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Britain urged to be ‘brave’ on sentencing review

The head of a review of sentencing policy in Britain has urged the country’s Labour government to “act with bravery” in responding to his report.

Former Conservative lord chancellor David Gauke was unveiling his proposals, which are aimed at ending the country’s prison-population crisis.

The review proposes an “earned-progression model” that would enable offenders to be released early if they behave and comply with prison rules.

Suspended sentences

It calls for prison sentences under 12 months to be handed down only in “exceptional” circumstances and for the upper limit of suspended-sentence orders to be raised.

Under the plans, low-risk offenders with high needs, such as pregnant women, would receive deferred sentences, and judges would have greater flexibility to impose travel, driving, and football bans.

To effectively manage perpetrators of violence against women and girls, recommendations include expanding tagging of offenders and more specialist domestic-abuse courts.

Investment call

President of the Law Society of England and Wales Richard Atkinson echoed Gauke’s call for the British Government to act with bravery, adding that the review was correct to focus on alternatives to the use of custody.

“However, to ensure the public can have faith in the criminal-justice system, there must be investment in all parts of the system, which are interconnected.

“For example, where the government sets conditions for prisoners to earn the right to release, the courses they are required to complete for that release must be available. The reality is that they so often aren’t,” Atkinson stated.