New sentencing guidelines preventing pre-sentence reports (PSRs) which reference personal characteristics, such as race or ethnicity have come into effect.
Under the new legislation, sentencing guidelines which risked differential treatment for different races and religions, in terms of access to pre-sentence reports, will be blocked to ensure fair access to justice for all.
While the government say they support the use of PSRs which can provide an assessment of the nature and causes of an offender’s behaviour, the risk they pose, as well as an independent recommendation of the sentencing options available to the court, they risk ‘differential treatment before the law’ for offenders.
But they risk singling out specific cohorts for differential treatment based on their personal characteristics creating a ‘two-tier’ justice system said Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood.
“Equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice system and today’s change to the law ensure fairness for all in our courts.”
“I am grateful to the Council and its officials for their constructive work on this, I will continue to ensure no one is treated differently just because of their skin colour or religion under the law.”
This Act will not restrict courts from requesting pre-sentence reports on a case-by-case basis, such as for pregnant women or those involving young people, or domestic abuse but will prevent sentencing guidelines from singling out specific cohorts for differential treatment based on their personal characteristics, when it comes to ordering pre-sentence reports.
The measures will apply to England and Wales and follow formal objections raised by the Lord Chancellor to the Sentencing Council regarding sections of the revised Imposition guideline, which was published on 5 March 2025 and originally due to come into effect on 1 April 2025. The new law does not impact the statutory obligation to request PSRs in all cases (under section 30 of the Sentencing Code), unless the court considers it unnecessary in the circumstances of the case.
