Government reforms also place duty in the Victims’ Code to ensure victims are informed about the sentencing review scheme
Victims of serious crime and bereaved families will be given up to six months to challenge certain Crown Court sentences they believe are too lenient under reforms to the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme, the government has announced.
Currently, victims and families have only 28 days to request that a sentence imposed in the Crown Court be reviewed. The extension will be introduced through amendments to the Victims and Courts Bill, which is approaching its final stages before Royal Assent.
The reform will allow victims and bereaved relatives significantly more time to seek advice and consider whether to ask law officers to refer a case to the Court of Appeal.
Alongside the extension for victims and families, the Attorney General’s Office and Solicitor General’s Office will receive an additional 14 days to consider whether to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal where requests are submitted close to the deadline.
Other members of the public will continue to be subject to the existing 28-day time limit for referrals under the scheme.
The reforms will also introduce a legal duty within the Victims’ Code requiring victims to be informed about the existence of the scheme, addressing longstanding concerns that some families were unaware of their right to request a review.
Since its introduction in 1989, the scheme has allowed victims, the Crown Prosecution Service, and members of the public to ask law officers to review Crown Court sentences believed to fall outside the range reasonably available to the sentencing judge.
For a sentence to be considered as unduly lenient, it must fall outside the range of sentences reasonably available to the judge.
Justice secretary David Lammy said: ‘When someone’s been through the ordeal of seeking justice and watched the person who hurt them or their loved one be sentenced, the last thing they should be worrying about is a ticking clock. People need time to breathe, to talk to their families, to get advice. This change means they’ll have more time to do this and most importantly, get the justice they deserve.’
Solicitor general Ellie Reeves KC said: ‘Victims deserve to know that the justice system is on their side. By giving victims and bereaved family members up to six months to challenge sentences when it is in the interests of justice, we are providing people the time and space they need to come forward.
‘If a sentence doesn’t fit the crime, there will be a proper opportunity to challenge it. This government is committed to a justice system that improves public confidence and puts victims first.’
Victims’ commissioner Claire Waxman described the changes as a “significant and long overdue reform”, following years of campaigning by bereaved families seeking greater flexibility in the scheme’s time limits.
Ministers said the measures are intended to ensure victims are better supported when considering whether to challenge sentencing outcomes and to strengthen confidence in the criminal justice system.