The United Kingdom (UK0 government has announced sweeping new sentencing powers that will see criminals banned from pubs, concerts, and sporting events as part of its Plan for Change to cut crime and boost public safety.
Under the reforms, judges will gain expanded authority to impose driving limits, travel bans, and restriction zones that confine offenders to specific areas. The government said the aim is to toughen community punishments, deter repeat offences, and push offenders “back on the straight and narrow.”
As part of the overhaul, offenders released from prison and under probation supervision will also face tighter controls, including an expanded mandatory drug testing regime.
“In the future, criminals without known drug habits will face this scrutiny, not just those with a history of substance misuse,” the government noted.
“Offenders who break the rules face being brought back to court or hauled back to prison as punishment, depending on the sentence they are serving.”
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the new measures would give courts broader tools to hold criminals accountable.
“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,” Mahmood said.
“Rightly, the public expects the government to do everything in its power to keep Britain safe, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Currently, judges can impose targeted bans such as football restrictions for offences committed at stadiums, but only in limited circumstances. The government now intends to extend such powers to any offence in any setting, saying this will become a standard part of sentencing reform.
The wider reforms also include major investment in prisons and probation services. Since July 2024, more than 2,400 new prison places have been added, with £7 billion earmarked to deliver a total of 14,000 additional spaces.
Funding for the Probation Service will rise by up to £700 million by 2028/29, up from the current £1.6 billion annual budget. The government also highlighted a 7% rise in probation officers in the past year and a 15% increase in trainees, with plans to recruit another 1,300 this year.
Officials said new technology, including artificial intelligence, would ease paperwork burdens and allow probation officers to focus more on supervising high-risk offenders.
