§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to inform members of the public of their right to ask the Attorney-General to review unduly lenient sentences under the Criminal Justice Act 1998. [51991]
§ Mr. Keith Bradley[holding answer 23 April 2002]: Information about the power of the Attorney-General to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal for review has been incorporated in a number of Home Office publications, including the Victims Charter. This has been distributed widely throughout the criminal justice system and is publicly available through Libraries and on the Home Office website, and the 'Information for Families of Homicide Victims' pack.
If a person believes that the sentence passed is unduly lenient, they can discuss this with the local office of the Crown Prosecution Service, who have put in place systems by which potentially unduly lenient sentences can be brought to the attention of the Attorney-General.