Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the prisoners who were given early release on 10 September had been imprisoned for a second or subsequent offence.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on SDS40 releases forms a subset of data intended for future publication.
Offenders released under SDS40 will be subject to the same set of strict licence conditions that would apply had they been released at a 50% automatic release point and will be liable to recall to prison if they do not comply with these conditions or are judged to be a risk to public safety.
Prison release planning has been reviewed and adapted to account for recent changes. Prison, probation staff and support providers are working hard to ensure those being released early have all necessary available support. This includes temporary accommodation for those at risk of homelessness, access to employment and benefits, and continuity of mental health and substance misuse provision.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to review sentencing guidelines for offences committed by people previously incarcerated for serious crimes against the person.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Sentencing guidelines are issued by the independent Sentencing Council. The Council have a duty to monitor the use of guidelines and will review them where appropriate. Those guidelines should be followed by courts at the point of sentencing in conjunction with other statutory requirements, including the need to take account of previous convictions. There are appeal processes to enable prompt challenges to a sentence, including, in some circumstances, the ability of the Attorney General to refer to the Court of Appeal an unduly lenient sentence.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the practice of up-skirting is treated as a public nuisance behaviour; and what consideration they have given to the case for characterising it as a sexual offence.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Depending on the individual circumstances and evidence available in each case, the Crown Prosecution Service will decide whether a prosecution should proceed and if so which specific offence should be charged.
Upskirting has been successfully prosecuted under a range of existing criminal offences including the common law offence of outraging public decency. That offence carries an unlimited prison sentence.
The Minister of State for Justice has asked for detailed advice on this issue before considering the case for a change in legislation.
Asked by: Lord Porter of Spalding (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision to fine a member of the public who was found guilty of assaulting PC Karl Cinavas at a polling station during the election count for a Police and Crime Commissioner; and whether, in the light of this event, they will review the charging and sentencing guidelines to discourage attacks on the police and elected representatives.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Sentencing is a matter for our independent judiciary, who take into account all the facts of the case.
Sentencing guidelines specify that where an assault is committed against public sector workers or those providing a service to the public, this is an aggravating factor. This means offenders already face increased penalties, within statutory maximum terms.
The charging standard is a joint document agreed by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to assist prosecutors and police officers in selecting the most appropriate charge. The charging decision in this case was made by the police.