Can I challenge a sentence that seems too lenient?

There is one route, and it is narrow and fast. Under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme — sections 35–36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 — the Attorney General or Solicitor General can refer a Crown Court sentence to the Court of Appeal. You cannot refer it yourself. You can ask them to consider it, and you must do so within 28 days of the date the sentence was passed.

The 28 days, and what to send

The 28 days run from the date of sentence — not from the day you heard the outcome, and not from any other appeal. The Attorney General has no power to refer outside that window, whatever the circumstances or however serious the offence. If you are close to the deadline, send something now: a brief email or call to the Attorney General's Office inside the 28 days, followed by fuller information, may be enough to preserve the option.

Use the online request form at gov.uk/agorequest, or write to the AGO at 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9GL. Include:

• The defendant's name and the court that passed sentence
• The date of sentence and the offences they were convicted of
• The sentence imposed, and your reasons for believing it unduly lenient
• Any documents you have, such as news reports or court listings — you do not need the transcript, as the AGO obtains that itself

Which sentences qualify

Only Crown Court sentences for specified qualifying offences can be referred; magistrates' court sentences cannot. The eligible categories include murder, manslaughter and infanticide; rape and other serious sexual offences; causing or allowing the death or serious physical harm of a child or vulnerable adult; robbery, burglary and specified firearms or weapons offences; certain serious drug trafficking offences; terrorism; modern slavery and human trafficking; certain Computer Misuse Act 1990 offences; causing serious injury by dangerous driving and causing death by dangerous or careless driving; and certain fraud and financial crime offences in specified circumstances. The AGO website has a checker if you are unsure.

Two things to be realistic about. Any member of the public can make a request — you need not be the victim or a relative — but the Attorney General decides whether to refer, and there is no appeal against a decision not to. And the Court of Appeal's threshold is deliberately high: it will not raise a sentence merely because a heavier one was available, only where the sentence falls outside the range a reasonable judge, properly applying the sentencing guidelines, could have passed. If a case is referred, the Court can increase the sentence, leave it unchanged, or — rarely — reduce it.