Convicted criminals in the UK could face being banned from going to the pub, music concerts, and sporting events like soccer matches under a new plan by the British government as it seeks ways to address the country’s overflowing prison crisis. Under the new sentencing guidelines, judges are able to limit offenders’ freedom with a range of measures such as driving limits, travel bans, and confining them to certain zones, moves which the government says will help force them “back onto the straight-and-narrow.” Under existing rules, judges can issue soccer match bans to those who commit crimes in stadiums, but the law has been changed to allow such bans to be given for any offense under any circumstance. Additionally, all prisoners leaving jail at the end of their sentence and supervised by the Probation Service could face similar restrictions, as well as mandatory drug testing, rather than just those with a history of substance abuse. Anyone breaking the rules risks being taken back to court or being put back in prison. Britain, which has Western Europe’s highest rate of incarceration, has been forced to bring in measures such as releasing prisoners early to tackle chronic overcrowding in jails. The new guidelines were unveiled on August 24th as part of wider reforms to cut crime while ensuring there are enough places for the most dangerous offenders.
