returned to custody

The prison should then give you a copy. This should happen within one working day of the prison receiving the recall dossier from PPCS.

You should be informed about your right to make representations to the Parole Board and given information about how to do this.

You should be given a list of legal aid lawyers.

You should be given the opportunity to make a legal telephone call within two working days of receiving the recall dossier.

There are different types of recall for determinate sentences. When and how you can be released will depend on which type of recall you are given.

Fixed term recall

Fixed term recall means you are only recalled for a set period before being re-released.

You may be considered suitable for fixed term recall if it is assessed that you ‘will not present a risk of serious harm to members of the public if released at the end of that period.’

You are not eligible for fixed term recall if you are serving an extended sentence.

If you are serving a determinate sentences of 12 months or more a fixed term recall will be 28 days.

If you are serving a determinate sentence of less than 12 months for an offence committed on or after 1 February 2015, then a fixed term recall will be for 14 days.

At the end of the fixed period you should be released automatically.

Parole review for fixed term recall

If you are recalled to prison you can have this decision checked by the Parole Board. They will decide if you can be released earlier.

You must make representations for the decision to be checked. This means asking them to look at the decision and giving reasons why you think it should be changed. Your case will not be referred automatically if you do not make representations.

If you are on a fixed term recall, and choose to make representations to the Parole Board, the prison is responsible for passing your representations to the Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS). PPCS will then request a report from your offender manager and refer your case to the Parole Board.

Executive release for fixed term recall

The Secretary of State has an executive power to release you before the end of your recall in some circumstances. In practice this decision is made by the Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS).

If you are on a fixed term recall your offender manager can make a request to PPCS to consider executive release before the end of the fixed term if they think your risk of re-offending can be safely managed in the community.

Standard recall

A standard recall means you could stay in prison until the end of your sentence.

You will be given a standard recall if you are considered unsuitable for a fixed term recall.

If you are serving an extended sentence you will be given a standard recall.

For information about recall for indeterminate sentenced prisoners, please see our advice guide about Licence Conditions and Recall – indeterminate sentences .

Parole review for standard recall

If you are on a standard recall, your case should be referred to the Parole Board no later than 28 days after your return to custody.

You must make your representations within 10 working days of being given your recall dossier. You can ask a solicitor for help with this.

Your case should be considered, and a decision should be made by the Parole Board 6 weeks after return to custody

At the review stage the Parole Board can:

• Direct release
• Fix a date for your release within one year
• Make no direction for release
• Direct an oral hearing to determine whether to release

If you are not released at the first review, the Parole Board must conduct an annual review no later than 12 months after your last parole review.

Executive release for standard recall

The Secretary of State has an executive power to release you at any time during the rest of your sentence. In practice this decision is made by the Public Protection Casework Section.

If you are on a standard recall PPCS can consider executive release based on information in the Part B report. This usually happens 10 working days after return to custody. If PPCS decide to release you the case will not be referred to the Parole Board.

At any other time your offender manager can make a request to PPCS to consider executive release if they think your risk of re-offending can be safely managed in the community.

Emergency recall

If your offender manager thinks you need to be recalled very urgently, they may request an emergency recall. This process is quicker. When recalled you will usually be held on a standard recall, as above.

Useful Policy Documents

• Licence Conditions Policy Framework
• Polygraph examination licence condition Policy Framework
• Travel and transfer on licence and PSS Policy Framework
• Recall, Review and Re-Release of Recalled Prisoners Policy Framework
• Generic Parole Process Policy Framework
• PSI 32/2014 Drug appointment and drug testing for licence conditions and post-sentence supervision requirements
• Sentence Calculation Policy Framework: determinate sentenced prisoners
• Ministry of Justice – Variation and Authorisation: Changing and managing Licence Conditions Following Release .
• HMPPS Working with Recalled Prisoners –  Best Practice Guide

PRT advice guides

• Understanding your sentence
• Probation Complaints

Other information sheets

• Prisoners’ Advice Service infosheet Recall to prison
• Prisoners’ Advice Service infosheet Release, Licence and Conditions

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• Crime, justice and the law
• Prisons and probation

Leaving prison

When someone can leave prison.

When a prisoner is released depends on:

• the length of their sentence
• their behaviour in prison
• any time spent on remand (waiting for their trial)

If the prisoner has a fixed term (determinate) sentence

A prisoner serving a determinate sentence is normally released automatically halfway through their sentence.

If their sentence is 12 months or more, they’ll be released on probation .

A Parole Board is not involved.

When a Parole Board reviews a case

Prisoners can apply for parole if they have an extended sentence, or a fixed-term sentence for:

• 4 years or more
• a serious violent or sexual crime committed before 4 April 2005

If the prisoner has a non fixed term (indeterminate) or life sentence

The government will apply for parole on the prisoner’s behalf.

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