4

Improve public legal education on sentencing through diverse educational programmes and resources.

Recommendation
There needs to be a step-change in the Ministry of Justice, the Attorney General’s Office and the Sentencing Council’s efforts on public legal education. HMCTS should develop a programme which enables secondary school pupils to be able to visit magistrates’ courts and Crown Courts to find out about the criminal justice system and sentencing. Education about criminal justice procedure, including sentencing policy and practice, should be incorporated into the National Curriculum for Citizenship Education. The Sentencing Council should look into producing a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on sentencing that could enable members of the public to learn about how sentencing works in England and Wales. Resources on sentencing and criminal justice could also be added to the Oak National Academy Online teaching resources. The Ministry of Justice and the Sentencing Council should consider producing a standalone public-facing website dedicated to providing the public with up-to date information on sentencing trends in England and Wales.
Paragraph Reference
37
Government Response

A response document is linked to this report, dated 18 January 2024. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document.

Addressee Bodies
Ministry of Justice
Timeline
Recommendation age 2.9 yrs
Report published 25 Oct 2023