Now that this series is over, these are some of my thoughts on it.

There was a clear pattern, both in the format of the programme and in the stories of most of the offenders. The programme makers held back the full details of their offending behaviour until later on, in order to lull the viewer into thinking the person was relatively harmless, before revealing their past offending history and the fact that they were not telling the parole board the whole truth about what they had done. The board would have known about their past before the hearing started, including their behaviour in prison and previous recalls.

The other thing which was obvious, was they all had problems managing their emotions, particularly their anger and that drink and drugs contributed to their bad behaviour, making controlling their emotions even more difficult.

Less obvious, was that their anger came from mental health issues and past traumas, so mental health treatment is going to be something that they need on the outside, but most of them probably won't get that help. Although sobriety tags and regular drugs tests might be useful for some.

What was concerning, was just how many of them re-offend after being let out, and how many of them had been released before, and then recalled. Why do they put them into a bail hostel, known as an AP (approved premises), which is full of anti social influences? It is almost like a test, to see how they respond to extreme temptation, a bit like putting an alcoholic into an off-licence, to see if they go back to drinking. It's almost setting them up to fail.

The parole board said things, such as they might go back to offending, but it would not be serious offending, so it was ok to release them, which is extraordinary. The idea that life outside prison is so stressful for many of them, that they may not be able to cope on the outside, shows how prison is failing to rehabilitate  them, but there is nowhere else for them to go.

Charles Bronson (Channel 4)

On the subject of Bronson, he is someone who might not be able to deal with stress, without resorting to violence, so he might be better off in an open prison first. It was notable how his offender manager didn't think he was suitable for release, in spite of his recent good behaviour. He himself didn't appear to display any regrets over what he did in the past, preferring to portray himself as the victim of injustice.