Call to scrap jail discounts for guilty pleas

CRIMINALS who are caught “bang to rights” will no longer get discounted jail sentences if they plead guilty, under plans being considered by the Government, The Daily Telegraph understands.

Robert Buckland, the Justice Secretary, is studying proposals to end the practice of an automatic one third off sentences if offenders plead guilty when they first appear in court.

The move came amid a public outcry after one of the killers of Pc Andrew Harper had his sentence reduced by eight years to 16 years because of his guilty plea to manslaughter, and his age.

Ministers have expressed fears that the discount will undermine confidence in the criminal justice system and that it is being exploited by offenders caught in the act who know they can get a reduced sentence by pleading guilty.

“If you get caught red-handed killing someone, say on camera, should you really get a third off for pleading guilty?” said a source. “The rule is designed to help victims so they don’t have to go through the stress of giving evidence. What it is not supposed to be is for criminals to exploit it by seeing they are ‘bang to rights’ and then to game the system.”

Initially, it is understood the policy is likely to focus on murder and manslaughter but it could be extended to apply to other serious offences.

Rules introduced in 2016 gave judges a sliding scale, starting with a third off, followed by a fifth if the criminal

pleaded guilty before the first day of trial and a tenth if the plea changed on the first day.

Henry Long, 19, who drove the car that dragged Pc Harper to his death, denied murder but admitted manslaughter, earning him an eight-year discount.

Pc Harper’s widow Lizzie has started a campaign for automatic life sentences for killers of emergency service workers, saying the jail terms for the three teenagers involved in her husband’s death were inadequate for those who had wreaked such “utter despair and grief ” on her life.

Sir Mike Penning, a former policing and justice minister, said it was “perverse justice” to let a criminal get a third off simply for pleading guilty when they were caught red-handed.

“The liberal brigade will go mad because it will fill up prisons but the victim should be put in the driving seat for once,” he said.

Caroline Shearer, who set up an antiknife crime charity after her son, Jay, was stabbed to death, said: “If I pleaded guilty to not paying my electricity bill, should that mean I get a third off it? It is not teaching these people. They need to be put on solid, mandatory tariffs. If you get X years, you should do X years.”

Her son’s killer was jailed for 17 years but the youth who admitted his role in the affray that led to Jay’s death got only two years. After his release, he was subsequently jailed for 16 months after being caught with a knife in a stolen car.

The Criminal Bar Association and Bar Council, however, warned that the change could have the opposite effect by encouraging “bang to rights” offenders to take their chances with a jury.

Asked about the plans, a Government spokesman said: “No comment.”