England Considers Two-Tier Sentencing

Last year, intense protests and riots against immigration erupted throughout England after 17-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana stabbed and killed young girls at a dance class. Law enforcement’s harsh response to the protesters (as well as speech online) motivated claims about “two-tier policing,” the idea that the police in the United Kingdom treat right-wingers more harshly than other groups. Naturally, the media dismissed two-tier policing as a “far-right conspiracy theory” and a “laughable” claim. But now, the government is entertaining regulations that would formally establish two-tier sentencing.

Guidelines set forth by the Sentencing Council, set to go into effect on April 1, state that a pre-sentence report “will normally be considered necessary” if the offender meets certain criteria, such as being “female,” having disclosed status as “transgender,” or belonging to “an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community.” A pre-sentence report is an assessment written by a probation officer and submitted to the court that effectively recommends an appropriate sentence; according to the Sentencing Council, a pre-sentence report may be “pivotal” in swaying the judge to “impose a custodial or community order and, where relevant, what particular requirements or combination of requirements are most suitable for an individual offender on either a community order or a suspended custodial sentence.” In other words, a pre-sentence report has the potential to mitigate a sentence — and the guidelines seem to require such a report for only some demographics.

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Abigail Anthony

Abigail Anthony is a staff writer at National Review.

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Last year, intense protests and riots against immigration erupted throughout England after 17-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana stabbed and killed young girls at a dance class. Law enforcement’s harsh response to the protesters (as well as speech online) motivated claims about “two-tier policing,” the idea that the police in the United Kingdom treat right-wingers more harshly than other groups. Naturally, the media dismissed two-tier policing as a “far-right conspiracy theory” and a “laughable” claim. But now, the government is entertaining regulations that would formally establish two-tier sentencing.

Guidelines set forth by the Sentencing Council, set to go into effect on April 1, state that a pre-sentence report “will normally be considered necessary” if the offender meets certain criteria, such as being “female,” having disclosed status as “transgender,” or belonging to “an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community.” A pre-sentence report is an assessment written by a probation officer and submitted to the court that effectively recommends an appropriate sentence; according to the Sentencing Council, a pre-sentence report may be “pivotal” in swaying the judge to “impose a custodial or community order and, where relevant, what particular requirements or combination of requirements are most suitable for an individual offender on either a community order or a suspended custodial sentence.” In other words, a pre-sentence report has the potential to mitigate a sentence — and the guidelines seem to require such a report for only some demographics.