UK plans to get tougher with community sentencing

Measures intended to ensure crime does not pay, says justice secretary

- BY STEPHEN N. R.

The UK government is considering sweeping reforms to community sentencing in England and Wales that could see criminals barred from pubs, concerts, and sports events, while also facing driving limits, travel bans, and confinement to specific areas, reports said.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood told Mirror UK the new measures are intended to ensure that “crime does not pay,” emphasising that offenders should face restrictions whether serving time inside prison or in the community.

“We are giving courts new powers to hand down tough community sentences that restrict the freedoms of offenders outside of jail too,” she said.