Sentencing reforms announced in the last week in the wake of the review by former Justice Secretary David Gauke, have been described as ‘landmark’ by the government but those campaigning for the rights of those impacted by domestic abuse and sexual violence are concerned the reforms don’t provide adequate protection for survivors.
Recommendations for a comprehensive overhaul of sentencing have been published to ‘ensure jails never run out of space again and dangerous offenders can be kept off the streets’ with many of the proposals likely to incorporated into a Sentencing Bill in the coming months.
As of April 2025 there were 87,000 inmates in jails across the UK in a system that is over capacity and infrastructure that is largely Victorian. The review recommends changes to automatic release so prisoners can earn their way to release through good behaviour. There will be no automatic release for prisoners who misbehave. All offenders on standard determinate sentences will spend at least one-third of their sentence incarcerated and will have to earn their release or face longer in prison for bad behaviour.
A new period of ‘intensive supervision’ will see offenders tagged and many more placed under home detention with a sizeable funding increase to support these efforts. The current annual budget of around £1.6 billion today will rise by up to £700m by 2028/29.
Other measures include the earlier deportation of foreign criminals; a ‘presumption against custodial sentences of less than a year’ with community sentences preferred. Critically judges will retain the power to hand down sentences of 12 months or less to offenders who have breached a court order, including restraining orders and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, and in exceptional circumstances.
The government has though rejected the review’s recommendation to cut the minimum prison term for extended determinate sentences to 50%. The serious violent and sexual offenders serving these sentences will have to serve at least two-thirds of their sentence and their release will continue to be down to the Parole Board.
In Parliament Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood said:
“Our prisons are, once again, running out of space and it is vital that the implications are understood. If our prisons collapse, courts are forced to suspend trials, the police must halt their arrests. Crime goes unpunished, criminals run amok and chaos reigns. We face the breakdown of law and order in this country.”
“The prison population is now rising by 3,000 each year and we are heading back towards zero capacity. It now falls to this Government to end this cycle of crisis. That starts by building prisons….This investment is necessary but not sufficient. We cannot build our way out of this crisis. Despite building as quickly as we can, demand for places will outstrip supply by 9,500 in early 2028.”
But those campaigning on behalf of the survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence say they are concerned perpetrators could be left to re-offend. Ellie Butt, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Refuge, said:
“Refuge remains steadfast in its stance that any initiatives to tackle prison overcrowding must not compromise the safety of domestic abuse survivors. We appreciate the need to alleviate pressure on the prison system, and while (the) Sentencing Review suggests a number of steps in the right direction, protections for survivors must be strengthened.”
“Domestic abuse is a horrific crime and every effort must be taken to keep survivors safe. The risks perpetrators present to survivors should undoubtedly be counted as an ‘exceptional circumstance’ that can justify a short prison sentence, with the review acknowledging that this is often the only option to safeguard survivors. A prison sentence is, of course, not a silver bullet in preventing re-offending upon release, meaning the measures set out in the Review to improve the Probation Service are vital.”
Isabelle Younane, Head of External Affairs at Women’s Aid, adds
“Since the Early Release Scheme, or SDS40, was announced, Women’s Aid has been deeply concerned that government plans to tackle the serious issue of prison overcrowding are being carried out at the expense of safety for women and girls. We welcome recommendations made in the Sentencing Review to improve protections for survivors, including through the introduction of a domestic abuse flag which will seek to exclude perpetrators of abuse from the presumption against short custodial sentence, but are concerned that the success of these measures will rely too heavily on the discretion of judges. Given that we know that the nature of domestic abuse is misunderstood throughout the criminal justice system, there need to be mandatory training for judiciaries on the complexities of these crimes to accompany these measures.”
Both groups acknowledge the review’s recommendations to provide greater training to all those involved in the justice system, indeed the review itself says
The Review recommends that all criminal justice practitioners, (including prosecutors and probation officers) and the judiciary receive trauma-informed training on VAWG to inform appropriate sentencing and offender management. Training should be reviewed regularly to ensure it reflects best practice. While practitioners and the judiciary, are already required to complete training on domestic abuse and
other forms of VAWG, the need for better training has been a recurring theme in evidence submitted to the Review.
but say both Refuge and Women’s Aid, the safety of survivors should be prioritised.
The government say it has accepted recommendations in the review to
- Increase tagging for VAWG perpetrators
- Identify perpetrators of domestic abuse at sentencing requiring judges to flag domestic abuse at sentencing so prisons, probation and police can better identify and manage abusers.
- Expand Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts
Concludes Butt
“While the outcomes of the measures proposed in the Sentencing Review are yet to be seen, what is clear is that the safety of survivors must be prioritised. Any future reforms to tackle prison overcrowding must be rigorously assessed to ensure they effectively safeguard survivors.”
