Some judges are too soft on gun crime, according to a senior policeman. Merseyside Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe said that some are overlooking the mandatory five year jail sentence for gun crime.
The government has said that judges could use “mitigating factors” to cut a sentence. the average sentence for firearm possession in 2005 was three years nine months, with 40% of offenders being given the mandatory minimum sentence.
Last year, a judge at Manchester Crown Court jailed Natasha Peniston for three years instead of the minimum of five, for possession of a gun which her son fired whilst playing with it. He killed his sister. She did not receive the minimum sentence as she was looking after the gun for her boyfriend.
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Filed under: News, Raw Justice | Tagged: Judges, soft on gun crime
