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Please email media@magistrates-association.org.uk or call 020 3937 8863. A sentencing review will be published later this year. This power was previously activated in May 2022 and closed in March ...

Introduction On 18 November 2024, new legislation came into force increasing the sentencing powers of the magistrates’ courts; this followed a statement by the Lord Chancellor published on 17 October 2024 announcing the planned change in powers.Prior to these changes, the maximum sentence that a defendant could receive in the magistrates’ court was six months’ imprisonment; from 18 ...

The Statutory Instrument to increase magistrates’ court sentencing powers is due to be laid on 28 October 2024 and will come into force on 18 November 2024. This will apply to cases convicted on or after the legislation comes into force. My officials are working with operational partners, including Judicial College, Judicial Office and ...

On 2 May 2022, the Government gave Magistrates the power to impose a sentence of up to 12-months’ custody for a single triable either way offence (Section 224(1A) of the Sentencing Act 2020 inserted by section 13(1)(b) of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022). It was hoped that doubling the Magistrates’ sentencing powers would […]

19 pandemic. It extended magistrates’ court sentencing powers so that more cases would be retained in the magistrates’ courts, therefore reducing the flow of cases into the Crown Court. The JRCA contains a power that allows magistrates’ sentencing powers (MSPs) to be varied between 6 and 12 months via a negative statutory instrument.

The Magistrates Court are still not permitted to deal with indictable only offences. This is not the first time the sentencing powers of the Magistrates Court has been increased. The powers were previously increased between 2nd May 2022 and 30th March 2023. The increased sentencing powers will take effect from 18th November 2024.

The UK government's decision to double magistrates' sentencing powers for a second time is a multifaceted approach aimed at addressing several pressing issues within the criminal justice system. This analysis will explore the motivations, potential benefits, and criticisms of this policy change. Background In 2022, the Conservative government under Dominic Raab initially increased magistrates ...

'The extension of magistrates’ sentencing powers from six to 12 months is something we had long campaigned for as a vital means of ensuring speedier justice for all. It was succeeding ...

The last time the magistrates’ court’s sentencing powers were increased in this manner more people were sent to prison, the number of cases going up to the Crown court was temporarily reduced ...

Ministers are giving magistrates new sentencing powers in an effort to ease record delays to criminal trials, despite the fact that they are likely to temporarily push the prison population back up.

The lord chancellor has announced that magistrates are to get enhanced sentencing powers, 18 months after the last government abandoned a similar initiative.

However, only a year later, from 30 March 2023, magistrates’ sentencing powers reverted to six months again. Practically, the reduction in sentencing powers will mean more cases are referred to the Crown Court and, in the short-term it is likely to reduce the number of prisoners arriving at prisons in coming months.

Type of sentence. Depending on the offence, the judge or magistrate will have a range of sentence types they can give an offender according to the seriousness of the offence and other factors such as the offender’s previous criminal record. Where a sentencing guideline exists, the court will refer to it to decide the sentence.

In general, magistrates’ courts hear cases more quickly than the Crown Court, therefore these cases will be dealt with faster, helping deliver swifter access to justice for victims. We will be able to properly assess the impacts of extending these sentencing powers once the policy has been in place for a sufficient period of time.

“We have been campaigning for years for magistrates’ sentencing powers to be extended to 12 months for single offences, so we are delighted with the Lord Chancellor’s announcement today. It is absolutely the right time to re-align where cases are heard to ensure a safe, effective, and efficient justice system and this demonstrates great ...

Magistrates will be able to issue jail sentences of up to one year for a single offence to help ease the backlog in the Crown Court from today. Magistrates to help tackle backlog as sentencing ...

Commenting on the announcement, Tom Franklin, the Magistrates’ Association’s chief executive said: “Extending the range of cases that magistrates can hear to include those which carry a maximum sentence of 12 months, is something we had long campaigned for as a vital means of ensuring speedier justice for victims, witnesses and defendants.

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994: s.166 (unauthorised sale or attempted sale of tickets);, Football Offences Act 1991: s.2 (throwing missile); s.3 (indecent or racist chanting); s.4 (going onto prohibited areas)., Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985: s.2(1) (possession of alcohol whilst entering or trying to enter ground); s.2(2) (being drunk in, or whilst trying to ...

The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 ('the Act'), which received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022, increased Magistrates sentencing powers from a maximum of six months for a single offence to a maximum of one year. It is hoped that the increase will result in fewer cases being referred to the Crown Court by Magistrates due to insufficient ...