AYJ Explains: Sentencing Bill 2023
The government has introduced the Sentencing Bill to Parliament. The bill contains proposals which if passed into law will impact children in the youth justice system. Here, we summarise the relevant measures, based on information in the legislation, the government’s explanatory notes, and conversations with the Ministry of Justice.
Presumption against Short Custodial Sentences
Clause 6 creates a presumption against short custodial sentences, under 12 months, for adults. A suspended sentence must be imposed instead, unless there are exceptional circumstances. The change doesn’t currently apply to children, and there are complex differences between the adult and youth sentencing framework, including that a suspended sentence doesn’t exist. However, a similar presumption may be applied to children.
Changes to the sentencing and release of those convicted of serious sexual offences
Clause 2 and 3 add rape and the other most serious sexual offences to the Sentence for Offenders of Particular Concern (SOPC) regime. This means if the court does not sentence someone to life (because the offence doesn’t meet the seriousness threshold), and it also doesn’t impose an extended determinate sentence (because the person is not deemed to meet the required dangerousness threshold), then the court must impose a SOPC. This is because even though the instance of the offence isn’t deemed serious enough to require the most serious of sentences, the offence is deemed inherently concerning. SOPCs comprise a custodial term and a further 1 year on licence in the community.
Clause 7 will mean those convicted of serious sexual offences will serve their entire sentence in custody, rather than being able to be referred for release two-thirds of the way through their sentence.
Expansion of Home Detention Curfew
Clause 8 extends the Home Detention Curfew scheme, which enables certain people to be released from custody ahead of the usual release point. It removes the current exclusion for those on sentences over 4 years (subject to exclusions), and reduces the lifetime scheme ban for those who have ever been recalled to custody to a ban for those recalled within the past two years.
What happens now?
The bill was introduced to Parliament on 14th November 2023. The next step will be a debate about the measures in the House of Commons, date not yet announced. Parliamentarians and organisations working with and on behalf of those that will be affected now have the opportunity to examine the proposals and suggest things they would like removed, added, or amended.