APCC response to Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme announcement
Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner said:
“I am extremely pleased to see the Government recognise that victims of these crimes need the right to appeal over-lenient sentences. I am particularly concerned about stalking, harassment and coercive control cases - I have met too many victims who feel the impact of such crimes has not been understood, nor have they had justice. We know these crimes can and do lead to murder, indeed research from the University of Gloucestershire has shown that stalking is involved in the vast majority of homicides.
“It is time that the system better recognised the seriousness of all the crimes added to the list and I would hope that this will also help encourage criminal justice agencies to prosecute and sentence more appropriately in the future, reducing the need for appeals.”
Sophie Linden, London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime:
“These welcome changes will give victims of crime a stronger voice and potentially improve their experience of the criminal justice system.
“Allowing victims of stalking, harassment, coercive control and child sexual abuse the right to appeal more appropriately reflects the seriousness of these types of offences and the harm and trauma caused to victims.”