Courts in England and Wales Given Different Sentencing Options for Ethnic Minorities

Robert Jenrick, the opposition spokesman on justice, said it would ‘enshrine an anti-white and anti-Christian bias in our criminal justice system.’

Robert Jenrick speaks at a fringe event during the Conservative Party Conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, England, on Sept. 30, 2024. Jacob King/PA Wire

A set of new guidelines offering pre-sentencing reports in English and Welsh courts to ethnic minorities and “faith minority communities” is due to come into force on April 1, with critics raising concerns about discriminatory sentencing treatments.

Pre-sentencing reports are currently issued on a case-by-case basis and are often used when judges or magistrates want more information about defendants after they have been convicted of a serious criminal offense and face possible incarceration.