Pre-sentencing assessments of mothers

A key report from the Joint Committee on Human Right’s emphasises the need to complete pre-sentencing assessments on mothers to understand the likely impact of a custodial sentence on dependent children. A wealth of evidence highlights the harm caused to children by imprisonment of a parent, not least that children are much more likely to offend themselves. The committee recommends that Judges be barred from sentencing without a pre-sentencing report.