Suzy Lamplugh Trust's response to the Sentencing Bill and the expansion of electronic monitoring

We are extremely disappointed by the government’s decision to push forward with the Sentencing Bill without heeding the concerns raised by the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector. Following announcements made earlier this year, Suzy Lamplugh Trust released statements on the proposed sentencing reforms and the changes to recall measures. As the Ministry of Justice has not provided the necessary assurance that all stalking cases will be explicitly exempt from these proposals, our previous concerns remain unresolved with the announcement of the Sentencing Bill. 

The government has also committed to a widescale expansion of electronic monitoring (‘tagging’) to further their efforts to ease prison capacity. The Trust maintains that the expansion of tagging should go hand in hand with the robust monitoring of breaches and ensuring appropriate consequences in the aftermath. Additionally, we share the Independent Sentencing Review’s concerns around the resource demands placed on police and probation services. There is currently a shortfall of 10,000 probation officers and it remains unclear whether the Government’s Plan for Change will support this expansion safely and effectively. As it stands, only 1,000 trainee probation officers have been recruited to meet this demand (with a further 1,300 planned by March 2026). As the Sentencing Bill and related reforms will add to the need for further probation time and resources, the pressure on the sector will only increase. Given the high rate of reoffending for stalking and the strong correlation between stalking and homicide, the failure to invest adequately in probation capacity poses a serious threat to the safety of stalking victims. 

The Trust, in collaboration with the National Stalking Consortium, previously called on the Ministry of Justice to recognise stalking as a serious offence that would remain unaffected by the sentencing review’s recommendations. This continued lack of clarity must be addressed as a matter of urgency as it poses significant risks to the safety of stalking victims and overall public confidence in the justice system. 

4 September 2025