PRT comment: Proposed new powers to sanction non-attendance at sentencing hearings

Commenting on the government’s announcement of proposed new powers to sanction non-attendance at sentencing hearings, Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

“We understand why victims’ families may want people convicted of serious crimes to attend sentencing hearings and hear the impact of their actions. The key issue is whether these measures will achieve that aim in practice. Ministers should explain what evidence there is that restricting visits or imposing cellular confinement will increase attendance at sentencing hearings, how these measures will be applied in cases involving mental ill-health or other vulnerabilities, and how their effectiveness will be evaluated.

“These measures will inevitably affect not only prisoners but also family members, including children, who rely on prison visits to maintain contact, and who have committed no offence themselves. The government should therefore be clear about the rationale for these sanctions, how their impact will be assessed, and whether they will deliver the accountability that victims’ families rightly expect.”