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Criminal Sentencing Dangerous Offenders

Life Sentences

When a court passes a life sentence it means that the offender will be subject to that sentence for the rest of their life. A life sentence always lasts for life, whatever the length of the minimum term.

The offender will be released only once they have served the minimum term and if the Parole Board is satisfied that detaining the offender is no longer necessary for the protection of the public. If released, an offender serving a life sentence will remain on licence for the rest of their life. If they are ever thought to be a risk to the public they could be recalled to prison. They do not need to have committed another offence in order to be recalled.

  When passing a life sentence, a judge must specify the minimum term (sometimes called the tariff) an offender must spend in prison before becoming eligible to apply for parole. The only exception to this is when a life sentence is passed with a 'whole life order' meaning that such an offender will spend the rest of their life in prison.

Mandatory life sentences

Parliament has decided that judges must give a life sentence to all offenders found guilty of murder. The judge will set a minimum term an offender must serve before they can be considered for release by the Parole Board.

The minimum term for murder is based on Sentencing Act 2020 repealing the starting points set out in Schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (as amended).

The offender will only be released once they have served the minimum term and if the Parole Board is satisfied that detaining the offender is no longer necessary for the protection of the public. If released, an offender serving a life sentence will remain on licence for the rest of their life. They may be recalled to prison at any time if they are considered to be a risk to the public. They do not need to have committed another offence in order to be recalled.

Whole life order

For the most serious cases of murder, an offender may be sentenced to a life sentence with a 'whole life order'. This means that their crime was so serious that they will never be released from prison.

On 30 June 2018 there were 66 offenders serving a whole life sentence. These include serial killers Peter Sutcliffe and Rosemary West. (These statistics are taken from the Ministry of Justice's offender management statistics publications).

Discretionary life sentences

There are a number of crimes for which the maximum sentence for the offence, such as rape or robbery, is life imprisonment. This does not mean that all or most offenders convicted of those offences will get life.

Parliament has made provisions that deal with how offenders who are considered dangerous or who are convicted of a second very serious offence may be sentenced to imprisonment for life: Sentencing Act 2020 (CHAPTER 7 Minimum sentences for particular offences).