The Government announces an independent review of sentencing
Review to submit findings to the Government by Spring 2025
Today, the Government announced an independent review of sentencing, chaired by David Gauke, former Conservative Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.
The Sentencing Review aims to ensure a sustainable justice system and will submit its findings to the Government by Spring 2025. It comes alongside the Government’s previous commitment to creating 14,000 additional prison places and a 10-year prison capacity strategy later this year.
The detail
The Review has three core principles:
- Ensuring that ‘prison sentences punish serious offenders and protect the public’ and that there is always space in prison for ‘the most dangerous offenders’
- Looking at what more can be done around rehabilitation and keeping the public safe by reducing reoffending
- Exploring ‘tougher punishments outside of prison’ to ensure community sentences reduce crime whilst making the best use of public money.
In its announcement, the Government said the Review would look at ‘tough alternatives’ to prison, such as technology that could put people ‘in a “prison outside prison”’ and compelling people to do ‘hard work’ in the community. It will also consider whether more can be done to ‘tackle prolific offending’.
The Review will look at UK and international evidence and will look to find long-term solutions by considering:
- Use and composition of non-custodial sentences
- The role of incentives in sentence management and the powers of the Probation Service in administering sentences in the community
- Use and impact of short prison sentences
- The framework around longer sentences
- Administration of sentences, including release points, licence, and recall
- The sentencing framework and the needs of vulnerable or specific cohorts including older people and young adults
- The approach to sentencing in cases where someone has multiple previous convictions
- Sentencing specifically for offences primarily committed against women and girls.
Out of scope for this review are: IPP sentences and administration, use of remand, youth sentencing, out-of-court resolutions and the murder sentencing framework. The Ministry of Justice is considering wholesale reform of homicide law and sentencing separately.
Clinks' response
Clinks Chief Executive, Anne Fox, sets out initial thoughts on the Sentencing Review in a blog post. We will consult widely with the voluntary sector to inform our response on the Review, drawing on the breadth and depth of the sector’s expertise and experience.
Please do reach out to policy@clinks.org if you have any initial questions.
-----------------------------------------------------------
You are receiving this email because you subscribe to Light Lunch.
Get involved Become a Member | Follow Clinks on Twitter
Contact us www.clinks.org | info@clinks.org | 020 4502 6774
Click here to manage your subscriptions. For assistance, email info@clinks.org
© Clinks, 2024
Registered office: 82A James Carter Road, Mildenhall, Suffolk, IP28 7DE
Registered charity: 1074546 | Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales: 3562176