News

Jail terms of 20+ years ‘quadruple’ in England and Wales over past decade

The number of people sentenced to more than 20 years in prison has quadrupled over the last decade, figures have shown.

Given the increase in average tariff lengths handed down by courts, this figure is expected to continue to rise substantially over coming years.

The findings come as the Ministry of Justice announces plans to build more prisons to house the growing number of longterm inmates. They also follow a public outcry over the murder of Sarah Everard, whose killer Wayne Couzens has been given a full-life tariff.

Figures obtained by the Prison Reform Trust from parliamentary questions and government figures show 10,988 prisoners were serving 10 years or more on 31 December 2020.

Growing numbers have also received long determinate sentences of 20 years or more. In 2019, 124 people were sentenced to custody for 20+ years excluding life sentences, up from 31 a decade earlier.

Meanwhile, the rate and number of violent offences resulting in injury have fallen and remain historically low. Between 2009 and 2019 the incidence of violent crimes that resulted in injury, as reported in the Crime Survey for England and Wales, fell 44%, from 22 in every 1,000 adults to 13 in every 1,000. Despite some fluctuation, the number of sexual assaults remains broadly similar to a decade ago.

Dr David Maguire, director of the Prison Reform Trust’s Building Futures project, said: “Over the last decade sentences for more serious crimes have been getting longer, with many more people spending periods in prison which would have previously been unimaginable. The impact on both prison and probation services is significant and long-term, and meeting the challenges of this change will shape the landscape for years to come.”

The Home Office and Ministry of Justice are braced for an increase in prisoners, to 98,700 in 2026, after the targeted recruitment of 20,000 police officers in line with Boris Johnson’s election promise.

England and Wales already has the third highest prison population across Europe, behind Russia and Turkey, which dwarf it with their combined total of more than 800,000, according to the Council of Europe.

The figures came as the backlog of cases in the crown court rose yet again to record levels at 60,692, almost doubling in two years. Cases of rape and sexual offences make up about a 10th of the backlog.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This government is making sure violent criminals and sex offenders spend longer in prison to keep people safe and give victims confidence that justice has been served. The 18,000 new prison places we are building will keep these dangerous people off the streets for longer.”

Last year, the government changed the law so those convicted of serious sexual and violent offences and given a standard determinate sentence of seven years or more would no longer be automatically released at the halfway point but would instead have to serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison.

The police, crime, sentencing and courts bill, which is currently before parliament, will end the halfway release of offenders sentenced to four to seven years in prison for serious violent and sexual offences such as rape, manslaughter and GBH with intent. They will also have to spend two-thirds of their time behind bars.

News

EFCC hands over recovered assets to Enugu Governor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, handed 14 recovered assets over to Governor Peter Mba of Enugu State.

The Chairman of the commission, Ola Olukoyede, during the handing over ceremony held at the EFCC Headquarters, Jabi, Abuja, on Wednesday, revealed that the assets recovered by the commission were forfeited to the Federal Government.

Olukoyede further said that the EFCC began an investigation into the development since 2007, and had achieved the conviction of persons in relation to the matter.

He also noted that the President, Bola Tinubu, ordered the handover of the assets which includes – real estate, radio and television transmission equipment, and medical facility, amongst others, to the Enugu State Government, following a request by the EFCC.

News

Police parade 21 criminal suspects in Edo

The Edo State Police Command has paraded 21 suspects arrested for various crimes in different parts of the state.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Funsho Adegboye, paraded the suspects at the command headquarters on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

He said the suspects were arrested in the last two weeks for armed robbery, cultism, attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearms, conspiracy, pipeline vandalism, house breaking, stealing, unlawful possession of illicit drugs and promotion of communal war.

“This has been a season of harvest of criminals. The suspects were arrested within a period of two weeks and all this was done to make Edo safe for the citizens to carry out businesses in the state,” the CP said.

Among the suspects were Ovie Samuel (46), Stanley Itota (45), Felix Oputi (46), Kadiri Hassan (45) and Alex Akaeze, who were arrested for being in possession of 1,080 kilograms of ICE (hard drug), worth N20 million in street value.

Meanwhile, CP Adegboye has advised parents to warn their children, especially university students, to avoid being used by unscrupulous politicians

He gave the warning ahead of the commencement of the governorship electioneering campaign.

“We want to implore members of the public to please warn their wards, especially young people, especially university students,” he said.

“Our youths should be discouraged, they should not be used as tools in the hands of some unscrupulous politicians.

“Like I advised the executive members of the Students’ Union of the University of Benin, the people that are making use of them, their own children are not around, so why would they want to get involved,” he said.

Adegboye, who commended the people of the state for supporting the police, appealed to all stakeholders to continue to give useful information to enable the police to fight crimes and criminality in the state.

News

Oyebanji inaugurates Ekiti Agro Marshals to protect farmlands, schools, palaces

As part of his administration’s resolve to ensure a safer environment, Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji has inaugurated the Ekiti Agro Marshals to safeguard farmlands, schools, and palaces across the state.

This is with a view to creating a conducive environment for farming to thrive, thereby boosting food security in the state.

Speaking during the passing out parade of the Marshalls in Ado- Ekiti on Tuesday, the Governor said the local security outfit is designed to compliment efforts of the Police and other security agencies in the war against criminality in the state.

The Governor explained that the Agro Marshals became necessary following the instruction of the President to the Governors to set up a Special Guard to protect farmlands and the forest. This, in addition to suggestions of the security council and that of the traditional rulers in the state, led to the establishment of the new outfit.

Emphasizing the importance of securing agricultural resources, educational institutions and cultural heritage sites to ensure sustainable development and communal harmony, Governor Oyebanji said the main mandate of the Marshals is to ensure that farmlands, palaces and schools are protected across the state.

Oyebanji, while maintaining that his government remains committed to security of lives and property of the citizens in the state, expressed his confidence that, with the right collaboration between the Marshals and other security agencies, Ekiti will be the safest place in the country.

He added that the initiative is a collaborative effort between the state, the local government and traditional institution to safeguard the lives of farmers in order to enhance safety on the farms thereby boosting food production and food security.

The Governor charged the Marshals not to violate the fundamental human rights of the citizen but discharged their duties diligently within the confine of the constitution of the country.

“They are to compliments the efforts of the formal security apparatus, they are not to replace them, they are to work together , gather intelligence but their main mandate is to ensure our farmlands, palaces and schools are protected and because they are local they have access to intelligence, understand the community and the environment.

“I charge the officers not to violate the fundamental human rights of the citizens, you cannot be arbitrary and everything you are going to do must be done within the confine of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”. The Governor asserted.

Earlier in his remarks, the Commander of the Marshals, Rtd. ACP Olamide Oni who commended the Governor for ensuring that the people of the state can sleep with their two eyes closed, said the Matshals have been trained on the requirements for carrying out their duties effectively and efficiently.

He assured the Governor that the state would henceforth experience peace on the various farmlands and forests.

In his goodwill message, the Chairman, Council of Traditional rulers, Oba Ilori Faboro on behalf of all royal fathers in the state, expressed his appreciation to the Governor for all his efforts at ensuring that Ekiti remain the safest state in the country and assured the Governor that Royal fathers in the state would provide necessary support to the Marshals.