Criminal Justice Leads welcome new laws to make streets safer
The Government has announced a raft of new laws which come into effect today, Tuesday 28 June, in a bid to better protect the public and make our streets safer.
In response to the announcement, APCC Criminal Justice Leads, Emily Spurrell and David Lloyd, said:
“We welcome the new laws coming into effect today which will see stricter sentences for those who commit the most heinous of crimes.
“The new legislation will end the automatic release of offenders deemed to be a danger to the public and see whole-life orders as the starting point for pre-meditated child murder.
“It will also see the most violent and sexual offenders, including rapists, forced to spend longer in prison and give victims of domestic abuse longer to report incidents to police.
“The new laws will also introduce mandatory life sentences for those who unlawfully kill emergency workers in the line of duty. This is a significant milestone and sends a strong message that the government acknowledges the extremely dangerous job that police officers carry out on behalf of the public, something which PCCs have strongly supported.
“The public needs to have confidence in the criminal justice system or else they will lose faith in reporting crime and by ensuring those who commit the most serious violent crimes spend the bulk of their sentences in prison, we send a clear message that we are on the side of victims. However, we must look to reduce re-offending through more effective community sentences for lower-level offenders where appropriate.
“As PCCs we are ideally placed to bring different parts of the criminal justice system together, along with local authorities so that we can better ensure that we reduce violence and crime. Something which we have championed in evidence sessions during the Act’s passage through Parliament.”