Sara Payne calls for sentencing clarity

Thu Nov 5 2009 15:35:23

Judges should spell out how long criminals they sentence are likely to spend in prison, Victims' Champion Sara Payne has said.

Complex sentencing rules mean it is not clear to victims how long their attacker will be behind bars, she said.

In her nine-month review of the criminal justice system, Mrs Payne also called for changes to the law to make anti-social behaviour a criminal offence.

She said "relatively serious" offences were being tackled with anti-social behaviour orders and dispersal orders instead of prosecution through the criminal courts.

It is understood her review will cite the case of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her disabled daughter after a campaign of harassment by youths.

The proposals on anti-social behaviour put Mrs Payne on a collision course with Home Secretary Alan Johnson, who has maintained the laws in place at the moment are good enough.

Mrs Payne's report, Redefining Justice, also calls for victims to be given easy access to information about their case. Complaints about any aspect of the criminal justice system should be dealt with swiftly and the complaints process simplified, it says.

Since her daughter Sarah was murdered by paedophile Roy Whiting in 2000, Mrs Payne has campaigned for victims' rights.

She has called for the introduction of "Sarah's Law" allowing residents access to information about convicted sex offenders living near them.

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