Communities to aid with sentences

Community groups will be able to tell courts about the impact of crime in their area before sentence is passed under a new pilot scheme announced by Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman.

Residents will also have new powers to request the work they want offenders with non-custodial sentences to carry out locally.

The moves are intended to bolster public confidence in the criminal justice system as ministers seek to regain the initiative in the row over prison overcrowding and sex offenders.

Until now courts could only hear from individual victims when assessing the impact of a crime.

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