People convicted of crimes in England and Wales could find themselves barred from going to pubs, concerts and sports matches under changes to sentencing rules being planned by the government.
The reforms would allow courts imposing non-custodial terms to also have the power to hand out driving and travel bans, as well as order offenders to remain in specific areas.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the changes would “toughen up community punishments” and deter reoffending.
It comes after a recent review of sentencing policy recommended fewer custodial sentences for less serious offences as a way of dealing with overcrowding in prisons.
Courts are currently able to impose limited bans on people convicted of certain offences – for instance, someone found guilty of violence at football matches can be banned from all stadiums.
But the MoJ says it plans to introduce legislation to allow more restrictions to be imposed by judges and magistrates “as a form of punishment for any offence in any circumstance”.
It means offenders could face additional penalties unrelated to their specific offence, with those who break the rules being taken back to court.
Offenders released from prison who are supervised by the Probation Service could also face similar restrictions under the plans – as well as more mandatory drug testing, even if they do not have a history of misuse.
The MoJ said the plans were part of wider sentencing reforms aimed at deterring crime and ensuring prisons never ran out of places for dangerous offenders.
The government began releasing thousands of inmates early soon after coming to power in 2024, saying they had inherited a prison system from the previous Conservative government that was on the brink of running out of spaces.
