Extended Sentences

This explainer considers the circumstances in which an extended sentence can be imposed on a person, and the differences between an extended sentence and the more commonly used standard determinate sentence. Extended sentences might be considered to be a ‘halfway house’ between standard determinate sentences (whereby release from prison takes place automatically having served two-fifths, one-half or two-thirds of the sentence) and a life sentence (where release is never automatic and can only be attained through the individual satisfying the Parole Board that they are safe to be released).

What is an extended sentence?

The current form of extended sentences, the Extended Determinate Sentence, was introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and replaced the Extended Sentence for Public Protection, which had been introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. An extended sentence differs from a standard determinate sentence in two ways: firstly, rather than being released from prison automatically at the two-fifths, one-half or two-thirds point of the sentence, someone serving an extended sentence may be released after serving two-thirds of the custodial term, if the Parole Board considers that they no longer pose an unacceptable level of risk to the public; and secondly, the period served on licence can be extended by up to a maximum of five years for a specified violent offence and up to eight years for a specified sexual or terrorist offence (so long as the combined length of the prison sentence and extended licence period does not exceed the statutory maximum for the offence).¹

When can an extended sentence be imposed?

There are four conditions that must be met for a court to impose an extended sentence on a person aged 18 or over at the date of conviction:

On 31 December 2024, there were 8,674 people in prison serving an extended sentence – thus making up 9% of the prison population.²

How does a court assess whether a person poses a significant risk to the public?

Under section 308 of the Sentencing Act 2020, a person is dangerous if, having committed a specified offence, ‘there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission by the offender of further specified offences’.³ When making this assessment, the court must take into account all information available about the nature and circumstances of the offence. It may also take into account any previous convictions, whether the offending amounts to a pattern of behaviour, and any other information about the person which is before the court.

‘Significant risk’ has been interpreted by the courts to mean ‘a higher threshold than mere possibility of occurrence and in our view can be taken to mean (as in the Oxford Dictionary) ‘noteworthy, of considerable amount or importance’’.⁴ ‘Serious harm’ is defined by s.306(2) of the Sentencing Act 2020 as death or serious personal injury, whether physical or psychological.

The assessment of the seriousness of the offence should consider: the seriousness of the offence itself, on its own or with other offences associated with it; the offender’s previous convictions; the level of danger to the public posed by the offender and whether there is a reliable estimate of the length of time they will remain a danger; and the available alternative sentences.⁵

In what ways does an extended sentence protect the public from dangerous offenders?

The intention behind extended sentences is that they protect the public over and above the provisions of a standard determinate sentence in two ways: they ensure that the offender spends a larger proportion of their sentence (possibly the entire duration of the sentence) in prison. Once the offender is released, the extended licence period allows for the imposition of restrictions and supervision that may help to reduce the risk of that individual committing further offences. A person serving an extended sentence is still automatically released from prison at the expiry of their full custodial term, even if the Parole Board has previously determined that they are not suitable for release. Such individuals then also spend less time in the community subject to licence conditions, as they will already have served a larger proportion of their total sentence in custody.

1. Prior to April 2015, where an offender received an extended sentence of less than 10 years, they were released automatically at the two-thirds point (i.e. without the need of Parole Board approval) so long as the offence was not one of the most serious specified offences contained in Schedule 15B to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (these offences are now contained in Schedule 14 to the Sentencing Act 2020). ↩︎
2. Ministry of Justice (2025) Offender Management Statistics quarterly: July to September 2024, Prison Population: 31 December 2024, Table 1_Q_A. ↩︎
3. A specified offence is any of the offences listed in Schedule 18 to the Sentencing Act 2020. ↩︎
4. Lang [2005] EWCA Crim 2864 at [17]. ↩︎
5. Burinskas [2014] EWCA Crim 334. ↩︎