Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has halted the Sentencing Council from proposing guidelines for judges following a recommendation to take into account an offender’s ethnicity in sentencing decisions due to significant disparities in the system. Mahmood strongly opposed the suggestion, stating it would lead to unequal treatment.
A new directive will now require explicit approval from Mahmood before any guidelines are issued by the Lord Chancellor today. Mahmood emphasized that while individual sentencing decisions remain the responsibility of the judiciary, policy formulation is the role of lawmakers who are accountable to the public.
The move comes after Mahmood faced backlash earlier this year for her reaction to the Sentencing Council’s guidance. The controversy arose when the Council released new guidance on pre-sentence reports (PSRs), which provide additional information about offenders to the courts without necessarily impacting the severity of their sentences.
The Council highlighted the importance of requesting PSRs in all cases to gather details about an offender’s background, potential dangerousness, behavioral triggers, or other factors relevant to the court. The guidance suggested various groups, such as ethnic or faith minorities, transgender individuals, those struggling with addiction, pregnant women, or victims of abuse, who could benefit from a PSR.
Mahmood found common ground with Conservative MP Robert Jenrick, denouncing the inclusion of ethnicity in the guidance as promoting “two-tier justice” and displaying bias against heterosexual white males. The new regulation, part of the Sentencing Bill, empowers both the Justice Secretary and the Lady Chief Justice to individually approve future guidelines before their release.
