How a sentencing shift could be a game changer to tackle organised rural crime
CLA National Access Adviser Claire Wright explains how the newly proposed Sentencing Bill could impact communities in the countryside
The Sentencing Council is an independent body that sits within the Ministry of Justice. It is responsible for issuing guidance on sentencing which the courts must follow, unless it’s in the interests of justice not to do so. In recent months the council has become embroiled in a row over two tier justice, and this week the UK Government introduced the Sentencing Bill to the House of Commons.
The Sentencing Bill, alongside other provisions relating to the sentencing and management of offenders, will also introduce new powers for sentencing guidelines to need explicit approval from the Justice Secretary and the Chief Justice. Until this approval has been granted, guidelines will not be issued to the courts. In the eventuality that only one of the two parties is willing to approve the new guidance, then the issuing the framework will not be permitted.
But how will this impact land managers and rural businesses?
In April this year, the CLA responded to the Sentencing Council’s consultation on specific guidelines for sentencing hare coursing offences. We are still awaiting a formal response from the Sentencing Council regarding this consultation, but should this bill pass into law, any new guidelines would need to be approved before they could be used to sentence hare coursers.
The issuing of specific sentencing guidance for hare coursing offences would be a game changer in tackling serious, organised rural criminality
The National Rural Crime Network has also called for more specific sentencing guidelines for other forms of rural crime – the impact of which is not always fully understood by urban-based magistrates.
This new approval process, however well-intentioned, cannot be allowed to cause unnecessary delay to issuing guidance that would improve the lives of those living and working in the countryside.
