UK Parliament home

This petition was submitted during the 2017 to 2019 Parliament

View other petitions from this Parliament

Closed Unduly Lenient Sentences scheme to cover coercive control-Serious Crime Act 2015

Closed on

The Unduly Lenient Sentences scheme allows anyone to complain to the Attorney General that a sentence is too low. But it does not include serious domestic abuse, e.g. coercive control, for which there are frequent poor sentences which often seem to disregard Sentencing Council guidelines.

The scheme has not kept up with the devastating effects of coercive control. Vera Baird QC commented: “The Sentencing Council makes clear that the huge breach of trust involved”, in this offence, “itself merits harsher punishment." https://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/police-chief-welcomes-new-sentence-rules-for-domestic-violence-1-8826066

Referring sentencing for this offence to the Court of Appeal would ensure senior judges reiterated the crime’s gravity and followed sentencing guidelines

950 signatures

Show on a map

10,000

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

  • Petition closed

  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 6 November 2019.