The Sentencing Council has rejected calls from the justice secretary to change guidance that recommends judges consider a criminal’s ethnicity before deciding their punishment.
The body, which sets out recommendations to courts in England and Wales, recently published new principles for courts to follow when imposing community and custodial sentences, including whether to suspend jail time.
The updated guidance, which is due to come into force from April, says that a pre-sentence report will “usually be necessary” before handing out punishment for someone of an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women.
Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, expressed her “displeasure” at the body’s recommendations, arguing that “as someone who is from an ethnic minority background myself, I do not stand for any differential treatment before the law”.
She had recommended that the guidance be reversed – but because the Sentencing Council is independent, she cannot order them to do so.
Responding to the news that her suggestion had been rejected, Ms Mahmood said: “I have been clear in my view that these guidelines represent differential treatment, under which someone’s outcomes may be influenced by their race, culture or religion.
“This is unacceptable, and I formally set out my objections to this in a letter to the Sentencing Council last week.
“I am extremely disappointed by the Council’s response. All options are on the table and I will legislate if necessary.”
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
The guidance has prompted claims of “two-tier” justice from the Conservatives, with shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick saying it would be “very corrosive to public trust and confidence in the criminal justice system” if enacted.
In setting out the changes, Sentencing Review body chair Lord Justice William Davis said the reforms reflected evidence of disparities in sentencing outcomes, disadvantages faced within the criminal justice system and complexities in the circumstances of individual offenders.
In his letter to Ms Mahmood, he said that while it was not the role of the judiciary to introduce policies to “redress the imbalance”, those responsible for handing down sentences “must to do all that they can to avoid a difference in outcome based on ethnicity”.
He argued that, in allow judges access to pre-sentence reports, they will be “better equipped to do that if they have as much information as possible about the offender”.
“The cohort of ethnic, cultural and faith minority groups may be a cohort about which judges and magistrates are less well informed,” he added.
“In our view, providing the sentencing court with information about that cohort could not impinge on whatever policy might be introduced to deal with the underlying problem. Provision of a pre-sentence report in an individual case cannot have damaging consequences for wider policy making.”
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
