Increased sentencing powers for magistrates to address prisons crisis
More victims will get the justice they deserve sooner under plans to give magistrates greater sentencing powers.
- Magistrates can send offenders to prison for up to one year
- New powers to ease historic crisis in prisons and deal with court backlog
- Next step in government’s plan to resolve inherited long-term prison capacity issues
More victims will get the justice they deserve sooner under plans to give magistrates greater sentencing powers, announced by Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood.
The changes, the latest step in the government’s plans to tackle the inherited crisis in our prisons, will allow magistrates to hand-down prison sentences of up to a year. This will help to tackle the record remand population in jails and address the Crown Court backlog, also at a historic high.
The Lord Chancellor confirmed the plans to allow magistrates to issue custodial sentences for up to 12 months for a single offence – a doubling of their current powers. The move will save approximately 2,000 days in the Crown Court, so that time can be reserved for the most serious and complex cases.
Bolstered powers will better support victims, with some who have been waiting months and even years to see justice done due to a system in disarray.
It will also help the government drive down the record remand population – those who are in prison while they await their trial – and relieve pressure on prison capacity which was left at the brink of collapse.
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood said:
This government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis, with dangerously overcrowded prisons and victims waiting far too long to see justice.
This marks a further step towards addressing the deep challenges in our criminal justice system, both reducing the record remand population in our jails and delivering swifter justice for victims.
The significant increase in the remand population, which currently stands at a record 17,000, is one of the key factors in the current prison capacity crisis. This is because remand prisoners can only be held in “reception prisons” where the capacity in the prison estate is most acute, where some of our most dangerous offenders must be held, and where all new prisoners are sent to begin their sentences.
Tackling the backlog of those awaiting trial in prison is a key priority and these reforms build on the government’s work to reduce pressure on the prison estate ahead of launching a sentencing review later this year.
Mark Beattie, national chair of the Magistrates’ Association said:
Magistrates are flexible and support the efficient and fair administration of justice. By being able to take on this additional responsibility and hear cases that carry a maximum sentence of 12 months, our members will be able to help prevent an increase in the backlog of cases in the crown courts, enabling the most serious offences to be dealt with quicker in crown courts; speeding justice for all.
I know our members and colleagues will take up this increased responsibility with professionalism and integrity and will – as always – strive to deliver the highest quality of justice in their courts.
Allowing magistrates to deal with more cases will also free up valuable Crown Court time in order to try and reduce the outstanding backlog.
There are currently over 14,000 magistrates in England and Wales who play a vital role in our justice system hearing over a million cases on average every year. Coming from all walks of life they hear cases ranging from petty theft to serious assault. Magistrates and legal advisers will be fully trained in these new measures by the Judicial College in order to deliver longer sentences effectively. The previous government extended sentencing powers in May 2022 but deactivated them in March 2023.
Further information
The Statutory Instrument to increase sentencing powers is due to be laid on 28 October and changes will come into force on 18 November.
The Magistrates’ Association is a national charity and the membership body for the magistracy. With more than 12,000 members across England and Wales, it is a unique source of information and insight, and the only independent voice of the magistracy.
The Magistrates’ Association will be available for media interviews stories. Please email media@magistrates-association.org.uk or call 020 3937 8863.
A sentencing review will be published later this year.
This power was previously activated in May 2022 and closed in March 2023.