The Lord Chancellor has set out a new White Paper that puts public protection at the heart of sentencing policy.
In a major shake-up of sentencing policy, the Lord Chancellor has announced moves to make sure that criminal sentences are robust enough to keep the most dangerous offenders in prison for as long as possible.
Other new measures include new support systems to ensure low-level, repeat offenders get as much support as possible on their road to rehabilitation, including increased electronic tagging, tighter community curfews and providing treatment with the power to break the cycle of crime.
In addition there will be more employment opportunities for offenders and a root-and-branch review of the parole system.
Welcoming the new framework, James Wild MP said -
Too many lives have been blighted by the current, complex sentencing system.
It's time to ensure that serious offenders cannot get access to our communities, and that young offenders in a tragic cycle of petty crime have more opportunities to turn their lives around.
Failures in sentencing mean lives lost, and this White Paper hopes to put an end to that.
In summary, changes to bring in tougher sentencing for the most dangerous offenders include:
- preventing automatic release for the most serious criminals who pose a danger to public at the time of sentencing. This major changes seems the creation of the 'Extended Determinate term', which means they must go to the Parole Board to be assessed before being released – to determine whether or not they do pose a threat to the public, or if it would be safer for them to serve the remainder of their term in prison.
- ensuring a Whole Life Order is the starting point for sentencers dealing with child killers. In exceptional circumstances the government will also give judges the discretion to impose a Whole Life Order on those aged 18 to 20, where currently only those aged 21 or over may receive this severest of punishments.
- making sure that the worst offenders spend longer behind bars, by changing the way in which discretionary life sentences are calculated and increasing the time that must be served in prison for those who commit sexual offences against children and receive a “Sentence for Offenders of Particular Concern”. At the moment such offenders may be considered for release by the Parole Board after serving half their custodial term, but we will up that to two-thirds before the Board may look at the case.
- changing the criteria for passing sentences below the statutory minimum, making it less likely that a court would depart from the minimum term.
In addition, the White Paper hopes to reduce low-level offenders getting stuck in a life of crime. In many cases, their criminality is exacerbated by mental health issues or addictions and while we must never forget that to commit crime is to make a choice, there is a sliding scale of increasing inevitability that we cannot ignore. The drivers are clear – a lack of prospects, chaotic lifestyles, ill-health and addiction.
Additional proposals to tackle repeat offending and prevent low-level and repeat offenders from going back and forth to prison include:
- scaling up of the Community Sentence Treatment Requirement Programme, whereby treatment is ordered as part of a sentence, allowing offenders to address the mental health problems or substance misuse issues that, under certain circumstances, can fuel or worsen their offending.
- expanded use of technology to monitor behaviour including the use of Electronic Tagging in enforcing curfews.
- encouraging courts to look at other alternatives to custody, such as. deferred sentencing. These can make use of services such as NHS Liaison and Diversion, to divert offenders away from criminal justice, into services that can support them to address mental health problems or substance misuse, with any breach of conditions imposed by the court potentially putting them into custody.
- earlier recognition of neordivergence, which can include conditions such as autism and dyslexia. If a neurodivergent condition and its associated needs are not recognised as early as possible and appropriate interventions put in place, then it can set up a chain reaction for the offender, cascading that failure throughout the system.
- reducing the time period after which some sentences can be considered spent for the purposes of criminal records check. This will enable offenders who do not pose a risk to the public to finally get a job, which is often a significant milestone on their route to total rehabilitation.
