- Judges given new powers to punish offenders with bans that
curtail freedom
- Mandatory drug testing expanded to keep offenders on
straight-and-narrow
- Part of the Government's Plan for Change to make sure
punishment cuts crime and keep streets safe
Criminals will be barred from pubs, concerts and sports matches
under new sentencing powers unveiled by the Government today
(Sunday 24 August) as part of its Plan for Change.
Judges will be able to curtail offenders' freedoms with
driving limits, travel bans and restriction zones
confining them into specific areas.
The changes will toughen up community punishments to deter
reoffending and force offenders back onto the
straight-and-narrow.
As part of the Government's work to do everything in its power to
keep Britain safe, offenders coming out of prison and supervised
by the Probation Service will also face similar restrictions and
an expanded mandatory drug testing regime.
In future, criminals without known drug habits will face this
scrutiny, not just those with a history of substance misuse.
Offenders who break the rules face being brought back to court or
hauled back to prison as punishment depending on the sentence
they are serving.
Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, , said:
“Widening the range of punishments available to judges is part of
our Plan for Change to cut crime and make streets
safer.
“When criminals break society's rules, they must be punished.
Those serving their sentences in the community must have their
freedom restricted there too.
“These new punishments should remind all offenders that, under
this Government, crime does not pay.
“Rightly, the public expect the government to do everything in
its power to keep Britain safe, and that's what we're
doing.”
Currently, judges are able to give out limited bans for
specific crimes, for example football bans for crimes committed
inside a stadium on match day, to prevent further antisocial
behaviour.
The Government will change the law shortly so such bans can be
handed down as a form of punishment for any offence in any
circumstance.
It will form part of wider reforms to sentencing to ensure
punishments cut crime and prisons never again run out of places
for dangerous offenders.
Over 2,400 prison places have opened since July 2024 with the
Government investing £7 billion to create a total of 14,000 as
the prison population increases.
Investment in the Probation Service will also receive a huge
boost with an increase of up to £700 million by 2028/29, up from
the annual budget of around £1.6 billion today.
This week it was revealed the number of Probation Officers has
increased by seven per cent in the last 12 months, with trainee
probation officer numbers also seeing a surge of 15 per cent.
This follows the Government's commitment to recruit a further
1,300 this year, in addition to the 1,000 trainee probation
officers recruited last year.
New technology, including artificial intelligence, will lighten
the administrative burden and free up time for probation staff to
increase supervision of the most dangerous offenders and keep the
public safe.
