Health
UK blocks manslaughter, child sex offenders from early prison release
By Tosin Oyediran
The United Kingdom government has announced that offenders convicted of manslaughter, death by dangerous driving and historic child sex offences will be excluded from upcoming changes to prison sentences, keeping them behind bars for longer.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced the decision in a statement on Monday, saying the move would also apply to offenders convicted of killing emergency workers in the line of duty and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The announcement on the Home Office website builds on earlier measures excluding prisoners convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming from benefiting from reductions under the planned sentencing changes.
According to the government, murderers and offenders considered by courts to be the most dangerous and handed life or extended sentences were already excluded from any reduction and would remain in custody until appearing before a Parole Board.
The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said the government had expanded the list of offenders who would be excluded from the changes.
“I know how strongly people feel about this issue. I understand the concern and anger because I share it. That’s why I took action during my first weeks as Prime Minister to block some of the very worst in society being released before they should.
“We moved quickly to block vile criminals who commit rape, sexually abuse children and groom vulnerable young people,” Burnham said.
“But I always said I wanted to do more. We will now not only be keeping offenders serving time for indecent assault locked up, but also those in prison for manslaughter and death by dangerous driving. This means that the awful criminals responsible for the killing of PC Andrew Harper will not have their sentence shortened,” he added.
Burnham said the government had reached the limits of how far it could go without risking pressure on the prison system.
“The truth is I wanted to go even further. But I’ve pushed the system to the very limits of what’s possible without risking the prison system collapsing within months, putting the public at enormous risk.
“To protect victims, we will be introducing the toughest ever supervision measures for offenders, which effectively mean that someone’s sentence will not end when they leave prison.
“This includes tagging offenders and, for the very first time ever, putting restriction zones in place to stop offenders getting anywhere near their victims,” he said.
Govt to end IPP sentences
The government also announced plans to end Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences during the current Parliament.
According to the statement, the move would address cases involving offenders who have remained in prison for years under a sentencing regime abolished more than a decade ago.
The government said work on the changes would begin immediately and on a cross-party basis.
New restriction zones for offenders
The government also announced tougher supervision measures for some offenders after their release, including electronic tagging and new restriction zones.
According to the statement, some sexual and violent offenders could be confined to specific geographical areas, with some zones covering areas as small as a few miles.
The government said victims would have a role in determining how the zones were drawn.
It added that there would be a presumption that prison leavers would be electronically tagged, while some offenders could face restrictions including bans on pubs and public events.
Foreign criminals face deportation
The government further announced plans to introduce powers early next year allowing some foreign criminals to be deported immediately after sentencing.
It said the policy would bar such offenders from returning to the country, while those convicted of the most serious crimes would remain in prison for a substantial period before deportation.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris said the government had reviewed the sentencing reforms and concluded that offenders responsible for killings and serious crimes against children should remain in custody for longer.
“The Prime Minister and I have rightly looked again at these reforms and we are clear that people responsible for taking a life, or for appalling crimes against children, should be kept behind bars for longer,” Norris said.
“But protecting the public also means fixing the prison system for good. We will build the cells we need, put offenders under much tougher controls when they leave prison and end the historic injustice of IPP sentences,” he added.
The government said the changes formed part of wider plans to address prison overcrowding, noting that adult male prisons were currently operating at 98 per cent capacity.
It said more than 3,200 prison places had been built under the current government, with 14,000 more expected by 2031.
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