West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion has welcomed the announcement of new sentence guidelines, from the Sentencing Council, which will see domestic abuse offences being treated more seriously.

The Commissioner said: “This new guidance is a huge step forward in getting the justice domestic abuse victims deserve. Domestic abuse is a dreadful crime, which is why I am pleased to see that these changes could result in more perpetrators being sent to prison.

“Abolishing lenient sentencing will hopefully show perpetrators that inflicting this harm, be it emotional, physical or psychological, is simply not acceptable and they will be held accountable.”

The Sentencing Council has published a definitive guideline on the overarching principles of sentencing domestic abuse which will come into effect on May 24th, 2018.