refnation
Are the sentences courts give criminals too soft?
TrackerJusticeEnded 3 Nov

Are the sentences courts give criminals too soft?

Yes 69%No 31%2,068 votes cast

Monthly tracker. This referendum is asked every month, so you can see how opinion moves. See the trend →

Since the Sentencing Act 2026, courts are presumed to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less, and suspended sentences can run up to three years. Since 1 October 2026, many prisoners can be released after one-third of their term and some serious offenders after half, with about 700 freed on the first day. The government says this eases prison overcrowding, with the population at 87,712 in September 2026. Critics point to cases such as the 2026 teenage rape sentences, which prompted a review for undue leniency.

Jump to opinions· 83

Voters said sentences are too soft, comfortably, but many who said Yes were arguing about something other than length. The recurring complaint was inconsistency, with one voter lamenting a justice system where “the whole system is a mess”.

The most-respected Yes case was measured: the sentences for some of the most serious criminals “have been paltry”, though that voter also sympathised with the prison overcrowding problem. Others went harder, with calls for hard labour and for the death penalty on the gravest crimes, and several set tweet prosecutions against lenient treatment of sexual offenders. One Yes voter conceded “others are too harsh”.

The most-respected No case did not rebut the charge so much as reject the frame: the question is “badly worded and very conflated”. Other No voters argued that longer terms “doesn’t achieve much” because released prisoners return, that a broken prison estate limits what courts can do, and that the real problem is that “barely anyone serves a full sentence”.

That last point sits close to the new release rules in the background, and Yes voters made it too: one said early release after one-third of a sentence undermines victim confidence. The two sides disagreed on whether prison space should shape sentencing, and one Yes voter said flatly it should not.

In the end, both camps agreed the system is inconsistent; they split on whether that makes it soft.

“While I agree that restorative rehabilitation is a preferred option, the sentences handed down to some of the most serious criminals this year have been paltry. I do however sympathise with the prison overcrowding problem.”

YES case · knownunknown · 6 respects

“Question is badly worded and very conflated. Needs breaking down.”

NO case · Devon_Pedro · 7 respects

69%
Yes
majority
31% No
Run1st
Votes2,068
Skipped73
You—

% voting yes, by leaning

24% yes among H. Left voters, 87 of them
33% yes among Left voters, 227 of them
57% yes among C. Left voters, 214 of them
76% yes among Centre voters, 289 of them
93% yes among C. Right voters, 291 of them
97% yes among Right voters, 763 of them
100% yes among H. Right voters, 199 of them
H. Left
Left
C. Left
Centre
C. Right
Right
H. Right
Monthly tracker · First runSee the trend
Cite this result

refnation referendum, closed 2 November 2026: “Are the sentences courts give criminals too soft?” — Yes 69%, weighted by political leaning (2,068 votes).

Free to quote with a link to this page — Copy includes it.

Download the counts (CSV) — the votes behind this result, by leaning, party, region and age.

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DocketRelated verdicts
Debate

83 Opinions

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Devon_Pedro· 390
The Universal Floor Campaigner
Voted noLeft lean

Question is badly worded and very conflated. Needs breaking down.

knownunknown· 92
The Class-First Radical
Voted yesH. Left lean

While I agree that restorative rehabilitation is a preferred option, the sentences handed down to some of the most serious criminals this year have been paltry. I do however sympathise with the prison overcrowding problem.

DaisyGirl· 342
The Stalwart
Voted noRight lean

What a wildly illogical question this is! 'Criminals'? Which ones? 2 years for a tweet - No. Community service for sex crimes - Yes.

Bearcage· 416
The Frugal Realist
Voted noRight lean

Some are too soft, others not. The issue is consistency and certainty crimes being insufficiently punished

tbiz· 488
The All-Rounder
Voted noCentre lean

The idea of longer sentences makes us feel better but doesn’t achieve much. Prison is revolving door, those who are released are more likely than to be right back in prison in a few weeks. That’s the problem. Longer sentences don’t fix that.

RichardH· 206
The Early-Days Majority-Seeker
Voted yesRight lean

I voted yes, but the two tier justice system hands out longer sentences for a tweet than child rape, so the whole system is a mess

DarranClements· 230
The Low-Tax Absolutist
Voted yesH. Right lean

I voted yes, but with full knowledge the legal profession has a problem with native Britons and expressions of irritation at current lopsided policy on how to treat us Vs immigrants, especially Muslims, who have colonised our legal and political establishments. X and Facebook words aren't violence, usually, at least

SwiftSignal80· 177
The Fiscal Reformer
Voted yesRight lean

It’s just messed up. Daily Mail FOI queries suggest we are arresting around 10,000 a year for expressing an opinion on social media. Clearly thats too harsh. As a result the jails are full, and violent criminals are having to be released early, which is too soft.

SaintSidonius· 286
The Law-and-Order Disciplinarian
Voted yesRight lean

For serious crimes, judges should be given the option of a sentence involving hard labour. Let's make the retributive part of the sentence something that one would not want to experience twice.

Daveo· 111
The Taxpayer’s Guardrail
Voted yesC. Right lean

Capital punishment should be given for the most serious crimes