Reasonable force to be used to order attendance at sentencing- Justice Secretary
Reasonable force to be used to order attendance at sentencing- Justice Secretary
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Judges will be given the power to order “reasonable force” to compel offenders to attend sentencing hearings, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said. The Prime Minister told Cheryl Korbel, the mother of murdered nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, that he would give judges powers to force criminals to appear in the dock when they are being sentenced.
Thomas Cashman, the gunman who killed Olivia as he chased a drug dealer who had tried to run into her home in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, did not appear in court to hear his life sentence in April 2023. The law change is expected to be made in the Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill, which will be laid in Parliament in the next few months.
The legislation will aim to “strengthen community policing, give the police greater powers to deal with anti-social behaviour and strengthen support for victims”, according to the King’s Speech. During Justice questions in the Commons on Tuesday, Ms Mahmood said criminals “add insult to injury” by failing to attend sentencing hearings.
She said she had met Olivia’s mother, who has campaigned to change the law since her daughter’s death. She told MPs: “I will be legislating to give judges the power to order attendance at sentencing hearings, and I will make it clear in the law that reasonable force can be used to make sure that this happens.
