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<p>Unlike Labour, who in Government reduced the prison time served by all Standard
Determinate Sentence prisoners (including rapists and serious violent offenders) from
two thirds of their sentence to half, we have taken a robust approach to increasing
both the sentence length of rapists and the proportion of that sentence served in
prison.</p><p> </p><p>Average sentence length for adult rapists has increased by over
40% since 2010, from around 6.5 years to over 9.5 years. We have also reversed Labour’s
changes, so that rapists and other serious sexual offenders currently serve two thirds
of that time behind bars.</p><p>But we are now going further. The Sentencing Bill,
introduced on 14 November, will ensure that rapists and serious sexual offenders serve
their full custodial term in prison, before being released on a fixed licence period,
which is critical for public protection and in reducing reoffending.</p><p> </p><p>Offenders
convicted of certain serious sex offences, including rape, which carry a maximum penalty
of life imprisonment will no longer receive a standard determinate sentence with automatic
or discretionary early release by the Parole Board. Instead, these offenders will
now get an Extended Determinate Sentence (EDS) or a Sentence for Offenders of Particular
Concern (SOPC).</p><p> </p><p>The Bill also alters the release arrangements for these
offences so that they will now serve the entirety of the appropriate custodial term
in custody, with no referral to the Parole Board at the two-thirds point.</p>
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