Criminals serving community sentences could be banned from pubs under new plans

Criminals serving a community sentence face being banned from pubs, concerts and sports grounds under new government plans to give judges powers to pass tougher community sentences.

The new measures, which would apply to people in England and Wales, "should remind all offenders that, under this government, crime does not pay," Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said. Offenders' freedom could also be curtailed with limits on driving, travel bans and restriction zones confining them to specific areas, the government said.

Similar measures could also apply to prisoners let out on licence, while drug testing would be expanded to include all those released, rather than just those with a history of substance misuse. While judges are currently able to impose limited bans for specific crimes, such as football bans for crimes committed inside a stadium on match day, the new measures would allow for such bans to be handed down for any offence.

The justice secretary said: "When criminals break society's rules, they must be punished. "Those serving their sentences in the community must have their freedom restricted there too.

"These new punishments should remind all offenders that, under this government, crime does not pay. "Rightly, the public expect the government to do everything in its power to keep Britain safe, and that's what we're doing." The proposals are part of the Labour government's efforts to tackle overcrowding in prisons.

Back in June, it emerged that prisoners were to be transferred to lower security jails in an effort to ease overcrowding, as part of a new measure quietly unveiled by the government. Sky News reported earlier this month how the prison system was close to collapse on a number of occasions between autumn 2023 and summer 2024, according to an independent review by former chief inspector of prisons, Dame Anne Owers.

The report said there was a systemic problem which has led to recurring prison capacity crises over the last 18 years..