Pregnancy to be considered on sentencing

JUDGES will consider the impact of sentences on pregnant or postnatal offenders as a new mitigating factor under plans drawn up by the Sentencing Council.

Mitigating factors, such as offenders showing remorse or being young, may decrease a sentence and are included on all offence specific sentencing guidelines.

The Sentencing Council will replace the existing reference to pregnancy, which urges the court to consider any impact on the health of a pregnant defendant and on an unborn child when sentencing, with a dedicated factor for pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care.

It follows the council’s annual consultation on guidelines and will come into effect on April 1 throughout England and Wales.

In its published response to the consultation, the Sentencing Council said it was aware of several reports published in recent years that indicate there have been issues with the care of pregnant women and their children in prison.

According to law firm Leigh Day, women in prison are seven times more likely to suffer a stillbirth, figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests sent to 11 NHS trusts serving women’s prisons in England show.

The law firm also highlighted that pregnant women in prison are almost twice as likely to give birth prematurely.

According to the Sentencing Council, relevant considerations when sentencing a pregnant or postnatal defendant may include their medical and mental health needs, any effect of the sentence on their physical and mental health and any effect of the sentence on the child.

The council also noted the NHS classifies all pregnancies in prison as high risk.

The report said: “For offenders on the cusp of custody, imprisonment should not be imposed where there would be an impact on dependants which would make a custodial sentence disproportionate to achieving the aims of sentencing. Where custody is unavoidable, all of the factors above may be relevant to the length of the sentence.

“The court should address the issues above when giving reasons for the sentence.”

The change was considered in response to a recommendation by a University of Hertfordshire research report on equality and diversity in the work of the Sentencing Council.