The Department has issued this consultation in response to a recommendation, from the Fresh Start Panel on the Disbandment of Paramilitary Groups, to add terrorist/organised crime offences to the Unduly Lenient Sentence provisions.
The proposals have identified over 80 offences, linked to terrorism, organised crime and paramilitarism, to be added to the scheme. This means that sentences for these offences will be able to be referred to the Court of Appeal if the Director of Public Prosecutions considers them unduly lenient.
The Department is seeking views on the proposals, in particular whether the offences listed in the paper properly reflect the type of criminality inflicted on communities by organised crime and paramilitary linked groups.