The family of Wayne Bell, who was imprisoned for stealing a bike as a teenager and remains behind bars nearly 20 years later due to an old law, say they don’t know his current whereabouts.
Bell, jailed for robbery at 17, remains incarcerated at 34 due to a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection, which was abolished by the courts. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, his mother and sister revealed they’ve lost contact with him and don’t know his current prison location.
Their father’s dying wish to speak to Bell went unfulfilled before his death in April 2020. Bell’s sister, Alana Bell, said the family hasn’t heard from him in over two years and they “don’t even know if he’s alive.”
Around 17 years ago, Bell punched a man and stole his bike in Manchester, leading to his 2007 sentencing under the then-new Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence. Introduced in 2005 and later abolished for being “unjust,” IPP sentences required convicts to serve minimum terms and then convince the Parole Board of their readiness for release.
However, prisoners like Bell were not provided access to rehabilitation courses necessary to demonstrate their suitability for release.
As a teenager, Bell played the trumpet and aspired to become a mechanic but was expelled from school after getting into trouble. At 17, he was convicted at Manchester Crown Court and sentenced to four years before being eligible for Parole Board consideration.
However, successive hearings found him unsuitable for release. Over time, Bell lost hope and began getting into fights in prison, further diminishing his chances of persuading the board to release him.
Speaking to MEN before his death, Bell’s father Carl said: “I honestly thought he would be coming out. I thought he would be in there for a couple of years.
“Wayne has watched murderers and rapists come and go in and out of prison. He just hit someone and took their bike. The sentence really doesn’t fit the crime.”
Figures released by the Ministry of Justice in March show that nearly 3,000 people remain imprisoned under Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences. According to campaigners from The Institute of Now, many of these inmates have served beyond their maximum terms, some by over a decade.
At least 88 people sentenced under Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) have committed suicide in prison, with the actual number feared to be higher due to challenges in tracking those who have died while on license in the community, the Mail reported.
Introduced in England and Wales in 2003 under the Criminal Justice Act to protect the public from dangerous offenders whose crimes did not warrant a life sentence, IPP was abolished in 2012. However, the change was not applied retroactively, leaving thousands still subject to the sentence.
The Ministry of Justice told the Manchester Evening News: “The prison system is in crisis, and we recognize the significant impact this is having on our entire justice system.”
“It is right that IPP sentences were abolished. The Lord Chancellor is committed to working with organizations and campaign groups to ensure the appropriate course of action is taken to support those still serving IPP sentences.”
