Custodial Sentence

A Custodial Sentence is where your liberty is restricted, in other words a prison sentence or stay in a youth justice centre. There are two main types of prisoner – remand and sentenced prisoners. A remand prisoner has not been convicted of any offence and is usually detained in custody until the charges against him/her have been heard. A sentenced prisoner will have been convicted of an offence and directed by the judge to spend some time in prison. Any sentenced prisoner in Northern Ireland will generally serve half of the imposed sentence. This means that if you are given a 6 year custodial sentence you could expect to be released after serving 3 years of that sentence.