A prisoner arrested for assaulting a female bouncer on day release from HMP Norwich received another day release only five weeks later.
The 45-year-old man had served more than 19 years for murder. Last October, as part of preparation for his resettlement in the community, he received unsupervised leave from the prison.
During that release he went drinking and fell asleep outside a bar in Norwich. The bouncer asked him to leave. He then put his hands around her neck and grabbed her hair.
He faced a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm and returned to HMP Norwich. Five weeks later he received another day release. On that occasion he went on the run for two days until his recapture.
In June, Norwich Magistrates Court convicted the man of assaulting the bouncer. He now awaits sentence.
The woman gave evidence to the court. She said: “He was throwing me around like a rag doll. I was in fear for my life, he would not let go. It only stopped when police turned up.”
The speed of his second release contrasts with the experience of many other prisoners. Recent research found that well-behaved prisoners can wait up to 12 months for approval of their first Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL).
The research came from Laura Pope, who is Head of Evidence-Based Practice at HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). Prisoners arriving at open prisons hear that they should expect a wait of three to four months. However, “for many the reality was nearer eight to 12 months”, she found.
She attributed the delays to the way HMPPS organises risk assessments. Prisoners seeking their first ROTL are usually too far from release to have a Community Offender Manager (COM). Instead, a ‘duty COM’ carries out the assessment. That officer does not know the prisoner and often has a heavy workload, she said.
HMP Norwich is a Category B reception prison for men in the East of England. Its last full inspection, in April 2026, rated safety, respect and preparation for release as reasonably good. Purposeful activity was not sufficiently good.
