Directed by Martin Read, there are over three thousand forgotten prisoners languishing in jail in England and Wales, held indefinitely with no idea when they’ll be released, even though they completed their sentences years earlier. They’re IPP prisoners – people who were given an additional indeterminate sentence, Imprisonment for Public Protection.
Eye-opening can be an overused phrase when it comes to documentaries but with Britain’s Forgotten Prisoners, it couldn’t be more apt. Most people watching the film probably have no awareness of the IPP, yet as soon as they hear even a little detail, its injustice will become clear.
Then when you follow this story further and realise the extent of this arbitrary, cruel and unusual punishment, it’s genuinely shocking. Simple logic dictates that inhumane treatment mixed with an indefinite period of time and no hope of change or system of rehabilitation is not a recipe for successful re-entry into society.
So, with Britain’s Forgotten Prisoners, Martin Read makes you ask why this sentence exists and why hasn’t it been abolished entirely? And that’s exactly the point, change takes work, and more people need to question it to push lawmakers to do something about it. To explore that Read creates a style that blends the personal, intimate side with the sincere weight of the topic.
It smoothly weaves through connecting with these people on an everyday level and demonstrating the wide scale of the problem. It’s also not that often with documentaries focused on prison life in the UK, that we see women included so it adds an extra layer that Read covers both sides.
One of the key issues that it touches upon is mental health and Read does a great job of portraying how being put in prison is not the only punishment these people receive. The uncertainty, the fear and the sense of no control is a punishment in itself. Demonstrating how they’re making it more difficult for people to re-enter society, with psychological damage and having spent too much time inside, rather than rehabilitating them. As well as the damage it’s doing to each of their families, having to constantly fight to keep them from being recalled or to try and get them back out.
The frustration and sorrow that Britain’s Forgotten Prisoners leaves you with demonstrates its success, it strikes to the heart of the issue and leaves you shocked by the blatant injustice. It’s a very poignant example of how politicians, typically driven by the visual and votes, often fail to see the larger implications of their actions. Then try to disguise their mistakes, rather than admit fault and rectify the situation, and it’s people like the subjects of this documentary who unjustly suffer the consequences.
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