Harsher Measures for Criminals in King’s Speech Set to Put Pressure on Prison Capacity

The government has unveiled several measures in the King’s Speech that would hand out longer sentences or keep criminals in jail for longer.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk (L) attends the official opening of HMP Fosse Way, a Category C prison in Leicester, England, on June 29, 2023. PA

The King’s Speech contained a number of measures that would mean criminals either being given longer sentences or being prevented from being released from jail earlier, but there are fears for how it will affect Britain’s already overcrowded prisons.

In his introduction to the speech, which was delivered by King Charles on Nov. 7, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote, “We are keeping people safe by making sure the police and security services have the powers they need and that criminals receive proper punishment.”

He highlighted the Sentencing Bill that would “ensure that the most dangerous criminals are locked up for longer” and he added, “Under our plans, life will mean life for the worst murderers, and rapists and serious sexual offenders will serve the entirety of their sentence behind bars.”

Under the proposals, which still have to be debated and voted on by both MPs and the House of Lords, “rapists and other serious sexual offenders” would be classed in a different category than other inmates and would not be released early.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, writing in The Times of London, said: “When a judge hands down a 15-year custodial term it will mean that—15 years in prison. That is the justice that the British people expect and we are determined to deliver it.”

King Charles III (L) with Queen Camilla (R) at the state opening of Parliament on Nov. 7, 2023. PA

This is the latest toughening of sentences.

In 2020 the then-Home Secretary Priti Patel introduced a measure that increased the amount of time someone sentenced to seven years or more in prison for a serious offence would have to remain behind bars.

The change meant offenders given Standard Determinate Sentences of seven years or more could not be considered for parole until they had served two-thirds of their sentence, rather than half as had been the case.

Now convicted rapists will have to serve the full term without even a day’s remission.

More Whole-Life Sentences

The Sentencing Bill will also impose whole-life sentences for those who commit murders which are sexually motivated or contain elements of sadism. This was outlined by Mr. Chalk in August.

But all these measures are set to put more pressure on prisons in England and Wales, which are already full to overflowing.

Last month, faced with a record 88,225 behind bars in England and Wales, Mr. Chalk gave the green light for criminals convicted of “less serious” offences to be released up to 18 days before their automatic release date.

This came only days after he announced the Ministry of Justice was exploring plans to send convicted UK prisoners to serve their sentences in jails in the Netherlands and elsewhere, following in the footsteps of Belgium and Norway.

Need for ‘Proper Investment’ in Prisons

After the King’s Speech was delivered by King Charles, the chairwoman of the Criminal Bar Association, Tana Adkin, KC, said, “Expressing a commitment to harsher sentences and served to term for serious criminal offences only works if there is proper investment in the prison estate and the rest of the criminal justice system.”

She said: “Proper investment has been lacking for years to support other sentencing options to free up prison spaces for those that need to be in prison.”

Ms. Adkin said: “If we want prison sentences to work, government must invest in the infrastructure, but more importantly the people in the criminal justice system, to ensure we have the capacity to punish wrongdoers, deter others and rehabilitate those who are imprisoned at great cost to the taxpayer as well as themselves and their families.”

Ministers have committed to a £3.8 billion building programme to create 20,000 extra places by the mid-2020s, but three proposed mega-jails have been delayed by local councils refusing to grant planning permission.

Heralding the plans before the King’s Speech, the Home Secretary Suella Braverman, writing in the Daily Mail, said of the Criminal Justice Bill, “It will improve public safety and public confidence by giving the police the powers they need to crack down on criminals and ensuring that those who pose the biggest threat are imprisoned for longer.”

An undated image of nurse Lucy Letby, who refused to attend her sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court in Manchester, England, on Aug. 21, 2023. Cheshire Constabulary via AP

Among other measures that have already been announced prior to this week, is a plan to force criminals to physically appear in the dock for sentencing.

Among those convicted murderers who have refused to leave their cells in order to be present when their sentences were passed, are the killers of Sabina Nessa, Zara Aleena, and Olivia Pratt-Korbel, and most recently the serial killer nurse Lucy Letby.

That will be in the Criminal Justice Bill, along with plans to give the police new powers to enter buildings without a warrant to seize stolen goods.

The Victims and Prisoners Bill would prevent those serving whole life sentences—like Levi Bellfield—from getting married, and would remove parental rights from those convicted of killing their child’s other parent, the so-called Jade’s Law.

PA Media contributed to this content.