141 criminals had 'soft' sentences increased after public complaints
Sex offences made up the highest number of cases where sentences were increased.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A record 141 criminals had their sentences increased following complaints the punishments were too soft last year.
Victims and members of the public can query penalties that are handed down by courts for certain serious offences.
New figures published by the Attorney General's Office show it received 837 requests for a review under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme in 2016 - a 17 per cent rise on the previous year.
The Attorney and Solicitor General referred 190 cases to the Court of Appeal to be looked at again, compared to 135 in 2015.
Sex offences made up the highest number of the 141 cases where sentences were increased, with 41, followed by grievous bodily harm with intent (19), and robbery (16).
Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC said: "The Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme allows victims of crime, their families and the public to challenge sentences that they believe are too low, and last year we saw a record number of sentences increased.
"A sentencing exercise is not an exact science and in the vast majority of cases, judges get it right.
"The scheme is available to ensure that the Solicitor General and I can independently review those cases where there may have been an error in the sentencing decision."
Only one person needs to ask for a sentence to be reviewed under the initiative, and anyone can make a request.
From next month the scheme will be widened to include an additional 19 terror-related offences including supporting banned organisations and failing to disclose information about an attack.